Page 51 of Ruthless Keeper
“Oh, baby,” Monster says softly. “The meds wore off?” he wraps an arm around my waist and draws me into him, carefully avoiding my bad arm. “I thought it was only second-degree?”
“Most of it—” my words are cut off with a sob. “Most of it is, but right in the middle… third-degree.”
“Fuck.” Monster picks me up in his arms. “Sorry, Flower, but we’re going back to medical. Looks like the incompetent doctors neglected to give me the full scope of the situation… and didn’t give me anyfucking medsfor you.” He sounds personally aggrieved, as if he was the one who got hurt.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to breathe through the pain, but it’s impossible. It doesn’t abate or soften, and I don’t grow used to it; it just keeps becoming more and more intense, until I’m afraid I’ll vomit.
I hear the sound of a door opening, and then an aggrievedmeow. “Not you, demon,” Monster mutters. “You can stay here—don’t claw my fucking couch!”
“Please let him come,” I whisper. “He… he helps. He knows how to help when I’m in pain.” Granted, it’s usuallyemotionalpain that Luci helps me through, but his presence is an automatic comfort.
Monster sighs. “Alright. Just breathe, Scarlett. We’ll get you the good shit in a minute.”
The trip down to the second-floor medical wing feels like it takes an eternity rather than mere minutes. By the time we get there, I’m close to heaving. Thank God I haven’t eaten anything since this morning…
“Get me Rossright now,” Monster’s voice booms out.
“He’s sleeping,” someone answers quickly. I hear footsteps, and then, there’s a touch on my shoulder. I shrink back into Monster’s chest. I don’t feel like a human right now; I feel like an animal who’s been hit by a car and is lying in a dying heap on the side of the road. “I can take care of her.”
“Get me whatever will make her pain go away immediately, and wake Ross up. I don’t give ashitif he’s sleeping.”
Movement follows, and then I’m being lowered onto a hospital bed. I instinctually clutch onto Monster’s shirt. Ineedcontact and support right now, even if it’s coming from the cruelest person in my life. The agony is too much. I can take on a lot on my own, but this… this is really pushing my limits.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he says soothingly. He presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m right here, Flower. It’ll get better soon, I swear.”
“4mg of morphine,” the doctor says. “Sorry, sweetheart, it’s going to be a prick.” He rubs something cold and wet over my shoulder, right above the burn, and the touch somehow exasperates my pain. I let out a yelp when I feel a needle sink into my skin, and then coolliquid disperses through my veins. “You’ll feel it in a minute. Take nice, long deep breaths.”
“Go fuck yourself,” I wheeze. I might feel like I’m dying, but I don’t appreciate his patronizing tone—or his assumption that I haveanycontrol over my body and breathing.
Monster chuckles. A brush of fur along my leg tells me that Luci’s joined me on the bed. I manage to pry my eyes open… and that’s when I realize I’m still fisting Monster’s shirt as if it’s a lifeline. I release him abruptly, then release a cry when the sharp movement ignites a new round of pain.
“Alright,” Monster says, rounding the bed and taking a seat on the bed beside me. “It’s okay, Scarlett. You’re alright. I’ve got you.” He wraps an arm around my waist again, and this time, I let him. Worse, I burrow into him again, much to the confusion of Luci—who looks between the two of us like he can’t decide whether Monster’s an enemy or a friend.
Right now, I’m not sure which he is, either. When I’m better, he’ll go straight back to being an enemy… but in this moment, I need him. As much as Ihateto admit it… I need him.
As the seconds trickle by, melting into minutes, the pain does start to abate. It flees in slow waves, until I’m back to only feeling an uncomfortable but bearable throb over the burn.Thank God.
The world grows a bit fuzzy around the edges, and a pleasant lightness takes place in my chest. I grimace at the manufactured sensation. I know it’s not real, but even so… it’s nice not to feel temporarily crushed beneath the weight of my circumstances. I relax into Monster with a sigh.
“Better?” he asks quietly.
“Better,” I murmur sleepily. “That really sucked.”
“I'm sorry I wasn’t there,” he murmurs. “My meeting… ran long.” I look up at him, then cringe when I see a blooming bruise on the side of his jaw.Damn,it looks painful. There’s blood on his shirt—not his, I don’t think—and a tear at his collar.
“What happened?” I ask.
His jaw tightens. “We’ll talk about it later, Flower.”
I open my lips to ask,demandmore information… only to seal them closed once again. I don’t have the standing to ask questions; I’m the one who’s usually forced through torturous sexual means to answer them.
Monster sighs when Luci crawls up my legs and settles himself on my lap, resting his head on my chest. I think he’s listening to my heartbeat—he does that sometimes. He’s done it ever since he was a starving, half-alive kitten. I’m pretty sure he imprinted on me.
“I think he might be warming up to me,” Monster comments. As if my cat can understand him, Luci lifts his head, throws Greyson a cursory hiss, and then lowers his head once again. “Never mind,” Monster adds on with a chuckle. He tilts his head to the side. “Does he only hate me, or is it everyone?”
“Mostly everyone,” I reply, scratching Luci behind his ears. He lets out a purr of contentment and snuggles closer to me, eyes blinking shut. “He was in bad shape when I found him, and I think he was abused by a man, so he has an extra special hatred for men.”
“He seems to like Max,” Monster replies, something sharp in his tone. My stomach twists as I glance at him.
