Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,47
from her shoulders, along her spine, and down to the curve of her bottom. His hands stroked her skin and the small of her back, teasing a shiver from her spine.
“Antonia.” He whispered her name against her mouth.
Toni’s eyes were closed and her head was swimming. “Uh-huh?”
“Are you going to let me feed you and stay the night?”
Nausea was a distant memory. “Yeah. That sounds good.”
“Then I will take all the crazy family you throw at me.” He scraped his teeth across her lower lip, which was swollen from his kisses. “Worth it.”
Hours later, Toni was barely hanging on to consciousness with a full stomach and a very relaxed body that Henry had teased and seduced to the point of spontaneous combustion before he put her out of her sexual misery.
He pulled on his boxer shorts and left the bedroom. She heard him walk to the door and whistle for Earl, who galloped into the house.
“Shhh,” he whispered to the dog. “You have to be quiet, okay?”
The dog’s excited paws tapped on her hardwood floor.
“Okay, go lie down. Stay.”
Earl gave a low woof, and Shelby meowed from under the bed.
Toni poked her head over the side and saw the cat. “He’s in the house now. What are you going to do with him?”
Shelby stared at her with narrowed eyes. I could say the same thing about you, human.
“Okay, we’ve let a dog and a large man into the house.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s after midnight, so I don’t think—”
“Are you talking to the cat?” Henry leaned in the doorway, arms crossed over his bare chest, smiling in amusement.
“I am.” Deal with it.
He climbed into the bed and immediately drew her into his arms, wrapping her up with blankets, a warm hug, and a contagious sense of calm. “Don’t worry. Earl is sleeping by the fireplace.” He yawned deeply. “He won’t bother her in here.”
“Oh. Okay.” She snuggled back into his chest and was nearly asleep when she heard her phone buzzing.
“Is that you or me?” Henry asked.
“Me, I think.” She opened her eyes and looked at the name flashing on her screen. “Nico?”
She sat up. He wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t an emergency. Toni answered the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Marissa.” Nico’s voice broke. “She’s at the hospital, Toni. Can you come? Someone broke into her house and beat her up pretty bad. The doctors aren’t sure what her condition is yet, but they put her in a coma because there’s a skull fracture and—”
“We’re coming.” She was already shoving Henry out of the bed. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Chapter 16
The emergency room waiting area was filled with Dusis, Lópezes, and various members of Marissa’s family by the time Toni and Henry arrived. They’d thrown on clothes and dropped Earl off at Henry’s place before they raced down to the hospital in San Luis Obispo.
As soon as the doors opened, Nico’s daughter, Beth, spotted them.
“Auntie Toni.” She ran over and threw her arms around Toni.
“I’m here, kiddo.” Toni pressed her hand to Beth’s head and felt the girl nearly collapse as she started crying. “I got you.”
Henry put his arm around both of them and guided them toward an empty set of chairs.
“She texted me last week, and I was such an asshole.” Beth was crying and hiccuping as she tried to speak. “I’m so sorry. I hated her, but I didn’t want anything—”
“Honey, of course you didn’t.” She stroked Beth’s hair. “She knew that.”
“She wanted me and Ethan to go over to her house this weekend, and I told her we had better things to do and now he’s, like, really mad at me because I didn’t tell him she texted, and he and Dad are, like, so angry and—”
“Bethy.” She tried to calm the torrent of words. “Bethany.” She drew away and patted the girl’s cheek. “Honey, no one is angry with you. We all know you would never want something bad to happen to your mom. Where’s your dad?”
She wiped her eyes. “Uh… I think he was talking with the doctor. They’re still married, like, officially, so they want to talk to him and not Grandma and Grandpa Bianchi, so they’re mad too, but I think that Grandma is really just upset.”
“Of course she is.” Toni scanned the crowded emergency room but couldn’t spot Nico. “Beth, can you stay with Henry for a little while so I can figure out where your dad is? Or do you want to find Grandma Dusi?”