Page 203 of Roulette Rodeo
"You stopped suppressants when you came to us," Rafe continues. "That's why you've had no problems these past few months. Your body's been healing itself."
"So that means..." I can barely get the words out.
"You're perfectly healthy," he confirms, taking my hand. "Safe to have your heat, to bond, to mate, to have children if you want. We're safe, little cherry bomb."
I smirk through the emotional whiplash. "That's the first time you've called me that."
"Yeah, well," he says with a slight smile, "clearly you're a bomb in our lives. Like to detonate more than once, cause maximum chaos."
"The perfect cherry on top, right?"
He winks. "Right."
He stands, leaning down to kiss me softly. It's gentle, careful, but there's heat underneath it—promise for when I'm healed,when we're home, when my heat hits and all this careful distance we've maintained dissolves.
"Thank you for saving my world," he whispers against my lips. "But don't do that shit again because you're our world now."
"I'll try," I whisper back. "But no promises. I am a tad defiant by nature."
He smirks, pressing one more quick kiss to my forehead. "Get some sleep. Real sleep, not candy crush sleep."
"Yes, Daddy Rafe," I say with mock solemnity.
His groan as he leaves makes me giggle.
The moment the door closes behind him, I pull out my phone, but I don't open the game or the group chat. Instead, I wait, counting the seconds. Three minutes pass—long enough for Rafe to clear the hospital—before the door opens again.
Different footsteps this time. Lighter, more arrogant in their cadence. Expensive shoes that click against the linoleum like they're announcing royalty.
I don't look up from my phone, though I'm not actually looking at anything on the screen.
"Well," I say, letting a smirk curl my lips as I finally raise my eyes. "Good evening, Luca."
THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT
~RED~
Luca stands in the doorway like he owns the place, that practiced swagger only slightly diminished by the late hour and hospital setting. His designer clothes look out of place against the sterile white walls—probably a thousand-dollar shirt to visit someone in a hospital at midnight. The man has never met a situation he couldn't overdress for.
"Get to the point," he says, closing the door behind him with deliberate care. "I don't want to be roped into something I actually wasn't involved in."
I smirk, setting my phone aside with theatrical precision. "Oh, I know you weren't involved per se. But you arrived, didn't you?"
"I arrived because you somehow managed to get my number and called me." His green eyes narrow with suspicion. "At midnight. From a hospital bed. After nearly dying in a fire."
"Yeah, well," I shrug, enjoying the way his jaw tightens with irritation. "It's pretty easy to get anyone's info in small towns. Especially when you're constantly flaunting your presence like a peacock in mating season."
He scoffs, already turning toward the door. "If that's the only reason you called me, then don't waste my time. I have better things to do than?—"
"You're the one who told Marnay where Rafe's ranch was, weren't you?"
The words stop him mid-step. His shoulders tense, just slightly, but he doesn't turn around immediately. When he does, his expression is carefully neutral—the poker face of someone who's been caught but isn't ready to fold.
"He asked for the information when he was in town," Luca says with a casual shrug that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Easy enough to provide. Public records and all that."
"Right," I agree, letting the word draw out. "Which means he wanted to do business. And I guess it didn't go well since you pulled away and didn't pursue whatever deal you two were cooking up."
His silence speaks volumes. I can see him calculating, trying to figure out how much I know versus how much I'm guessing.
