Afterlife

Chapter 3

RPOV

After I said goodbye to my mother, telling her I would be down in the cafeteria soon, which was a lie, I went back to check on Dimitri. They put the top of his bed in an upright position and one of the nurses was taping his sides where he had broken a few ribs. He was wincing in pain but was trying not to show it.

I was trying not to drool as I saw his naked torso even if the tape was partially obscuring my view. No one could deny Dimitri didn't have a gorgeous body. I had seen it in training in shirts a lot and a few days ago I had seen him without the shirt, but I hadn't had much time to really appreciate it. In our lovemaking we had been consumed by our need to claim one another, to release months' worth of sexual tension and to reassure ourselves we could be together. Now I was having a clear mind and a clear view and it was amazing.

The nurse replaced his IV bag, checked the needle and smiled at me as she exited the room. Dimitri looked exhausted. He had been awake five minutes and he looked like he had just pulled a triple shift.

"Do you want me to lower the bed for you again?"

I could see he was debating it. He wanted to be alert and talk to me or at least be conscious enough to be with me, but I could see all he was capable of right now was sleep.

So I didn't wait for his answer and lowered the bed down. I crawled in next to him. He pulled me closer and I laid my head on the crook of his arm and chest. He was gently tracing the ends of my hair.

"Sleep. It is okay. I'll be here when you wake up."

It had been all he needed as I could hear him snore a little only a few seconds later. I giggled a little bit. He snored. Or maybe it was his ribs. But just the thought of knowing something so intimate about Dimitri that only people that had been in the same room while he was asleep would know, made me very happy. Until I wondered how many more girls knew he could snore.

I knew he wasn't as inexperienced as I was. I also doubt he was a man whore like Adrian, but I wondered what was a normal number for a man of his age. I also wondered what his encounters had been before? As a Guardian, he wouldn't have had many relationships. So did he have one night stands? Or maybe the majority of his sexual experience had come from when he was still in school?

It was another few hours before he was awake again, but this time it looked like he could stay awake for more than a few minutes.

"Have you been here the entire time?" he asked as he looked at the clock and noticed a few hours had passed.

"I said I would."

I knew that look in his eyes. It was his mentor look. I knew he didn't necessarily mind that I was here but was conscious of other places I might need to be.

"Have you been to your dorm?"

I shook my head.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"A little over twenty-four hours."

He seemed to be piecing together that I had been here that entire length of time. His face contorted just a fraction. Then it softened a bit.

"Would you mind going to my room and picking up some Westerns? And I would love something to eat. I am starving. The doctor said I could eat anything in small amounts. Would you mind running to the cafeteria?"

Of course, I couldn't say no, so I walked towards the guardian dorms. I asked someone for the spare key. They were quick to give it to me when I explained why I was there. I noticed everyone was relieved Dimitri was still alive and they were willing to do anything to help him. I know Dimitri wasn't super social, but he had made some friends here. I had seen the same at court. Dimitri was well liked and in the Guardian circles well known. I suppose they found it comforting that someone as skilled a fighter as Dimitri had made it out.