Page 58 of Savage Prince

She seems as shocked to hear it as I am that the words slipped out.

Still, I continue because apparently the blood loss must have done some serious damage to my brain. “I doubt she would have gone through such lengths to save the life of her captor.”

Serena closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath before she stabs the needle into my chest.

CHAPTER 29

A COINCIDENCE

Serena

Antonio’s scream echoes across the quiet lake as the needle pierces his skin and I drag the thread through the wound, closing the bloody gash. My stomach twists, revolting at the sight of the torn flesh.Dio, how does Bella do this every day? Why would she ever want to? I swallow hard to keep down the remainder of the lovely picnic Mariuccia made for us earlier.

“Fuck, Serena, are you trying to kill me?” he growls. “A little warning would’ve been nice.”

“It only would have made it worse. It’s better if you don’t see it coming. You would’ve been all tense, and if you tried to fight me, I didn’t exactly have anything to hold you down.”

He blows out a breath, his skin sallow and beads of perspiration coating his forehead. “Okay, I’m ready, just make it quick.” His fingers curl around the edge of the seat, and I’m pretty sure by the time this is all over there will be nail marks in the soft leather.

“I’ll try my best.” In and out. In and out. The boat rocks steadily as we bob in the middle of the lake under the cover of darkness. With each stitch, I pretend it’s a vibrant new fabric I’m sewing together instead of a man’s flesh. It’s the only thing that keeps me from vomiting or worse, passing out.

To his credit, Antonio barely flinches. After the first shout which took him by surprise, he’s been absolutely silent, gritting through what must be excruciating pain. His restraint is impressive. Personally, I’m going to need a hell of a lot of tequila after this.

What feels like a lifetime later, I hazard a peek at my handiwork, the red, inflamed skin forced together by the blood-splattered white thread. It’s not pretty and it’s going to leave a horrible scar but at least he’s not bleeding anymore. To reduce the threat of infection by the far-from-sterile thread, I plan on dousing the area in alcohol hourly until we can see a real doctor. I’m not sure this is sound reasoning but at the moment it’s all I can think to do.

“Done…” I whisper once I’ve covered the newly stitched wound with a bandage.

“Good,” he grits out, squeezing his eyes closed.

“You should rest.” I rise, stretching out my legs from the cramped position.

“No, I’ll be fine.” He tries to sit up, but I place a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him down. His lips twist into a frown, and damn it, if I even find that scowl attractive. What the hell is that? It’s this intense situation we’ve been thrown into. It has my adrenaline pumping and my hormones on overdrive. And that’s it.

Refocusing, I clear my throat. “That bullet hole is literally holding on by a thread. The less you move the better.”

“You need sleep too. You can’t drive the boat in circles all night.” He ticks his head at the steering wheel which whirls around lazily.

“Better me than you.”

He snorts, shaking his head. “I’m not the only stubborn one here.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“I do, but it’s risky.”

“I’m all ears, and I love risky.” I crouch down beside him once again so he’s not straining his neck and the wound to look up at me.

“The house across the lake from the villa belongs to an old friend of my mother’s. She passed away a few years ago, and her children have already left for the season. They went back to Milano just before we arrived which was what made the villa so perfect for my needs.”

“Okay, so you think we can stay there?”

He nods. “The main home has a security system, but there’s a small boathouse by the lake. We can ground the Riva for the night. It’s not much but it’s shelter, and we can get off the water for a few hours so we can both rest.”

“Sounds good to me.” After the past few hours, my sea legs are faltering. The idea of being back on solid ground sounds like heaven. And we’d need to get to a doctor in the morning anyway.

“But if anyone sees us, we’ll be sitting ducks.” He reaches into his pants and pulls out a sleek gun. I’d been so distracted by all the blood, I hadn’t even noticed it. Damn it, I’m slipping up left and right.

“Then we take turns sleeping.” I shrug. I’ll take half a night of good sleep over none at all. I hold out my hand, palm up, eyeing his weapon. “Don’t worry I’ll take good care of her.”

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