by Erin Osborne
“She lost it when she realized we were carryin’ you in here. That you were hurt,” he informs me. “You better take care of her, man.”
“I will,” I choke out, my voice sounding harsh as my throat kills simply from those two words.
Imogen begins to stir. Her head whips up as he eyes dart to me. More tears spill over her eyelids as she lets her gaze roam my body. They land on my chest as a sob chokes her. Lifting my hand now that she’s not laying on it, I run my hand over her cheek. Her skin so soft under my own hard skin. I capture her tears on my fingers as she brings her eyes back up to my own.
“Do you need anything?” her soft voice questions me as she leans into my touch.
“I got everything I need right here,” I respond, running my knuckles against her skin once more.
Rosa comes walking up with a bottle of water in her hand. She takes off the lid and places a straw in it for me to take a few sips. The cool water is refreshing and calms down the raging ache in my throat. Now I feel as though I’ll be able to talk a little better than the two words I muttered to Tommaso a few minutes ago.
“How long have I been out of it?” I question Tommaso and Imogen.
“Three days. Everyone else is gone back to work. Well, cleanin’ up from the storm. It was bad. Imogen has been down here with you the entire time, watchin’ over you. Rosa and I have been upstairs. I’ve helped the guys get the generator goin’ and cleanin’ up the yard,” Tommaso informs me.
I nod my head, turning my gaze back to Imogen. She looks exhausted with her swollen eyes rimmed in black from the lack of sleep. Her hair is knotted now that I look at her closely. Imogen’s normally tanned skin is now pale from lack of sleep and whatever else has been going on while I’ve been out of it. Still, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life. Always will be.
“Do I have to stay down here now that I’m up?” I question them, wanting Imogen to get back upstairs and comfortable.
“No. I’m gonna help you upstairs and get you in the bedroom on the first floor. Doc is comin’ in now that the roads are clear and things have slowed down,” Tommaso states pulling his phone from his pocket.
He talks for a minute before hanging up and pushing it back in his pocket. Rosa messes around making sure the IV is taken out of my arm and I’m comfortable. She holds out pills in her hand. I look up at her with questioning eyes.
“It’s just antibiotics,” she tells me, holding them out in one hand with the bottle of water back in the other. “We need to make sure you don’t get an infection in that wound of yours.”
I nod my head and take the pills from her hand. Swallowing them down with another few sips of water, I hand the bottle back before the thud of footsteps echo down the stairs in the basement. One of the men guarding the house appears in the doorway. Tommaso leans down and whispers something to Imogen. She stands up and moves out of the way. I notice she doesn’t go very far though. Instead, she simply moves to the end of the bed I’m currently laying in.
Tommaso and the man carefully lift me up from the bed. They support me up the stairs and take me to a room downstairs. It’s across the room from Rosa in case I need anything in the middle of the night. She’ll be close by and help me out as much as she can. I wouldn’t be getting this treatment back home. Yeah, Liam and Henry would be there for me. They would make sure I’m not in pain and help me move from one area to the next. However, between Imogen and Rosa, I believe I’ll be well taken care of.
Imogen follows us into the room. My bags are sitting at the end of the bed. Someone packed my belongings from the room upstairs and brought them in here for me. I also notice Imogen’s bags sitting next to mine. Tilting my head, I look back at her, pain ripping through my body as the skin and muscles stretch tight. She offers me up a small smile as her cheeks tinge pink. It’s a good look for her; reminds me of how innocent she truly is.
“Why are your things in here?” I question her, as the guys help me get in bed.
Rosa and Imogen each take a side of the bed after Tommaso and the other guy leave the bedside. They pull the blankets up against me and Imogen arranges the pillows to ensure I’m comfortable. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever had anyone fuss over me. Especially a woman. Rosa, I expect this from her because it’s just the kind of woman she is; motherly, loving, and caring about anyone she knows. Imogen, this is an unexpected surprise from her. One I didn’t expect with her disdain and hatred for me.
Tommaso, Rosa, and the other guy leave the room, closing the door behind them. I’m left with Imogen as she begins to move around the room. I watch on as she begins to unpack my things, putting them in the dresser and hanging up my suits in the closet. She moves with the grace of a ballerina. Once my bags are finished, she begins to unpack her own belongings. Her clothes go in the dresser next to my own and her dresses and nice clothes hang in the closet with my own. This is what our home would look like if we were living together. I want this more than anything in the world.
I’m not sure if it’s the whole being shot thing or if I’m simply tired of waiting. Imogen will be mine. Before I wasn’t entirely sure she’d be on board with us being together. However, hearing that she lost her shit when I was brought in and the knowledge she hasn’t left my side since, I think she’ll be more than happy with this. If not, she wouldn’t have changed her room to be down here with me.
“You never answered me,” I say, as Imogen takes a seat on the couch against the wall by my bed.
“About what?” she questions, turning her gaze on me.
“Why you moved down here with me? Rosa’s right across the hall if I need anything,” I state, not backing down from looking at her.
“I wanted to be close. Rosa shouldn’t be the only one responsible for taking care of you. She has enough to do around the house,” she answers, that blush creeping up her skin once again.
“I see. Why did you stay down in the basement with me when you didn’t have to?” I question her, not wanting her to hide away in her shell.
“You shouldn’t be alone. If you woke up and no one was there, I wanted to make sure we would know,” she responds, her cheeks and neck getting even redder at her admission.
“Rosa or even Tommaso could’ve done that. It wasn’t up to you to stay down here with me. Or lay against my bed in that uncomfortable as hell chair. It doesn’t look like you slept enough, Imogen,” I tell her honestly, placing my hand out against the bed so she knows I want her to sit with me. “I remembered everything when I woke up today. Including the last thing I saw before being sucked down into a pain free abyss. That list image in my head was of you, smiling with love and happiness shining in your eyes.”
For several minutes, we sit in silence as Imogen sits on the bed with me. She keeps her eyes averted, looking all around the room except for me. I’ll give her a few minutes to process what I’ve told her. Hell, I needed a few minutes when I realized it myself. Imogen is the last thing I expected in my life to turn everything upside down and make me want things I never wanted in the past. A woman of my very own, maybe children down the road, and someone to help me make a home. Just not in the monstrosity I own back in Australia.
“Imogen, I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few days. Weeks if I’m being completely honest with myself and you. It’s no secret I never wanted to have one woman in my life, a wife, kids, anything to tie me down. Not because I don’t believe in love or anything, I see it with Liam and his wife. Henry and his girlfriend. I never wanted it because I’ll never put my wife and children in harms way. That’s all there is in my life. You know enough about me to understand that. However, if I could have any woman in the world, I’d want her to be you. No one but you, Imogen.”
Imogen lifts her head and looks directly in my eyes. She’s looking for the truth in my words as I give her what she wants. I’m not lying to her about what I now know I don’t only want, but need, in my life. She’s the only one I want to carry my babies and live beside me in a
home. Imogen is the only one who will bring light to my darkness and give me peace when I need it. She’ll help me shoulder all the bad while I give her all the good in the world.
“I know you hate me,” I tell her. “I’m not sure you’ll ever be on board with what I do for a living. However, I want you to know none of my money is blood money. I don’t get off on hurting or killing anyone. Henry and Liam know it’s a last resort when someone thinks they can hurt my family, me, or take money out of my pocket. If I don’t assert myself and make an example out of those people, people will think I’m weak. They’ll kill me, or try to hurt those I love.”
“Flynn, I don’t hate you anymore. I have for a while. See, you’ve been giving me a glimpse of the man you are when you don’t have to prove how strong and indestructible you are. I like the man who watches the sunrise with me, who has eaten breakfast with me just because he wants to, the man who makes me laugh, and who doesn’t make me feel stupid for reading instead of wanting to be surrounded by a mass of people,” she tells me, our eyes locked on one another. “a man who would stand up for me to my own father because he made me upset. Yes, I know you did without you saying a word. That’s just the kind of man you are. There are things you don’t know about me. Things that may make you change your mind.”
“Nothing you ever tell me would make me change my mind about you,” I assure her, reaching out to grab her hand and lend her the strength I sense she needs from me.
“I don’t have a lot of friends. I think I can count my close ones on one hand and still have some left over. While I have a degree in business, I’ve never used it. The plan was always to get my degree and then work at the restaurant. Take the pressure off of my parents so they could begin to retire and let me take the reins over from them. My idea of a good time is sitting at home or on the beach with a good book. And the thing I know is gonna make you run for the hills as soon as your better is hearing that I’m a virgin at the age of twenty-one,” she informs me, finally turning her gaze away from my own in embarrassment.
The color was fading from Imogen’s face and neck, not it’s back and worse than before. It creeps up her face, covering her in a deep shade of red. From her chin, the color goes down her neck into the V-neck top of her shirt. My mind instantly turns to needing to know how far down the blush goes down. I want to know what her body looks like when she gets turned on and to see a flush coat her skin as she finally comes apart under my hands, from my mouth, and as I slide my cock in and out of her.
“That’s not gonna scare me away. If anything, it makes me want you more. I’ll be the only man you ever know, Imogen. Once I taste you, it’s never going to be enough. That one kiss we shared isn’t enough. I want you more knowing I’ll be able to learn with you as you discover what you like and what you don’t. I’ll teach you what I like too. Together, we’ll come together as one and it will be amazing,” I assure her, caressing my hand up and down her arm, feeling the smooth skin under my touch.
Goosebumps pepper her skin as I continue to run my hand up and down her arm. I love the reaction I get from her based on a simple touch. There is a fire just waiting to be lit inside of her and I’ll be the one to light it. No one else will ever know what she tastes like, how she sounds when she comes apart in my arms, or how her body flushes when she flies over the edge. I’ll never let her go.
“Flynn, this can never work,” she tells me. “You’re in the underworld while I don’t know how to act around a lot of people. What happens when you have to go to a party? I’ll be a nervous wreck and will mess up. I’ll make you look stupid.”
“It can and will work. You won’t ever make me look stupid,” I tell her. “If we go to a party, I’ll be by your side the entire time. Most of the people I associate with are down to Earth and won’t make you feel some type of way. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I don’t know, Flynn. We’ll have to ease into anything,” she says, looking up at me with hesitant eyes.
Carefully, I reach out and pull her body into mine. She makes sure not to hit any area of my body close to the wound. I hurt like hell, but I’d give anything to have in her in my arms. So, for a few minutes, we simply sit together, with me holding her, until there’s a knock on the door. The doctor pokes his head in after opening it. Imogen pulls away, but I don’t let her get too far away from me. I lock my hand in hers, so she’ll remain on the bed.
The doctor pokes and prods me, carefully examining the wound and Rosa’s handiwork. After assuring me there’s no infection and giving me some pills for the pain, he places my arm in a sling to ensure there’s as little movement to that side of my body as possible for the time being. Imogen hangs on his every word while the doctor is talking to me. She’ll make sure nothing else happens to me as the wound continues to heal.
When the doctor is done, he hands the pills over to Imogen and tells her to make sure I finish all of the antibiotics as well. While there isn’t an infection now, he wants to be extra careful and to prevent anything from happening. Imogen lays down with me once he’s gone and we talk about our lives late into the night. We talk until she can’t keep her eyes open any longer. Together, we fall asleep in the bed with her wrapped around her. It hurts like hell, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Chapter Sixteen
Imogen
FLYNN WAKING UP is the best thing in the world. I’m so happy he’s safe and going to be alright given enough time to heal. While I’m happy he’s going to be okay, there’s a lot of other things I have to process. Decisions need to be made and we both need to think about what we want long-term. It’s not going to be easy at all to jump directly into a relationship. Not like Flynn thinks it will.
He did shock me when I told him I was a virgin. I figured that would be the nail in the coffin of anything he saw for us. Yes, I’ve thought a lot about him and what I want from him. In the beginning, I thought I could just have sex with him and move on. Much like what he’s done most of his life. We talked about it the other night when everything came out in the open. I understand where he’s coming, but I’m not sure he gets where I am. After explaining how I wanted to use him for sex, to lose my virginity, he barked out a laugh. To Flynn, it was funny I was going to use him for his body when he would’ve given it to me.
Now, it’s been almost a week since Flynn woke up and he’s turning into a grizzly bear. He wants to be out working and getting things done. Instead, he’s stuck at the house with nothing to do. The doctor came back and told him he can’t go back to work for at least another month. Maybe sooner if he cooperates and doesn’t get stubborn trying to do too much before he can.
Rosa won’t even go near him. If he enters a room, she quickly disappears to some other part of the house. I have to hide my laughter when this happens because even Tommaso won’t come to the house anymore. I fully expect Sal to come over and plant a boot in his ass sooner or later. I can’t even get through to him right now.
I walk into the kitchen to find Rosa getting our lunch around. Looking past her to the patio, Flynn is sitting in a lounge chair staring off into space. Knowing Rosa won’t go out there with his food, I pick up both plates and head to the table closest to him. He doesn’t spare me a glance as I set the plates down before heading to grab our drinks. Rosa meets me halfway with a smile on her face. She knows today I’m going to talk to Flynn about his attitude.
Turning once again to the table, I set the drinks on the table. Walking over to Flynn, I sit on the edge of his lounge chair. He doesn’t even look in my direction. I clear my throat and nothing. This is not gonna work for me. If he truly wants to be with me, he needs to be able to talk to me about things. The same I’ll have to do with him.
“Flynn, we can’t keep going on like this. I know you want to be working and not stuck at the house, that’s just not possible right now. You told me you want to be with me, for us to be partners in every aspect of our lives together. That won’t happen if you sit here and don’t acknowledge when I�
�m around you,” I tell him, finally getting him to look at me. “I can’t handle this silent, moping Flynn causing all of us to walk around on eggshells.”
“I’m sorry,” he says after a minute. “I’ve never been good at sitting back and watching from the sidelines. Now, I have no choice but to sit back and wait for the day I can get back out there with Tommaso. This is my mess and they’re left to clean it up. I’m not used to having other people clean up my shit.”
“I know that, Flynn. If I could trade places with you, I would,” I tell him, placing my hand on his leg.
“Never let that happen,” he growls out at me. “No one is ever going to hurt you if I can help it. I’ll trade my life for yours in a heartbeat with no hesitation.”
“I don’t want that to happen either,” I tell him, pain ripping through me at the thought of him being hurt because he’s trying to protect me. “Now, let’s eat lunch so we can go inside and watch a movie together.”
We’ve been in the room we now share for a few hours. Tommaso brought in a TV a few days ago with a DVD player and several stacks of movies. So far, we’ve watched two action movies. Not surprising since they’re from Tommaso’s personal collection. He definitely strikes me as an action or horror kind of guy.
I’m lying right next to Flynn. My head is on his lower stomach with his good hand tangling in my hair. He slides his fingers through my hair, brushing the tips of his fingers along the skin on my back. Every now and then, I tremble under his touch; so sensitive and soft. Honestly, he’s driving me absolutely crazy as hell. Every single day I want him more. Flynn hasn’t made a move to do more than kiss and run his hands over my body. He lets me touch his chest, face, and arms, nothing more.