Two Kings

Chapter 33

The next morning, I wake in a fright, disorientated and unsure of where I am, until my eyes connect with Rico sitting in the chair. His long legs spread wide with two fingers pressed to his temple, holding his head up as he watches me. He sucks in a sharp breath, and suddenly I remember the shooting and him showing up here in the early hours.

"Morning, wife."

"Good morning." An instant smile fills my cheeks. "Why are you there when you're meant to be in here with me?"

He pulls himself up in the chair, looking tired and disheveled. "You pushed me out of bed, so I stayed out."

"Did I?" I fell asleep after he snuggled in against me and I remember nothing after that. "I don't recall. Sorry."

A brief silence fills the room before he shrugs. "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have got in with you. Not when you're hurt and need rest."

"I did rest," I tell him truthfully, "and it was only because you were here."

I'm not sure if he believes me, but it gets me wondering what sort of man he'd be if he weren't a mobster? Is he the kind of man a woman would feel safe with? Yes, of course. He may have wanted me to fear him to keep me in check, but now I feel more protected when I'm with him than I do with anyone else.

"How are you?" He looks at me with the same tender gaze I saw last night. I assumed it was a guilt gaze. But now I'm not so sure? Unless it's a new expression he's trying out. Something on the warmer side, to soften his icy image. Hah. Not likely, since he fronts a powder empire that requires a cold, emotionless figure with a steel caged heart to run it.

Either way, he's softening to me, more than I expected.

I place a hand over my mouth and yawn. "Much better. But I'd be even better if I could shower and rid myself of the bloody aroma coming from my skin."

"You don't stink." He informs me. "But if you're up for a shower, that's a good sign."

My eyes hold his. "How so?"

"Well, you wouldn't consider showering unless you were feeling better. And the sooner you're better, the sooner you can get out of here and we can" Rico bumps his tattooed fists together.

"What, fight?" I say with a raised brow, knowing full well what he means.

He lifts his chin. "That's not the F word I had in mind."

"Oh, that word," I say with a playful smile. "You throw that word around and I'm bound to make a miraculous recovery?"

He grins. "I love that you're as fucking hard for sex as me."

And I love this newfound playfulness between us - it almost seems weird to hear us interact this way after the bad blood we had between us. But now, it's like nothing is a miss, and we're flirting our way to our next hook up.

The curtain around my bed opens, and a male Nurse with a bald head and bulging tummy enters. "How are we this morning?" he asks as pushes a blood pressure unit in ahead of him. "How's the pain level?" his sneering mouth and narrowed eyes are not a soothing comfort. He tries to portray a friendly voice despite his face and tone being different.

"No pain. And I'm well, considering everything that's happened."

He switches the blood pressure unit on and nods without making eye contact. "Good. But if you're part of a corrupt lifestyle, you can hardly expect anything else, now, can you?" His eyes lift to meet mine.

"Excuse me," I ask, wondering if I misunderstood him.

"If you run with the devil and his army," he continues, "you're bound to get hurt."