AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You should be resting!” She couldn’t seem to control her tone. “How many times do I have to patch you up?”
His own hands fluttered at his sides. “Sorry,” he mumbled. His eyes were no longer skittering away from her, but locked onto her face.
The way he stared let her take a breath, but she was still bathed in heat. “I can’t believe you. What in the world did you think you were doing? I’m so mad at you right now!” The truth of it burst through her. Her mouth fell open as she blinked at him. “Oh,” she breathed, staring into his stricken face. “So that’s what this is. I’m angry.” That had never been acceptable before. Not in front of her father, so long ago, and definitely not in front of the woman.
Alina had only let herself release the emotion once before. It was what drove the knife Luka had given her to plunge down, again and again, long after the man who had hurt her was dead. She released Luka’s shirt hem as the heat fled.
He held himself so still, his face emotionless again and carved out of stone, as if that brief sense of regret had never been.
She waved toward the bed. “Just sit down while I get the medical supplies. You probably pulled your stitches again.” Dread filled her as she moved into the bathroom to grab the newly organized items she would need. When she came back out, he hadn’t moved. “I told you to sit!” she shouted.
That only made him stiffen further.
Alina crossed to the ottoman beside him, letting her armful of things scatter over the top. “You’d better come here. You don’t want me to touch you to make you, do you?”
His eyes met hers again before darting away. The tension remained in his body, but he perched on the bed, his eyes dilating.
“Not like that. You need to at least lean back.”
A slight shudder seemed to run through his body.
Her tone softened. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything. At least, not on purpose.”
He slowly leaned back on his arms, leaving his feet on the floor.
She allowed her own grimace to surface as she lifted his shirt again. “Putting a needle through skin is the worst, but maybe you don’t remember the last time. When you lunged off the bed and tore your stitches, you were pretty out of it.” She continued to talk to him as she worked to remove the bandage. “You scared me enough to grab that pillow, thank God. I had to clean up the stuffing, though. Oh, sorry, it always takes my fingers a bit to get the edge of the adhesive. I know this hurts, but try to bear with it. I hate that you’re bleeding again, but at least it helps loosen this tape.”
And on she blathered. The words flowed faster as the damage he’d done to his wound became visible. “Dang, it does look like you pulled the stitches. Enzo warned me you’d do that. Or was that Giovanni? No, it must have been Enzo. Giovanni didn’t say much, though he told me to tell you that the house was yours for as long as you need it. He thought that was all I cared about, and I—” She paused with the needle in hand, remembering she had been angry one other time. “That’s right,” she mumbled. She couldn’t feel the needle between her fingers. “I was so worried about you, and I got mad then too. Enzo threatened to shoot me. I guess I don’t handle being angry very well.” She swallowed, meeting his eyes. “Sorry I yelled.”
Luka shook his head. He was no longer looking away.
She took a deeper breath, bending to his wound. “All right, this is the worst part.” Full words failed her as she got to work sewing his flesh together. Luka never flinched, never groaned. He was silent as ever. It was Alina who made pained noises as she went. Her hands shook, and she couldn’t rush through it.
Finally, the part she’d been dreading was over. Her lower back flared with pain from the tension that had taken up residence there. Her breath shuddered out. “There, it’s over. I’m sor—”
Luka’s fingers covered her lips. He was wearing his gloves again. She’d nearly forgotten how silky the material was. Her lips began to tingle.
“No,” Luka said. His eyes were as firm as the word. His fingers moved slightly against her, then jerked away. He braced himself with both hands again, turning his head to stare at the wall that held her drawings.
“You don’t want me to apologize?” she clarified, his one-word denial still in her ears. “I guess that makes sense. It had to be done. I just don’t like the idea of causing you pain. Okay, let me replace the bandage, and then, seriously, you need to rest.” Her lips pressed together as she gathered new adhesive. “Really, you should be apologizing to me. It was too soon for you to go shopping of all things. If you pull these next stitches, I’m not going to— well, no, that’s a lie. I’ll stitch you up again, but fair warning, I’ll be mad. How did you even—”
“Thank you.”
His firm words stopped her lips. Alina didn’t want to fill the air when it was no longer empty. Hearing Luka speak was so much better. Her fingers stilled in the process of smoothing the last piece of adhesive on as he said it again, loosening the last of the tension in her back.
“Thank you, Alina.”
When her eyes lifted, his were so bright and intent, she shivered.
“For you.” He’d said that before, but with that sweet, barely-there smile as he held out his purchases. His gaze shifted to the bags, and his eyes seemed to shimmer.
Alina finished smoothing the last of the tape, and she pulled his shirt back down. She turned to the multitude of bags, sinking beside them and slowly removing what was inside.
He’d purchased dozens of small canvases, multiple paintbrushes, and even more small tubes of acrylic paint. Not just different colors, but multiple tubes of the same color, as if one wouldn’t be enough.
Alina’s hands shook as she began to organize them. She’d never had so many at once. Memories of how she’d begged the woman for more despite the resulting slap rose to her mind. She would hoard as much as she could, making sure she used every drop she could squeeze out. Nothing could be wasted. Like the pencil nubs, every small bit was so very precious.
Her breath caught in her throat again, too tight for any words.
