16. Heidi

I’m still groggy when Trick takes me back to the house. The pills the doc left for me aren’t as good as the morphine he’d injected me with, but they’re still strong enough to make me drowsy. I can barely keep my eyes open during the car ride back. Neither can Sophia, who is slumped in her car seat, snoring softly. It’s been an exhausting time for her as well.

When the car stops, Trick climbs out. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a second.”

He unhooks the car seat and takes it inside while I wait with Bobby. The prospect glances in the rearview mirror at me before averting his attention to the windscreen.

“Bobby?”

“Yeah?”

“Keep your wits about you,” I say. “Prospects have a habit of…” Dying horribly. I wince. “Just… be careful, yeah?”

He meets my gaze in the mirror. “I will.”

Trick steps back out of the house empty-handed and comes to the back door of the car. He leans down and tries to lift me out.

“I can walk,” I tell him.

“I know you can,” he says, “but you’re not gonna.”

He scoops me into his arms, and I cling to his neck as he stands. “I’m gonna take care of you,” he assures me.

“I know.”

I close my eyes as he takes me inside, and when I’m lowered onto something soft, I prise my lids apart, expecting to be in my room.

I’m not.

Trick’s room is comfortable, but it’s clear it was decorated by Mara and not him. The soft hues and furnishings are covered in his things, and the bed isn’t made, as if he just rolled out of it.

“This isn’t my room,” I say, trying to sit up.

“I don’t want you alone. Not after what happened.”

I’m grateful. I don’t want to be alone either. “I’m tired,” I mumble, my eyes heavy.

“Sleep. I’ll be here.”

I don’t fight it. Snuggling into his blankets, I close my eyes and give in to the pull of sleep.

When I wake again, I’m surrounded by warmth. The duvet envelops me, but it’s not that which has my instant attention. It’s the heated body pressed up against my uninjured side.

Trick.

His eyes are closed, and the black smudges beneath hurt my heart. When was the last time he slept properly?

I turn to face him, my side hurting a little at the movement, but the medication I’m taking means the pain is dull rather than fierce.

Our faces are inches apart, and I take the opportunity to scan every inch of his. Long, dark lashes frame his eyes, and there’s a little scar on his right temple. I wonder how he got that.

I don’t know how long I lie there, just watching him sleep, but eventually, his eyes flutter and open. Unfocused for a moment, they eventually pin me, and I get lost in him.

He may be tired, but the pain and demons that had been in his eyes are no longer as prominent, and now, I see hints of the old Trick.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey.”

“You feeling okay?” His fingers trail over my cheek, and I lean into his touch, craving everything he wants to offer.

I didn’t think I had any place in this club, not anymore, but now, I see this is exactly where I belong.

“I’m okay.” His gaze is softer than I’ve ever seen, and it brings a lump to my throat.

That kiss in the cemetery awakened something between us that had been simmering beneath the surface. I want to kiss him again, to drown in the need I have for him, but I’m scared to move.

“Your face says otherwise,” he remarks.

“I was just… we kissed,” I say, addressing the elephant in the room. “I mean, I kissed you and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

His expression is amused and I’m not sure why. “You didn’t want to kiss me?”

“No. I mean, yeah. I wanted to.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Did you mind?”

“Babe, you’re in my bed. Does it look like I mind?”

It’s a good point, but things aren’t exactly that straightforward. “People are gonna talk.”

“About us?” I close my eyes. “Heidi, look at me. I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. The only person I do care about is you.”

“They already think I want to steal your child. Can you imagine what they’ll think if we’re fucking?”

“Let them think whatever the fuck they want. It’s not their business.”

“I know, but?—”

He closes the gap between us, his mouth finding mine and silencing whatever argument I planned on making. It suddenly doesn’t seem that important anyway, especially when his tongue slides along the seam of my lips.

My heart flutters in my chest as his fingers thread through my hair. Every touch is reverent and needy, and my body is on fire as my pussy cries out for relief.

I almost scream when he pulls back from me, his forehead resting against mine. “Why did you stop?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

As sweet as that is, the deep ache inside me needs relief. “You won’t.” I pull him back into me, kissing him again.

This time, our mouths are unhurried as we explore each other. My fingers trail over the hard muscles of his chest and down between his legs. He grunts, jolting beneath my hand. Feeling bold, I rub him hard, and his cock stiffens with each movement.

“Fuck,” he rasps as his fingers find my pussy underneath the T-shirt I’m wearing.

“Trick…” I gasp his name, arching my body towards him to increase the pressure.

My side aches, but I ignore it, focusing on the swirling pleasure growing inside me. This is probably a bad idea considering I’m held together with nothing more than sutures, but I’m chasing the orgasm he’s building me up to.

He slips two fingers inside me as the pad of another moves over my clit. I twitch, desperate need chasing his touch.

I go over the edge, my breath lodged in my chest as my throat tightens so much, all I manage is a strangled gasp. Stars collide behind my eyes as dizziness rolls through me.

Fuck.As my orgasm pulses through me, Trick cups my breast. I whimper as he finds my nipple, rolling it between his fingers.

My back arches and I see stars again, this time not in pleasure. Pain ripples through my side, stealing my breath, and he instantly removes his hands.

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, holding my side and gasping.

“No, it’s not. This was a fucking stupid idea.”

He kisses me softly, letting me know he means fucking while I’m injured is a stupid idea, not fucking full stop.

His fingers trail over the column of my throat, raising goosebumps across my skin. It’s very distracting, and I don’t want him to stop doing it.

His eyes don’t move from mine as we lie facing each other, our mouths only inches apart.

“When I’m with you, I breathe easier,” he admits.

“Me too.”

“I don’t know what that means, Heidi, but I like how it feels and I don’t want to give that up. You ground me. You make me believe I can be better.” His mouth moves to the shell of my ear, his hot breath making me shiver with anticipation. “You saved my life, Heidi.”

I’ve never been anyone’s hero, but I can’t focus on that because his nose buries into my neck before he trails kisses along the column of my throat. Each touch of his lips sets my skin on fire, and my heavy body relaxes against him, letting him take what he needs.

Eventually, he pulls back, though it seems as if it takes monumental effort. I want his mouth back on mine, but he presses his forehead to the side of my temple, his hands holding me in place. “As much as I want to have you, I can’t. Not when you’re hurt.”

“I’m okay,” I assure him, even though my words are pushed out through gritted teeth.

“My stubborn girl,” he says and, boy, does that awaken some kind of carnal need within me. If I wasn’t held together with stitches, I’d mount him like a fucking horse. “You need to rest. I could’ve lost you today.” He closes his eyes, and my stomach knots at his distress. “When I saw the blood, I was terrified, Heidi. I thought history was about to repeat itself.”

I grip his face, and his eyes open. “I’m still here.”

“I know I’m fucked-up, Heidi. I know it’s unfair for me to make you my crutch in this, but I’m not a fair man, and I’m not a good one either.”

He’s wrong about that. “You are a good man, and I’m just as fucked-up as you are.”

“If I was, I’d let you go, but I won’t and I can’t. If you ever leave, I’ll find you and bring you back.”

His words shouldn’t send a thrill through me, but I’ve always been attracted to men who know what they want and take it. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not going anywhere,” I assure him.

I lean my head on his chest, listening to his steady breaths. I miss intimacy, being taken care of and having someone to take care of. I close my eyes and drift off. And for the first time in a long time, my dreams are happy.