The Underworld Series, page 36
“Solnishko, what’s wrong? What can I do?” I asked, trying to help support her.
“No idea. That’s never happened before,” she said, still pressing on her wound.
“What was it? What happened?”
“It was like a shooting pain through my hip when I went to stand up. I’m okay now. We can go,” she said, giving me a tight smile.
Andrei stepped in front of her, a small smile on his face. “Spider monkey,” he said as he turned his back to her, squatting down to her level and opening his arms. He was offering to carry her back to the office. She put her hands on his shoulders but then stopped herself.
“I don’t think I can jump, Bubba.”
I walked behind her, lifting her so she could wrap her arms and legs around Andrei. He gently bounced her a little higher and looked back at her. “Good?”
She nodded to him, then looked at me, mouthing, “Thank you,” as Andrei walked toward the front of the restaurant with her. I ran my hand through my hair, worried about more than Lorenzo and Anthony. I didn’t like seeing her in pain. When we got back to the house, I would insist she change the bandage so we could look at it. She’d been diligent about taking her antibiotics after that first day she missed because she was sleeping, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a small infection setting in. I would call a doctor to come to her, if needed. I caught Misha’s gaze as we were leaving. He looked just as concerned as I felt.
We left Armando at the office and took Sephie straight back to the villa. I wanted her to be able to lie down and I wanted to change her bandage. Once we pulled up to the villa, I stepped out of the vehicle, extending my hand to help her out. Once she stepped out, I reached down and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck and shoulders, resting her head on my shoulder. She smiled at me, “I’m okay now. It went away,” she yawned as her fingers played with the collar of my shirt, running lightly over my neck and chest.
I walked her to the bedroom, laying her gently on the bed. She stretched while she kicked her shoes off. “Maybe it was just sitting for that long. It was sore when I stood up in the boardroom too,” she said, still stretching her body.
I stood over her, unbuttoning her jeans. “I still want to change your bandage just in case. You could barely stand. If there’s a problem, I need to know.” She smiled lazily at me. She carefully pushed her jeans down over the bandage, so I could pull them the rest of the way off. I hadn’t seen the panties she had chosen to wear until that moment. My breath caught as I slid my hands up her legs, running over the thin black lace. She closed her eyes as I leaned down and kissed her stomach.
“You’re not making this any easier,” I said, my hands still running over her body.
She opened one eye, grinning at me. “Maybe it was that pair of jeans. That bougie bitch might’ve been skinnier than me. Or else she enjoys feeling like she’s being slowly choked by her clothes,” she said. She pushed her stomach out, patting it with her hands. “Or maybe I ate so much food that my pants were too tight on my hip.”
I sat beside her, taking her hands from her stomach, kissing each one. “You’re still too skinny. You’re all bony and sharp. You can afford to eat more, solnishko.” I pulled her panties off her hip, so I could have access to her bandage, kissing her stomach just above the waistline. She folded one arm behind her head, so she could watch me. I took the bandage off as delicately as I could, but it still hurt her every time. Her skin was extra sensitive from the adhesive.
Her wound still looked mostly normal, but it was getting redder around the edges. “Sephie, I don’t know. I think you should see a doctor, just to be safe.” She sat up slightly so she could look at it.
“Did we bring anything to clean it with? Maybe it just needs to be cleaned again. I don’t want to see another doctor. I hate doctors. I haven’t missed my antibiotic. It shouldn’t be infected.” She put her hand over it. “It’s not hot like it would be if it were infected.”
I clicked my tongue at her. “I still think you should see a doctor.”
“But I don’t want to. I just need to clean it and it will be fine.” She had that determined look in her eye that told me I was not going to change her mind on this one. I opted for a compromise instead.
“We’ll clean it for now, but if that sharp pain comes back that prevents you from standing, I’m calling a doctor whether you want me to or not.” I looked at her sternly. It was all I could do not to smile at her during this standoff.
She cracked first, grinning at me. “Deal.”
When I came back with antiseptic to clean her wound, she was still stretched out on the bed, panties half off, shirt pulled up, exposing her milky white, toned stomach, completely comfortable on the bed. I couldn’t help but grin at her as I walked to the bed. She was so comfortable in her own skin around me. Around the guys too. She didn’t care if she looked silly, in fact most of the time she went out of her way to look silly to get a laugh out of us. It was refreshing to be around a woman that wasn’t constantly worried about how she looked. Sephie was real. I knew she accepted me for me, all the parts of me, good and bad, because she accepted all the parts of herself. She had seen real darkness, but she still chose to shine her light on the world. She made peace with those dark parts of her, taking away their power. It gave me hope that I could eventually do the same. She looked at me with so much love, even after reading every part of my soul.
I paused, after closing the door, completely lost in the sight of her. She leaned up on her elbows to look at me, raising one eyebrow. God, she was sexy when she wasn’t even trying to be.
“What are you doing?” she asked, a questioning look on her face. She broke me from my thoughts.
“Just enjoying the view, solnishko. Come, let’s get your wound cleaned so you can put clothes back on before I rip another pair of panties off you.”
“Whatever. I have an endless supply of them now, so knock yourself out,” she said laughing. She stood up to walk to the bathroom, giving me a full view of her ass that was barely covered by the black lace. I cursed under my breath, exhaling as I followed her to the bathroom.
“You’re a little evil, solnishko,” I said, smacking her ass lightly.
She looked at me over her shoulder. “You love it.” Just to drive her point home, she slipped out of her blouse and tossed it back to me as she walked into the bathroom.
“You’re a lot evil, solnishko.” I cursed under my breath again. She was clearly enjoying teasing me, as she turned toward me, chewing her bottom lip, as she pulled one side of her panties lower to give me access to her wound. She leaned against the bathroom counter as I tried to concentrate on cleaning her wound and not bending her over the counter. I could do this.
Fuck. I can’t do this. She’s driving me crazy.
I grabbed some gauze to catch the antiseptic as I poured it over her wound and kneeled in front of her. I looked up at her. “You ready?”
“Nope but do it anyway.”
I poured out as little as I could. The liquid started to bubble in the wound. She inhaled sharply, clenching her jaw and closing her eyes tightly. “I’m sorry, solnishko.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Just keep going.” I poured out more liquid. More bubbles. She slapped the counter, cursing. “Again. I’m okay.” Once again, I poured more liquid over the wound. “FUCKING HELL!”
“I’m sorry, solnishko. You told me to! I’m sorry!”
“No, it’s okay. It’s not you. It fucking burns. Cursing makes me feel slightly better.” She ran her hand through my hair, trying to smile through her pain.
“I should give you a minute. It’s still bubbling though. I think we should do it again.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said. She was fanning her hip with one hand. I leaned closer to blow on it, trying to give her relief from the constant burning. “How does Ivan stand there like nothing is happening with this stuff?”
I chuckled. “He still hasn’t told you?”
“Told me what?”
“He doesn’t feel much pain. He was born that way. His nerves don’t work the same way. He doesn’t register pain the same way you and I do. Some pain he feels, but other pain doesn’t register. It makes him a very dangerous opponent.”
“I knew there was something to his inability to feel pain! I could use some of that right about now,” she said, chewing on her lip.
“I’m sorry, love. One more time, then I put a new bandage on you so you can put your clothes back on.” I tried not to look at her chewing on her lip. I couldn’t figure out why that was so sexy to me, but I had trouble controlling myself every time she did it.
When I had finished putting the bandage on her, she leaned down placing both her hands on either side of my face. “Thank you,” she said, pressing her lips to mine.
“We should’ve done this sooner. We should make sure to do it more often. Or else I’m going to call a doctor,” I said before she could argue.
“If it keeps the doctor away, I’ll happily endure the torture.”
I shook my head. I’d never met anyone other than Ivan that had such an aversion to doctors. If it meant I could help her, then I’d gladly keep the doctor away for now. Whatever made her better.
Chapter Forty
Sephie
The next two days were mostly quiet. The guys were coming and going periodically, meeting various people, gathering information. Adrik never once left me. If he needed to go somewhere, I went with him. It might seem excessive, but I was glad for it. I was still struggling with the thought of never seeing him again. Having him around right now was helping me keep those thoughts at bay.
He was still threatening to call a doctor for the wound on my hip. It was somewhat of a dull, constant pain now, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He had plenty to worry about already and I wanted to skip the doctor. I was almost finished with the antibiotics, so I was hoping it would start to feel better soon.
We were all in Armando’s gym in the morning when Ivan asked me about my hip. I was still limping occasionally, despite my best efforts to hide it. He noticed and asked me about it. Before I could even answer, Adrik said, “It’s not healing like it should be, but she’s refusing to let me call the doctor. I might do it anyway and deal with the consequences later.”
I squinted my eyes at him. “It’s fine. I don’t need a doctor.”
“It’s not fine, princess. You’re limping still when you should be getting better. Let me see it,” Ivan asked. “I might be able to help. I have extensive experience with healing wounds without doctors,” he added when I looked at him skeptically.
“Okay, you’re going to have to expand on that later,” I said. I looked to Adrik to make sure he was okay with me basically giving Ivan a view down my pants. He nodded. I pulled Ivan away from everyone, not really wanting to show everyone the somewhat gaping hole in my hip, even though I could feel their curious eyes on us.
I slid my pants low enough that I could peel back the bandage, so he could see most of the wound. It was red and there was starting to be some heat to it as well, which usually means infection. I had to admit I was starting to worry a little bit. Ivan bent down to get a closer look at it. He clicked his tongue. “It hurts you all the time, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, exhaling. “But please don’t tell Adrik. He has enough to worry about right now and he’s already stressed enough as it is without worrying that my hip is gonna fall off soon.”
Ivan chuckled. “Your hip won’t fall off, princess.”
“You don’t know. It might,” I said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“What have you been putting on it?”
“Adrik insists on cleaning it every day. I think he’s starting to enjoy torturing me if I’m being honest. But that’s it. Then we just put a fresh bandage on it. It’s like a dull ache now all the time. I cut back on the superprofen, but I want to start taking more of that again because it’s starting to hurt more.”
Ivan thought for a moment. I glanced toward Adrik to see that he was watching us, a look of concern on his face. I looked back to Ivan, hoping he would figure something out, so I wouldn’t have to give in and let Adrik call a doctor. I could see the light bulb moment as he came up with a solution. He glanced down at me, the corners of his mouth turning up in a discreet smile. “Come with me,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door.
“Do you have something that will keep Adrik from calling a doctor? Please tell me you have something,” I asked, following behind him.
“Potentially. It’s an ancient remedy, but it’s worked for me before.”
I followed him in silence as he led me to the kitchen. I looked at him, puzzled that we were in the kitchen. He smirked at me. “Just wait, princess. It’ll make sense in a moment.” He checked the counters, then stepped into the pantry, looking for whatever he was looking for. He walked out, carrying a glass jar.
“Is it snack time?” I asked, somewhat confused.
He was holding a jar of honey. He handed it to me as he walked to me. “No, this is for your wound. Honey is a very good antiseptic and it has healing properties as well. People have been using it to heal wounds for centuries.” He lifted his shirt, showing me a particularly nasty scar across his rib cage. “It healed this,” he said as he dragged his finger over the scar.
“That looks like it was painful.” I looked up at him, my curiosity piqued. “How do you know so much about this stuff? And about drugs in general? I remember hearing you quiz the doctor when we were up north.”
He sighed, folding his arms across his sizeable chest. He leaned back against the counter. I could tell he was lost in a memory and by the looks of his face, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. I put my hand on his shoulder, which made him look at me. I could see the pain in his eyes, clear as day. “Ivan, you don’t have to tell me. It’s okay. I can see that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.”
He nodded his head. “I don’t feel pain like normal people. My mother took me to the doctor as a young boy because I was always getting hurt but never felt any pain. I never cried when I would break a bone. She thought there was something wrong with me. The doctor referred us to another doctor in a larger city outside the small village I grew up in. That doctor was part of a secret military group that was trying to build the perfect soldier. He convinced my mother to turn me over, so they could study me. I’m not the only one that’s ever been born this way, but we’re rare. She was reluctant at first, but they told her they would give me an education and they would even pay for my brothers and sister to go to school. We were poor, so school wasn’t really an option. She eventually agreed because she thought it would be a better situation for me than what she could provide on her own. My father had been killed in a mining accident shortly after my youngest brother was born, so my mother was left with four kids to raise on her own.” He paused for a moment, lost in his memory. I shifted my weight back and forth, trying to find a comfortable position while I waited for him to continue. He wasn’t even looking at me, but he still reached over and set me on the counter. “At first, the people who were ‘studying’ me were mostly nice. The original doctor saw to it that I went to school, was fed, and was well looked after. That changed when a new doctor took over the research. I don’t know what happened to the first doctor, but I never saw him again. The new doctor was an asshole. He didn’t care about school. He just wanted to run tests on me all day every day. He really didn’t even care if I was fed. When I started to refuse to do some of the tests, he would withhold food from me until I relented. This went on for years. I was seven years old when I entered the program. I was nine when the asshole doctor took over. As I got older and started growing more, they started training me. I knew every kind of martial arts there is by thirteen. When I was fifteen, I was transferred to a new facility, where I lived with other boys. None of them were like me, but they all had reasons why they were in the program. It was nice to have other boys my age for a while, but it didn’t last. Around sixteen, they started making us fight each other. If we refused, we were punished. One of the boys I fought almost died because of me. So, I started refusing because the other boys didn’t have the same kind of training I’d had and they all clearly felt pain, unlike me. They would starve me, lock me up in a room with no windows, sometimes they’d make me stay in complete darkness for weeks on end. Anything they could think of to break me. They were trying to turn me into a killer.”
I gasped, putting my hand over my mouth. He continued, “I kept refusing for close to a year. It didn’t matter what they tried to do to me, I wasn’t going to fight any of the boys because they didn’t have training. They changed tactics and brought in military guys. They said if I wouldn’t fight untrained boys, then I could fight trained men. They wanted to see how I would respond to pain and how I would heal from being injured. I finally agreed, mostly because I just wanted to eat again.”
I held my hand up, saying, “Amen to that.”
He chuckled, then continued, “The first couple of fights, I got my ass kicked. They were stronger than me and I was weak from malnourishment. As time went on, though, I got stronger, and the tables turned. I started beating the grown men with ease. I almost killed a few of them, a couple of them probably wish I had killed them, and I eventually did legitimately kill one of them. They didn’t stop after that happened either. They kept sending in more guys, week after week. I realized it was never going to stop. Whatever their research was, it was going to continue, unless I got away from them. One night, right before I turned eighteen, I broke out. I killed six people that night in order to escape. I can still see their faces clearly.” He closed his eyes. His shoulders slumped forward. He looked tired and small.
I hopped down from the counter. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. “Ivan…” I felt his giant arms around me, holding onto me. He took in a deep breath and held it. I knew he was fighting back tears. Fighting back the memories that had been haunting him all these years. I didn’t know what to say, or if there was anything to say that could make this better. So, I stayed silent. I just held onto him, trying to give him what he’d been missing all those years. A safe harbor. His grip on me tightened as he struggled to get control. Eventually, I felt him relax a little and he loosened his grip on me. I stepped back, looking at him. He looked haunted.
