Page 13 of Vows of Betrayal

They weren’t just pretty. They were gorgeous. I gave them a small smile before I rushed through the door and—

Whoa.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Holy crap.

It was hot guy central in here.

A dark-haired man—wearing a suit that probably cost more than an entire year’s worth of rent—looked right at me. He was standing to the left of Stefan’s bed.

On his right—double holy crap. An even taller guy stood, peering down angrily at Stefan. He gave off lumberjack vibes if I was completely honest. Those arms could chop dozens of trees a day without breaking a sweat.

I’d bet on it.

“Why are you yelling? You know you’re not supposed to get upset like that.” I tossed my lunch bag onto one of the chairs.

Stefan’s eyes found mine immediately. And in an instant—the anger in his expression melted right off.

I looked at the man in the suit, first. “You and your friend need to leave. Now. Stefan can’t get riled up like this. It’s not good for his recovery. Kindly leave before I call security.” My hands held onto my hips as all three men stared at me. A sudden all-over-body shiver traveled from my head to my toes.

I had to admit that it wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

The two men at Stefan’s sides looked at each other.

And grinned.

Then their eyes landed back on Stefan.

“Looks like visiting hours are up,” the bigger, lumberjack guy said with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, we didn’t mean to rile you up,” the guy in the suit said, then glanced over at me again. His eyes took a long slow descent down my body. One that I didn’t mind him doing at all. For some reason.

When his eyes finished looking me over, he said, “Take care of him for us, will you?”

I gave him a frown. “Uh, that’s what I’ve been doing. And you guys are doing the exact opposite. I’d suggest you don’t come back again until Stefan says it’s okay.”

The two men looked at each other again.

And grinned.

Why were they smiling?

“Was I not clear enough? You need to go. Now.” I could practically hear the blood coursing through my veins.

“I guess we’re being thrown out,” the guy in the suit said to the lumberjack guy.

Then the lumberjack guy said, “Apparently.”

Stefan pushed himself up. “Would you two assholes get the fuck out of here already?” A look of pain shot across his face that made me gasp.

“Sheesh,” I said, heading to Stefan. I squeezed between the lumberjack and the bed and helped Stefan lay back down. “You know you’re not supposed to sit up by yourself yet. Why didn’t you ask me for help.”

Stefan grunted. “You were way over there,” he said, sounding more than a little ticked off.

“Nurse Maureen said you did that earlier, too. And your stitches bled. There are plenty of other people around here to help you,” I reprimanded him. Though, over the last few days, the nurses had all ordered me to look after him. Nobody else wanted to deal with his awful attitude.

“I don’t want any of them to help me. I want you,” he muttered while I fixed his blankets.

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