have done anything to numb the pain. Sad, but true.
Niko shifts uncomfortably at the door, battling with the impulse to let his crystal blue eyes find my naked skin. “I thought you’d want to know…Morgan is stirring. She’ll want to see you when she wakes up.”
“Thank you, Niko,” I respond, looking up at a stone-faced Dorian. “We’ll be out in a minute.”
I’m still too stunned to respond. And even if I could, my words would be like gasoline on an already kindling flame.
“Understand this,” Dorian says to me as soon as we hear the click of my bedroom door close. “I am a patient, rational man, Gabriella. But there are things that can, and will, cause me to act irrationally. You are one of them. Do I make myself clear?”
Then he’s gone in a haze of grey smoke, leaving me speechless and dumbfounded. I shake off his chilly demeanor and hop in the shower to quickly wash away the remnants of Morgan’s flaking, dried blood. I don’t have time to deal with Dorian’s mood swings. I can’t consider his fragility right now, not when I have to think about the ones that are really fragile. The ones that slice open their wrists from their palm to their forearm, just to bleed out all the fear and pain.
I emerge from the bedroom to find Niko and Alexander hovering silently over Morgan’s body. Dorian isn’t in the immediate area, and part of me thinks it’s for the best. I may have to lean on someone other than him for strength—both mentally and physically—and I don’t want it to spark even more friction between us.
Ugh. Happy fucking birthday to me.
“Where’s Dorian?” Alexander asks, a small frown lining his forehead.
“Don’t know,” I shrug, sitting in the space beside Morgan on the couch. “How is she?”
“Her vitals are steady,” he answers, touching his fingers to her wrist. He looks up at me and gives me what I’m sure he deems an encouraging, fatherly smile. “She’ll be fine. You were incredible, Gabriella. You saved her life. I’m so very proud of you. Your mother would have been too.”
I shrug, my cheeks warm. “Thanks. And thank you for being here…for helping with my friend.”
Alexander nods before laying a timid hand on mine. He flinches at first, still not accustomed to the feel of my skin, but he doesn’t pull away. He’s here for me. My father has fought to survive…for me.
“You are very brave. Like Natalia. I see so much of her in you that it hurts. But a good hurt. The kind of hurt that makes me grateful that I’m alive.”
A beat passes as he just gazes at me, his beautiful face filled with nostalgia, before Morgan begins to rouse from sleep. I look back at Alexander and Niko, apology in my tight smile.
“Do you mind giving us some privacy? I don’t want to scare her.”
As expected, they both shake their heads. But Niko speaks up first.
“Hell no. Hell-fucking-no, baby girl.”
“Why not? She won’t hurt me.”
“You have no idea what she’s capable of. I’m not leaving you alone with her.”
He crosses his arms in front of his chest, giving me his best “I mean business” face. Yet all I can focus on is the way his sleeves seem to hug his chiseled biceps. Something pulls and clenches inside me as the memory of Niko’s body wrapped around mine protectively pops into the forefront of my mind. A moment so sweet could easily turn oh-so-sexy with just the slip of a hand or graze of a thigh…
What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn’t be harboring thoughts like that right now. I shouldn’t be harboring thoughts like that ever.
I shake my head, forcing the memory back to the forbidden corner of my mind, and peg them both with pleading eyes. “Please. She’s my friend, and I need her to feel safe. She’s been through hell. I don’t want to confuse her even more, ok?”
Alexander looks to Niko, who still wears a stubborn scowl. “Nikolai, give her what she desires. She’s a smart girl. If she thinks this is for the best, we
Niko shifts uncomfortably at the door, battling with the impulse to let his crystal blue eyes find my naked skin. “I thought you’d want to know…Morgan is stirring. She’ll want to see you when she wakes up.”
“Thank you, Niko,” I respond, looking up at a stone-faced Dorian. “We’ll be out in a minute.”
I’m still too stunned to respond. And even if I could, my words would be like gasoline on an already kindling flame.
“Understand this,” Dorian says to me as soon as we hear the click of my bedroom door close. “I am a patient, rational man, Gabriella. But there are things that can, and will, cause me to act irrationally. You are one of them. Do I make myself clear?”
Then he’s gone in a haze of grey smoke, leaving me speechless and dumbfounded. I shake off his chilly demeanor and hop in the shower to quickly wash away the remnants of Morgan’s flaking, dried blood. I don’t have time to deal with Dorian’s mood swings. I can’t consider his fragility right now, not when I have to think about the ones that are really fragile. The ones that slice open their wrists from their palm to their forearm, just to bleed out all the fear and pain.
I emerge from the bedroom to find Niko and Alexander hovering silently over Morgan’s body. Dorian isn’t in the immediate area, and part of me thinks it’s for the best. I may have to lean on someone other than him for strength—both mentally and physically—and I don’t want it to spark even more friction between us.
Ugh. Happy fucking birthday to me.
“Where’s Dorian?” Alexander asks, a small frown lining his forehead.
“Don’t know,” I shrug, sitting in the space beside Morgan on the couch. “How is she?”
“Her vitals are steady,” he answers, touching his fingers to her wrist. He looks up at me and gives me what I’m sure he deems an encouraging, fatherly smile. “She’ll be fine. You were incredible, Gabriella. You saved her life. I’m so very proud of you. Your mother would have been too.”
I shrug, my cheeks warm. “Thanks. And thank you for being here…for helping with my friend.”
Alexander nods before laying a timid hand on mine. He flinches at first, still not accustomed to the feel of my skin, but he doesn’t pull away. He’s here for me. My father has fought to survive…for me.
“You are very brave. Like Natalia. I see so much of her in you that it hurts. But a good hurt. The kind of hurt that makes me grateful that I’m alive.”
A beat passes as he just gazes at me, his beautiful face filled with nostalgia, before Morgan begins to rouse from sleep. I look back at Alexander and Niko, apology in my tight smile.
“Do you mind giving us some privacy? I don’t want to scare her.”
As expected, they both shake their heads. But Niko speaks up first.
“Hell no. Hell-fucking-no, baby girl.”
“Why not? She won’t hurt me.”
“You have no idea what she’s capable of. I’m not leaving you alone with her.”
He crosses his arms in front of his chest, giving me his best “I mean business” face. Yet all I can focus on is the way his sleeves seem to hug his chiseled biceps. Something pulls and clenches inside me as the memory of Niko’s body wrapped around mine protectively pops into the forefront of my mind. A moment so sweet could easily turn oh-so-sexy with just the slip of a hand or graze of a thigh…
What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn’t be harboring thoughts like that right now. I shouldn’t be harboring thoughts like that ever.
I shake my head, forcing the memory back to the forbidden corner of my mind, and peg them both with pleading eyes. “Please. She’s my friend, and I need her to feel safe. She’s been through hell. I don’t want to confuse her even more, ok?”
Alexander looks to Niko, who still wears a stubborn scowl. “Nikolai, give her what she desires. She’s a smart girl. If she thinks this is for the best, we
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