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—Simone—
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Nestled between Banks’s open knees, laying against his chest where he reclined in a deck chair, I sipped the freshly made coffee.
His lecture had sent me into a spin purely because the truth hit hard, and I was pretty fucking embarrassed that I’d fucked up. I didn’t need it rubbed in my face, which looking back, Banks hadn’t; he’d merely been straight-up. The truth highlighted how naïve I’d been. I hated feeling foolish, and that was exactly what had me shoving my breakfast aside and storming from the kitchen earlier.
“Banks?” I started, trying not to sound nervous.
He hummed. “Yeah, babe?”
I picked my words carefully as I ran my thumb up and down the coffee mug handle. “I might seem a little out of sorts soon.”
His fingers gently combed through my hair. “Why’s that?”
A pang through my chest hit hard. “It’s coming up to the two-year anniversary...”
Banks’s hand stilled, then resumed. “What do you need me to do?”
The empathy and understanding in his tone floored me. I was used to looking after myself with Kasey to prop me up when I needed it the most. Banks’s kindness and caring—in both touch and words—almost brought me to tears.
“I don’t know exactly. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do, but I’m just letting you know that I’ll probably be a little extra emotional...”
He chuckled and gently kissed the back of my head. “It’ll be nothing I can’t handle, babe. Are you heading down to Denver at all?”
Guilt filtered in. “No. I hadn’t planned to, not yet at least.”
“Well, just give me the word, and I’ll fly you down.”
I twisted and gawked at him. “You’re a pilot?”
Banks’s eyes danced with amusement and his toothy grin pulled wide. “No, I’m not a pilot. However, we have a family jet parked at the local private airport that’s at my—and your—disposal if you wish to use it.”
“I couldn’t possibly!”
“You can. All you gotta do is ask, and I’ll arrange it. Speaking of arranging: I have a physiotherapist coming later today to assess you, then she’ll be back tomorrow to take you through a customized rehab program.”
“Wait,” I snapped a hand up, “I can’t pay for private treatment, Banks. It’s too expensive.” I then felt the color drain from my face. “Oh god. The CT scan and hospital room!”
His warm arm wrapped around my waist, instantly grounding me. “It’s already been taken care of, sweetheart, and not at your cost.”
“Then whose?”
His possessive gaze locked on me. “Mine.”
~
Banks hovered in the bedroom doorway later that night as I slid into bed and carefully arranged the covers over my booted foot.
“Do you need more pillows?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. It feels okay at the moment.”
“And you’re on top of your pain?”
I stopped pedantically adjusting the covers. “I am.”
He checked his watch. “Next dose is due at eleven thirty. I’ll set an alarm and come down.”
While the concern etched into his face was cute, I smiled gratefully and shook my head. “I’m sure I’ll manage. It’s not too far away.”
Banks didn’t look convinced. He pursed his lips and squared his shoulders. “I’m doing it, regardless.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Fine, suit yourself.”
He grinned. “I will. Just yell out or call me if you need anything. No tackling those stairs on crutches, especially in the middle of the night.”
I fluffed the pillows before reclining into them. “Banks, stop worrying.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, immediately looking as tired as I felt. “Offer still stands. Goodnight, Simone.”
“Goodnight.”
We found ourselves locked in an odd little pause where neither of us knew what to do. It had me holding my breath and Banks shuffling with indecision.
“Goodnight,” I whispered again and reached for the lamp.
He nodded, taking my direction and rolling with it. “Goodnight, babe.”
With a wide sweep of his arm, he pulled the door almost closed, and I held my breath again as I listened to him take the stairs.
When the room plunged into darkness, I waited for my eyes to adjust, then surveyed the shadows. Tired yet wired, my mind ran a million miles an hour and refused to chill.
Despite setting my phone to vibrate at 11:30 p.m., I was awake and waiting when the alarm reminded me to take pain relief. Just in time too, the ache in my ankle began to make itself known.
I had the lamp on and was sitting up in bed with both meds and a glass of water in hand when Banks popped his head around the door.
His brows lifted in surprise. “Oh, you’re sorted.”
“Told you I had it under control.”
He grinned. “Just checkin’.”
I swallowed the tablets then stuck my tongue out to prove they were ingested.
Banks smirked and lowered his chin. “Good girl. Sleep tight, and I’ll see you at five-thirty.”
With that, he was gone as fast as he’d appeared. I sat dazed and blinking at the semi-closed door for a beat before lying down and turning off the lamp.
I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position until the meds kicked in, and when I glanced at my phone again to find it well after one in the morning, I growled in frustration.
Needing more water, I clicked on the lamp again and eased my booted foot from under the covers. My crutches lay in wait on the floor within reach, and my balance wavered as I got to my feet. After pausing to gather stability, I started the arduous journey to the kitchen.
As much as I tried to be quiet, the crutches clicked each time I moved them, and I cursed when an upstairs light came on well before I’d reached the kitchen.
Banks’s footsteps hurried on the stairs. “Simone?”
“Yeah?”
“What ya doin’, babe?”
“Just getting a drink.”
“You should have called out for me. Sit on the stool, sweetheart. I’ll grab it for you.”
Despite wanting to do this by myself, I diligently sat on the stool with a sigh of relief, only then noticing Banks had neglected to dress—aside from boxer briefs—when rushing to my ‘aid’.
My eyes dropped down the expanse of his toned back, over each contour and ridge of muscle as they worked under the surface of his skin, right down to his ass tucked neatly beneath dark blue fabric.
I hadn’t seen his bare body from this angle, and sweet baby Jesus it was a sight to behold. My lingering focus cut from his ass to his face the instant he turned. Too late though.
A knowing smirk slid across his mouth. “Good?”
I cleared my throat. “Of course. Just thirsty.”
He held my gaze as he slowly slid the glass of water across the island counter. “Here,” came his single, knotted word.
I self-consciously took a sip, feeling much too awkward as Banks watched every move with that lazy smile of his still tilting his lips.
“Stop fucking watching me,” I deadpanned.
I set the glass down as he let out a hearty laugh. “Stop looking so damn cute, then.”
“Cute! I’m tired, irritated, and uncomfortable. The last word to describe me is cute.”
“I disagree.”
“Of course you do,” I muttered around the rim of the glass after lifting it to my lips again.
He chuckled and leaned his ass on the opposite counter. “How long have you been tossing and turning, Simone? Your hair is wild.”
“Don’t tease me. I’ve been awake for ages. Not everyone can roll out of bed looking like July’s addition to Calendar Men,” I snapped.
Despite his chuckle being deep and alluring, I glared. “Great, so not only are you a morning person, but you’re also a middle of the night person. Awesome.”
Banks’s smirk turned wicked as he leaned his forearms on the kitchen island and encroached on my space. “I’ve already told you I’m a you person. Day or night, it doesn’t matter.”
I leaned in, meeting his stare, whispering, “You’re a psychopath.”
He reared back and laughed his ass off, the bold sound bouncing and reverberating off the otherwise silent, shadowed kitchen.
“And yet here you are, sittin’ at my counter, drinkin’ my water. On that note, would you like some warm milk?”
I scoffed. “I’m not five.”
Mild offense scrunched his expression, and he splayed a hand on his chest. “I’m a grown-ass man, and I still enjoy a glass of warm milk from time to time.”
Despite shaking my head, I couldn’t help but smile. “Honestly, nothing you say surprises me now. You’re so unpredictable you’ve actually become predictable.”
“Ouch.” He rubbed his knuckles on his bare chest and smirked. “What else you got, new girl? Gonna tell me that I’m the recipient of Reagan’s heart too?”
My own beating organ plummeted. “We don’t joke about things like that. Besides...” I took a sip of water to rehydrate my bone-dry mouth. “...Reagan wasn’t a donor. None of his organs were donated.”
Disappointment crossed Banks’s brow. “That’s a shame. More donors are needed in the world.”
“Are you?” I asked. “A donor?”
Banks resumed his leaning position against the opposite counter, arms crossing his chest now. “Sure am. I’ll have no use for them once I’m gone, so if I can give someone their second chance just like someone gave me, then I’m all for it.”
Genuine adoration warmed every part of my body. “I love how you make everything seem so simple.”
He shrugged. “Peel away the layers in any situation, and it usually is.”
“You’re such a kind person, Banks.”
“Well, you won’t find me beating puppies, if that’s what you mean.”
“If you did, I hope you get mauled by a thousand wolves.”
“Ruthless.”
“Deserved,” I countered.
“Touché.”
I sent him a sassy look, which he snickered at, then drank the rest of my water.
“Thank you,” I murmured, offering back the empty glass.
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s get you back to bed. Want to walk or be carried?”
My eyes traveled down his sculpted torso as I considered the question. Before I gathered the words to answer, Banks pushed off the counter and rounded the island. He turned the barstool and bent his knees a little.
“You don’t need to answer. I know what you want,” he teased. With a quick snatch, he boosted me into his arms.
Mine wove around his shoulders. “How presumptuous of you.”
“Knowing of me,” he corrected, tucking back his chin to smile directly in my line of sight.
I giggled in spite of myself and rolled my eyes just to make it seem like I was indifferent as he walked me to the guest room. I squeaked as he lowered me onto the bed, then relaxed when his comforting weight pressed me into the mattress.
Banks buried his nose into my neck and let out a dreamy sigh. “This is nice.”
I hummed and kept my arms around him. “It’s comfy,” I admitted, letting my eyes drift close.
Like a weighted blanket, calming and reassuring, Banks’s body radiated heat over me and pushed me into a relaxed zone where my limbs began to grow heavy.
I jerked when he groaned and reluctantly peeled himself away. “I need to go before I fall asleep on you, babe. You all sorted now?”
“I am,” I whispered sleepily, then accepted the kiss he pressed to my mouth. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
He clicked off the lamp and padded from my room, pulling the door mostly closed just like last time.
Now that he’d left, my eyes lost their sleepy weight. My body grew restless and no matter how long I focused on mindfully breathing, my thoughts simply wouldn’t rest.
With an agitated exhale, I reached for my phone, barely twenty minutes since Banks put me to bed.
Simone: Are you asleep?
His reply came immediately.
Banks: Nope. Are you?
I snorted and smiled to myself.
Simone: Nope.
Banks: Hang tight, new girl.
Simone: Why?
My message went unread, then I heard footsteps upstairs. I tracked them down the stairs and held my breath when the bedroom door silently swung open. My heart kicked despite knowing it was Banks’s large, dark figure filling the doorway.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Can’t sleep,” he replied hoarsely.
“Neither can I.” I extended the olive branch since I knew Banks would never want to make me feel uncomfortable. “Wanna bunk with me?”
He arrived at the side of my bed as if teleported. “Thought you’d never ask.”
I snorted. “Go around.”
The man pouted. “But this is my side.”
“Not in here it’s not. Get on the other side.”
“B—”
“No buts!” I interrupted. “It’s left side or no side.”
“Fine, you get your own way this one time,” he grumbled while rounding the bed.
I snickered as Banks slid in beside me, then hummed when he pulled me close.
He let out a deep exhale. “Hmm, home sweet home.”
I wiggled into the perfect nook against his chest, then relaxed with a deep, matching sigh.
With Banks’s body warming mine again and his arm secured around my waist, my eyes grew heavy and my mind relaxed. I finally fell asleep within the hold of the man who was quickly becoming my entire world.
