Page 82 of Vicious Heir

“You heard the doctor,” Luca says, coming around the couch. “Time to go.”

“Well, fuck,” Adriano says. Luca takes one side, and I take the other, and together we get Adriano up to his feet. “This is going to be fucking terrible.”

“Yep,” I confirm. “It most definitely is.”

Chapter 29

Lucy

The operation happens on the basement level of a urologist’s office. I sit upstairs while Luca paces around, occasionally taking calls and talking softly into the phone. I don’t know what he’s saying, but he doesn’t seem happy.

At one point, Luca stares out the front window. He glances back at me briefly. “He’s crazy about you, you know that?”

I look up, startled. “I’m crazy about him too.”

He nods once. “Good. I hope so.” Then he lapses into silence again.

I don’t know what that’s about, but I’m filled with a deep and constant worry. I can’t imagine what I’ll do if something goes wrong. I went into this marriage thinking it was the end of the world, but now I can see how it’s just the beginning.

Losing Adriano now would kill me.

Dr. Chen comes out an hour later. He seems tired, but he nods when I jump to my feet. “He’ll be fine,” he confirms. “He’srecovering right now. We’ll be able to take him home in about an hour. I’ll come along and monitor him until tomorrow, but he was lucky. There wasn’t any major damage, and the bullet was intact, meaning no nasty fragments.”

Relief floods me. It takes all my willpower not to wrap the doctor in a huge bear hug. “Thank you so much,” I say, leaning against the wall as my heart races into my throat.

The thought of losing him was like an anchor dragging me into the depths of an endless ocean. I was drowning, but now that I know he’ll be okay, it’s like I’m finally floating again.

For a man who nearly died, Adriano looks surprisingly good. Maybe he just always looks that good. We get him back to the house, and I tuck him into bed, basically browbeating him into doing nothing but sitting and relaxing. He’s in a pair of dark sweats and no shirt, his torso wrapped in gauze, the wound covered and stitched closed.

“Dr. Chen said I’m fine,” he mutters, looking annoyed as I put another pillow behind his back. “You’re going too far. I have a war to run.”

“And I have a husband to nurse.” I kiss him lightly. “Shut up and stop whining.”

He glares but doesn’t argue. I swear, the man’s a vicious lion, but I can get him to act like a lamb.

I give him his painkillers, which he doesn’t want to take but eventually gives in, and I make sure to fill his antibiotic prescription. Then Donatella helps me make him lunch. “His favorite, pasta e fagioli.” She beams at me as she spoons a big helping of soup into a bowl. “Tell him you made it.”

“How about you teach me, and I actually cook it next time?”

“That’s a plan.”

I carry his meal to him on a tray. As I head into the room, I catch him standing by his dresser, grimacing as he pulls on a shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” I rush over, nearly spilling the tray as I corral him back into bed.

“I have work,” he says, letting me drag him back to his spot. I place the tray down beside him as I practically shove him down on the bed. “This is serious,amore mio. Vittorio’s out there looking for Frank. I can’t be sitting in bed eating soup.”

“It’s your favorite,” I say and straddle him. His eyes widen as his hands move to my hips, his fingers digging into my ass. “Listen to me right now.” I grind my pelvis down into his crotch, careful not to jostle his injured side. “I nearly lost you. Seeing you bleeding like that on the couch nearly broke me. I’m not about to let you walk out of this room until you’re completely healed.”

He licks his lips and smiles slightly. He reaches up and tugs my hair, pulling me down to him, and he crushes his mouth into mine. I kiss him hard, desperate and yearning, trying to burn off some of the anxiety I’m still feeling. He’s so warm and solid, and his taste is like heaven. This man is real—he’s real—and he’s still mine.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he says very softly. “I’m hurt, but I’m not finished. Dr. Chen will be here to monitor me when I come back.”

“How can you talk about leaving right now?”

“I promise I’ll be careful. Vittorio will do the heavy lifting. But he called while I was in surgery, and I have to go now. I can’t wait any longer.”

I blink back tears. “You’re really starting to make me hate this whole mafia thing.”

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