Page 116 of Born into Mayhem
I look into his dark eyes, trying to find even a small hint of regret in there, but there isn’t any. He doesn’t look like he’s made a choice that he’s already regretting. He looks at peace with it, and I’m so touched that he would do this for me that all I can do is wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer.
“Thank you,” I whisper against his neck.
“You don’t need to thank me. I told you I would do anything for you, and I meant it.” I feel him grin against my cheek before he says, “Plus, I really want to come inside you, and this means I’ll be able to whenever and however I want.”
“But you had so much fun going through all those condoms,” I say.
He huffs out a laugh against my skin. “I’m neverwearing one of those damn things again. Nothing between us,amore. Just you and me.”
I close my eyes and hug him tighter, because that sounds pretty damn perfect to me.
The next three days are a lesson in patience, and I’m not a very good student. Dario watches over me like a mother hen. I swear he’d nearly had a heart attack the first time I was allowed out of bed to use the bathroom. I’m determined to get better as fast as possible, and he’s determined to keep me in bed resting. I’m slowly learning my limits, and he’s slowly learning to trust me to not push things too far. We’re a work in progress, but I’m confident we’ll get there.
By the time I’m released from the hospital, I have a ton of instructions from the doctor and nurses, and it looks like I won’t get to do anything fun for eight weeks. I have no idea how I’m going to survive it.
“Relax,amore,” Dario says as he drives me back to his family’s house. “I’ll keep you entertained.”
“How?” I mutter, trying really hard to not sound pouty. “I can’t train, I can’t swim, and for god’s sake, we can’t even have sex.”
“Don’t forget that you can’t even orgasm for at least four weeks.” He looks over and gives me a warning look because he knows me well enough to know I need one. “I’m serious, Mia. Your abdominal muscles will tense if you come, and it could tear your internal stitches. You will not be having an orgasm until you’re fully healed.”
“Orgasms are healing,” I tell him.
“Not for you they’re not, at least not right now. There was too much damage,amore.” He lifts my hand to kiss it while he drives. “I swear I’ll make it up to you as soon as your body can handle it, and I won’t come until you can.”
“I’m not that cruel,” I tell him. “There’s no reason why we should both be miserable.”
“Oh thank god,” he says, giving an exaggerated sigh of relief.
I laugh and then wince, which just makes him feel bad.
“I’m kidding,piccola vipera. I’m waiting as long as you have to. It’s only fair.”
“It’ll be a miracle if we both survive it,” I mutter while I stare out the window. The scenery is just as beautiful as I remember it, and if I have to endure two months of forced downtime, I can’t think of a prettier place to do it in.
“It’ll be an adventure,” he says, and I can’t help but smile at his determination to stay upbeat. I was right to call himsolntse moyo,because he’s sure being sunny as shit right now.
“We’ll see if you’re still saying that a month from now,” I tell him.
He laughs and kisses my hand again before setting it on his lap. “I’ll be fine,amore. As long as I have you, I can handle anything.”
“I think you’re just grateful for the break because your balls are still sore.”
“They are, yeah,” he admits with a grin. “We could both use some recovery time.”
Everyone is waiting for us at the house, and when Dario insists on carrying me up the stairs and I see what my mom and Nat have done to our room, I look over his shoulder and grin at them. The bed is piled high with extra pillows so I can sit comfortably instead of having to lie down, the TV remote is on the nightstand next to a pile of books, and when I see my favorite knife sitting there, I know Sasha’s been in here, too.
“Thank you,” I tell them as Dario puts me in bed. He takes my shoes off, and I force myself to let him. Being a patient doesn’t come natural to me, but every slight move I make reminds me that I’m at the very beginning of this healing process, and there’s no rushing it. I’m not going to find a shortcut that magically heals my insides. The cut was deep, and it wasn’t a small knife. Nothing is going to heal this but time, and the more I fight it, the longer it’s going to take.
“We promise we won’t hover,” Nat says as she hovers over me, tucking in the blankets around me like I’m one of her kids.
I raise a brow at her and she laughs while our mom says, “We won’t hover too much, or at least we’ll try not to.”
My dad walks in carrying a tray of food and several bottles of water. “In case you get hungry or thirsty,” he says and then puts it on the bed next to me.
“Where’s Isabella and Enzo?” I ask, looking around for my niece and nephew.
I see the worry that passes across Nat’s face before she turns her head to try and cover it. “They’re with Dom.”
