Page 51 of Merciless Vow
Silence. Then, carefully measured: "No, Ma. I didn’t know that. I’ll take care of it. "
"Thank you, dear boy."
"Love you, Ma."
"Love you too."
Dante’s wail cut off mid-scream as the call ended.
Mei Ling smoothed the bandage into place and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "All done, " she said brightly.
The door burst open hard enough to rattle the frame. I startled despite myself.
Vidar filled the doorway. For the first time since I’d met him, he looked wrong. His tie was gone. His collar was open. His hair was no longer perfectly disciplined. He looked like a man who’d moved fast and hadn’t stopped to fix himself afterward.
He didn’t look at his mother. He didn’t look at the room. He didn’t look at anything except me.
Mei Ling cupped my cheek and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "He’s going to need to fuck you, just to reassure himself you’re all right."
Vidar groaned. "Ma."
I winced. "Mrs. Blackwood."
She grinned at me, delighted. "Call me Ma."
Then she patted my cheek once more, turned, and left the room without another word, closing the door softly behind her. Silence rushed in to take her place. Vidar was still standing where he’d frozen, eyes dark, jaw tight, breathing just a little too controlled.
"I told you to stay at the office, Addie."
"I’m fine."
He stopped a few feet in front of me, jaw tight. His gaze locked on my body, searching, as if he was counting limbs, checking for damage he couldn’t see. Slowly, deliberately, he sank down in front of me until he was prostrate. The impact of his knees on the rug sent a shock through me, heat flaring low and fast. My pulse spiked hard enough to make me dizzy; my body reacting before my pride could intervene. Somethinginside me surged in response, my pulse racing violently, like desire and danger shared the same language.
"Did he hurt you "
I lifted my hand with the bandaged finger. "Your mother handled it."
Vidar's eyes focused on the band-aid. He took my hand in his. My heart slammed hard against my ribs—too fast, too forceful.
It didn’t hurt.
It felt good.
I wanted it to hit like that again.
"I’m surprised you’re here with me. Instead of joining in on the fun."
My father wouldn’t have come running. He would’ve used my injury as justification. Hurt the man who touched me—then turned around and punished me for needing protection at all.
Vidar peeled back the bandage his mother had wrapped, his touch so gentle it felt almost reverent. His gaze sharpened as he took in the cut. His eyes went cold.
"I’m not fragile."
"No, you're not. You're brilliant, my sweet Addie."
He folded the bandage back into place, secure, then lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my finger. A small dot of my blood stained his lower lip.
I knew what it looked like when blood left a body. How still everything became afterward. This wasn’t that.
