Page 37 of Seth
“It’s a hospital. I don’t think he’s armed, and I don’t want him to feel pressured or intimidated.” Gustavo stepped out of the car, grabbed the long paper box from the rear seat, and strolled toward the main entrance.
“What if he attacks you?” Diego’s voice reached him from behind with the slam of the car door.
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
“Hmm… I probably should say that this is a bad idea, but I’m too curious to see what will happen next,” Diego said, catching up.
The Haas Private Hospital greeted them with a drastic change of temperature. Outside, heat and humidity crawled under his suit, sticking to his skin like a wet plastic film, in here, the air was dry, cold, with a sharp, clinical smell of the antiseptic.
“Excuse me? Visiting hours are over,” the nurse called. With a lift of his chin, Gustavo gave a silent order. His steps didn’t halt as he approached the emergency floor plan to locate private rooms.
Diego’s voice drifted from behind, sweet, charming, seducing. “Maybe you can make an exception?” Gustavo turned his head to see money transferring hands. Two minutes later, they stood in front of Seth’s private room.
Filling his lungs with air, he turned the doorknob and entered the room. The bluish light coming from the vital monitor washed over the half-naked body sprawled over the narrow medical bed. Wires webbed around Seth’s chest, sticking to his ribs with blue pads. With one hand resting behind his head, the murderer pressed an ice pack to his ribs with the other.
Gustavo halted. Diego’s chest collided with his back forcing him to take another step forward. Without a word, Gustavo lifted his hand, requesting Diego not to follow.
Once again, his mind played tricks on him. Despite the lights out, the room glowed. For a moment, he stared at the white-washed walls, almost luminous in the night with the blue and green reflection of the light coming from the vital monitor, then to the person resting on the bed. The beast who singlehandedly disarmed his security team, deactivated his CCTV, and assaulted his lover and him, slept in front of him. With slack muscles, slender limbs, and a relaxed face, Seth once again looked almost gentle, powerless, frail. His chest rose and fell in rhythmical breaths, and a blue vein throbbed on his throat. Dark circles under his eyes brought an air of frailty.
Such a deceptive appearance,Gustavo thought yet, for some reason, he wasn’t in a hurry to wake Loco. His original plan to have a small payback lost the appeal. He passed the box to Diego and circled the medical bed.
Only now, inspecting the relaxed form of the man, Gustavo realized the reason for his impression of Seth. Above the waistband of his green cotton pants, sharp hipbones stood out, and he could count every rib on the right side of his chest. What he mistook for a powerful build turned out to be a low percentage of body fat covering taut but average muscles. The beast wasn’t powerful; he was skinny. Gustavo looked for signs of fire, but not a single scar marred his chest, arms, or stomach.
Despite Diego’s presence, there was something intimate in watching Seth sleep, something that stirred desire in the depth of his core.
Did he feel the same as he watched me sleep?With a mind of its own, his hand covered Seth’s. The icy touch burned, bothered. He wasn’t sure what he expected, maybe hellish flames to smolder his hand, or the warmth of a living heart to wash his palm in red, but not this rigid chill seeping into his marrow.So cold.Deadly cold…
Like everything in Seth, the touch felt controversial. Chest tightening, heart speeding, Gustavo bent over the beautiful face. Thick lashes cast elongated shadows over Seth’s sharp cheekbones. Dry and chapped, his lips begged for moisture, skin tightened around his jaw, and Gustavo couldn’t decide if the neon lights created the illusion of morbid paleness or Seth looked even more pallid than ever.
A shuddering exhale rippled Seth’s chest. His eyeballs flickered behind the closed eyelids, and his chin jerked to the side. Gustavo stopped breathing as their noses almost touched.
Seth’s breath tickled his lips. A wave of heat, subtle and weak at first, washed over Gustavo’s heart, then rushed down his stomach spreading through his arteries like liquid fire. He swallowed, licked his lips and, never dropping his focus from Seth’s face, inched the frigid hand away from the ice pack.
Sharp fingers stabbing into his wrist made him flinch. Every muscle corded under Seth’s skin as he sat up, eyes cast down. Once again, Gustavo wondered how Seth could be this strong. The vice of the icy fingers nearly crushed his wrist. With effort, he yanked his hand away and retreated two steps from the bed.
Erasing the remnants of his startled expression, he put on a smile. “Good morning. You missed me so much that you visited? I’m touched. Though, I find it a bit rude. You should have called first. Did you find what you were looking for? No? It’s my fault. I should have told you sooner; I don’t keep dead bodies in my home. It’s bad taste.”
Seth stared down at his hands as if he saw them for the first time, then lifted his palm and touched his face. Only then did Gustavo notice his fingers trembling. As if not seeing him, Seth fixed his gaze on the wall, then dragged it to the vital monitor before casting a long stare outside the window at the young moon.
Muscles bulging underthe skin,Seth sat on the bed fighting his drumming heart. The dream felt so real that his reality faded in comparison. Even Gustavo’s presence didn’t bother him as it wasn’t nearly as important as the dying heart and the collapsing building in his dream.
With a habitual gesture, he touched his face to make sure what reality surrounded him, then looked around. Through the window, the black sky watched him with myriad eyes. The moon had started growing a new flank, and Seth thought that soon it’d be a month since he took Justin’s heart, and he still hadn’t built the vessel.
Seth threw a sharp glance at Gustavo, his ragged breathing rending the air. His heart drummed in his chest; trembling hands crumpled the bedsheet.All his fault…
His attention slipped to his chest. He fisted a handful of wires, tore the blue pads off his skin, then lifted the ice pack. The black spot contrasted with the white tape fixing his muscles in place. Now, more than ever, the bruise resembled an ulcer on the body of the dying god, the white tape like glimpses of bones beneath.
Ah, my body is giving up...A very calm thought brushed against his mind. Then anger rose at the time he’d lost on Gustavo’s games.Everything went to hell because of this man.
Gustavo’s heartstammeredwhen Seth’s attention finally settled on him. Teeth bared, muscles rippled under his skin as if the beast mentally prepared for a fight. The familiar aura of danger wrapped around him as he slipped off the bed.
“Easy, tiger.” Gustavo threw both hands in the air, palms forward. “I’m not here for quarrel. On the contrary, I’m here to mend fences. Thank you for not killing anyone tonight. I appreciate the gesture. Care to tell how you did it? I’m dying of curiosity.”
Gustavo approached the door, turned on the light, and snatched the white paper box out of Diego’s grasp. “Don’t interfere.”
When he turned to Seth, the man stood next to a low table, a pile of clothes resting on top. The bruise on his ribs contrasted with his milky flesh.
“This looks nasty.” Gustavo lifted his chin to Seth’s chest. “Tell me who did it; I shall reward them.”
