Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
I exhale a breath I had been holding. “And how long will this report take?”
“Normally, at least several days,” Ingels replies. “But since your case is of the highest priority, our neuropathologist will work through the night, and we’ll have the answers by morning.”
They’d fucking better, given the high-seven-figure “donation” I’ve made to the clinic on top of their already-exorbitant fees.
I look at Alina, who’s still sedated, her head thickly bandaged, and my chest tightens again. “When will she awaken?”
“Within the next twenty minutes or so,” Fasseau says. “Our anesthesiologist used slightly stronger sedation at the end, just in case there were any complications as we were wrapping up. Luckily, there weren’t.”
Luckily indeed. If anything had gone wrong, he and his colleagues wouldn’t have walked away alive.
I find Alina’s limp hand under the blanket and squeeze it gently. Her long fingers are so thin, so fragile in my hold.
The need to protect her, to keep her from all pain and hurt, is overwhelming, and the knowledge that I can’t is like a festering boil inside me. Watching her on that operating table today, being forced to stay still and silent as they drilled into her skull… I’m still not sure how I survived that. Or how I will be able to bear watching her suffer through the chemo and radiation.
But I will. Because she needs me, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.
Although… maybe she did sort of admit it this morning. I overheard only portions of her conversation with her brothers, but it was obvious that they wanted to take her away and she refused.
It’s possible she’s just trying to avoid bloodshed, but I’m hopeful that it’s more than that. That she’s beginning to see what I’ve always known: that we belong together.
The doctors leave, and I carefully perch on the edge of the bed and bring her hand to my lips, brushing a kiss over her knuckles. As I do so, I notice that the red polish on her nails is chipped—the first time I’m seeing her nails less than perfect in recent years.
Strangely, I like it. More than like it—I prefer it. Just like I prefer the way her face looks without any makeup, her porcelain skin baby soft, her lips naturally full and rosy, slightly parted to reveal that adorable tiny gap between her teeth. Even the heavy bandage on her head doesn’t take away from the stunning symmetry of her features, the delicate beauty of which is only enhanced by the super-short buzzcut they gave her.
It was all I could do to stop with a kiss in that bathroom.
Fuck, even now I want her.
I take a deep breath and remind myself that she’s sick, and that it’ll be a long time before she recovers enough to handle the raw need pulsing through my veins and stiffening my cock.
No matter how much I crave her, I will restrain myself for the foreseeable future.
I’d never want to hurt her in any way.
Chapter 13
Alina
I wake up with a headache, which is normal for me these days. Except… my head is sore too. On the outside.
Confused, I bring my hand to my head, and as my fingers brush over the thick bandage on my skull, the memories rush in.
Bright lights blinding me.
People in surgical gowns and masks hovering over me, telling me to do this and say that.
No pain but a terrifying awareness that they’re cutting into my head as they bend over me with their surgical instruments.
Holy fuck. I survived an awake brain surgery.
It’s done, and I’m alive.
And… feeling largely like myself.
I open my eyes to see Alexei bending over me.
His dark gaze is intensely concerned. “How are you doing?” he asks, tenderly stroking my arm. “Are you in any pain?”
I moisten my dry lips. “Not really. Just a little sore. Could I… have some water?”
He’s already handing me a cup with a straw.
I greedily suck down a few sips. “So how did it go? Did they get it all?” I know that’s unlikely, but what if—
“We’re still waiting for the pathology results,” he informs me, taking back the cup I hand to him. “Hopefully, we’ll have them by—”
The door opens, and Ingels walks in. “You’re awake. Good.” He approaches the monitors and checks everything, then takes my vitals before saying, “Everything’s looking good. How are you feeling?”
“Surprisingly okay,” I tell him, and he smiles widely.
“That’s our goal. As the sedation wears off, you may feel some soreness and discomfort, along with continued headaches. That’s absolutely normal and expected. If it gets to be too much, you can press this button”—he hands me a remote-like device attached to a small screen with lots of buttons—“and the PCA pump will dispense more pain medication. And, of course, don’t hesitate to let us know if anything is bothering you. Our team will do whatever we can to make you comfortable.”