Page 58 of Viktor

Roy stared him down, but finally nodded. “I thought as much. Let’s go eat, son.”

Sara was sitting at the breakfast table sipping coffee. Viktor made this clucking noise his mother used to make whenever they didn’t follow her directions. He went to the fridge and found a bag of frozen peas. He came over to the table and placed it against Sara’s lower face. “Hold that there for at least twenty minutes.”

“You are not the boss of me,” she muttered, but reached for the bag.

Viktor ignored Miss Surly as he set out subs and fetched one of Delia’s cartoon cups and filled it with milk. “Can I get anyone else a drink?”

“A beer for me. Get one for yourself while you’re there.”

“As much as I’d like one, I can’t. When I’m working, I don’t drink. Mrs. Grafton, you want something?”

“A bottle of water.”

He got out three bottles of water and Roy’s beer before sitting down. The scent of marinara hit his nose, and his stomach growled. Delia laughed at him while chewing her cheesy chicken. He wagged a finger at her. “Cookie Monster, don’t be laughing at my poor belly. It can’t help it that you gobbled up all the cookies without sharing.”

Her bottom lip pushed out as she thought about what he said. “But I was hungry.”

“Did Pawpawl’s girl eat all the cookies without saving one for me?”

She nodded and held up her fingers. “There was only three.”

Viktor watched Sara attempt to eat and finally give up. He stopped eating too when he saw that. It wasn’t lost on Roy that Viktor stopped eating when Sara did either. Viktor couldn’t stand the fact he was stuffing his face when his woman might be hungry. “You want some Motrin?”

She nodded, not looking at him. He pursed his lips but let it slide. She was in pain, so he’d not push her. He went over and fished it out of the bag he’d set on the counter. She couldn’t remember if they had any in the house or not, so he’d stopped at the Dollar General and picked up a bottle.

Handing her three of the small tablets, he sat back down beside her. “How’s your back?”

She swallowed the pills and chased them with water. “Hurts like I fell down two flights of stairs.”

“There’s no way you’re getting up those stairs tonight.” When she started to argue, he held up a hand. “I saw you go up the porch steps, Sara. You barely made it, and right now you’re in so much pain, you can’t sit still. The stairs are too much for you. You can sleep in the room Gabe and I have been sharing. I’ll change the sheets for you.”

“He’s right, honey.” Sara shot her mother a glare. Viktor would be on the couch. She just knew it. Having him that close would be too much of a temptation. Sure, she was in pain. Didn’t mean everything he’d said to her today was lost on her. The man wanted her, and if she could get out of her own way, she might have something here worth fighting for. But she needed time to think, and him that close? Her mind would be gutter bound and not thinking clearly.

“Mrs. Grafton, do you think you can take Delia upstairs and give her a bath? My mama always told me to take a shower if you were near the hospital because it’s the best place to pick up a bug.”

“Lord-a-mercy, she was right. You can be healthy as a horse and then come home with the flu or whatever else is floating around. I’ll be happy to give Delia her bath and get her settled into bed.”

“That’s going to be a feat, considering Viktor fed her three cookies and let her nap at the hospital.”

“That’s okay. She can watch cartoons until she falls asleep.”

“Speaking of baths…” Viktor stood and picked Sara up into his arms. She stiffened, but he didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go get you settled.”

“You are not giving me a bath!” she screeched. They could hear her parents laughing.

He walked down the hall toward the room he and Gabe shared. Sitting her on the bed, Viktor went into the bathroom to run her a hot bath. He dumped half a container of the body wash into the water and bent over, using his hands to swirl the water so it would start to sud up. An old girlfriend taught him that trick. Once that was done, he placed a towel and washcloth on the rim of the tub before going back into the bedroom.

She stared at him wide-eyed. He pulled one of his t-shirts out of the dresser and gave it to her. “I’ll get your mama to find some clean underwear and your fuzzy pajama bottoms for you. Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you in the bath. Your body needs a good hot soak.” He scooped her up again and strode into the bathroom.

“You’re not bathing me.”

Her eyes were wild. He smirked at the desire all but buried behind her panic. “No,moye sokrovishche,I’m not bathing you. At least not tonight.”

He held her close, enjoying the feel of her in his arms for a moment before he took her into the bathroom and set her ever so gently on the toilet. “What else do you need?”

“Nothing.” Her voice squeaked in a very mousy way, and he bit back a grin. He made her nervous. That was a good thing. It meant he affected her as much as she did him.

“Call when you’re done, and I’ll help you out.”

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