Page 54 of A Bond Beyond Blood

“Vinny,” I gasped.

With a grimace, he ran his hand over my hair, cradling the crown of my head.“I think you need to see a doctor.”

My eyes flew open—I hadn’t even realized they’d been closed.“I don’t want to go through all that...what would I even tell them at the hospital?”

“I can call someone,” he suggested.“Have him come to us?There’s a guy that works out at my gym; he tends to some of the guys when they get too beat up in the cage.He won’t ask questions.”

“Okay.”I closed my eyes again as sleep threatened to pull me under.

“Hey,” he murmured, “be a good girl and stay awake for me, okay?Just a little while longer.”

I opened my eyes and Vinny smiled.

“I want to check your tailbone.”He tugged at the waistband of my jeans.“Can you help me get you out of these?”

I smirked, struggling to come up with a joke about getting me naked even though I knew there had to be one in there somewhere, then I just gave up and nodded.Vinny worked the button fly of my jeans, then began to tug them down.I winced and he froze, frowning as he met my gaze.“I’ll go slower.”

“It’s okay, just get them off.”

Vinny’s eyes twinkled with amusement, finding humor even when I couldn’t deliver a joke, but he focused on his task and moved swiftly, removing my jeans so quickly I barely registered the motion.He placed one hand beneath my thigh and the other under my shoulder.“Let’s roll you over.”

I braced for the pain and he rolled me onto my left side, then cursed under his breath.“I’m going to kill him.”

He said this as if he hadn’t justkneeledin front of Eli.

Twice now.

“I didn’t think there were kings in your world,” I said, thinking back to his earlier words.“Not anymore.You said I staked a king, and that he was born, which means...”My words trailed off as another sharp wave of pain stole my breath.

“You did stake a king, and we still have royals all over the world, they just haven’t been present here since Eli’s disappearing act.And the media doesn’t want you to know about the others, so that information has been meticulously scarce for some time now.”After a moment, he added quietly, “But I can explain more when you’re feeling up to it.”

I nodded, and he added, “It’s your world, too, sweet girl.We exist together now, remember?”

I tried to smile, but my lips cracked at the slight motion.

Vinny gingerly ran his thumb across my swollen cheek.“I should kill him for the simple fact that I can’t kiss you like I want to.”

The possessive growl in his voice tightened my belly, but I was too weak for anything more than just lying here.

I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, only on breathing, pushing aside the endless array of questions I had for Vinny until I could gather my thoughts and keep my eyes open longer than three minutes at a time.

Vinny supported me on my side with his left hand, then ran his right hand downward, over the curve of my hip, around the fullness of my cheek—

“You can’t even help yourself, can you?”

He chuckled as he moved his hand to my tailbone.“Guilty as charged.It really is a perfect ass.Ready?”

I took a deep breath and held it, then nodded, and Vinny pressed the area gently—

I cried out as the pressure triggered a fresh wave of torment.

“I’m calling a doctor.”

“Okay,” I agreed through clenched teeth as he propped a pillow behind me.

He bent over me and pressed a kiss to my temple as he positioned another pillow between my arms, propping me up on my left side.

“Don’t leave me,” I whispered.

---