has the nerve to cross his arms and glower. “You can leave this room, you know.”
I pick up the remote and change the channel to a different station, hoping to catch some world news. “I’m fine here.”
He drops his arms and rounds the bed. When he reaches me, he snatches the remote and tosses it out of my reach. “Come on. You hardly ate breakfast, which isn’t like you. I’ll make you some lunch and we’ll sit out back so you can get some fresh air.”
“Cole—”
“Sweetness, as much as I want to keep you here, I want you strong and that’s not going to happen unless you eat and move your beautiful body.”
“Bring me a sandwich.”
He shakes his head and the standoff ensues. “No can do. Get up.”
I change the subject. “I thought you said you were getting clothes for me.”
“They should be here today.” He gives my hand a squeeze and hikes a brow. “Even though I’d rather see you swimming in mine any day of the week.”
I pull my hand from his and close my eyes. “I feel and look like death and don’t have the energy for you.”
The mattress dips and I open my eyes to find him sitting next to me, invading my space the way he does. Leering, with hands rested on either side of my pillow, his dark eyes are as intense as his tone. “Tell me what I need to do to get you out of this bed. I’m desperate, Bella. I’m trying to get you better, deal with Abbott, and shut Red down because he’s a grown-ass man and needs to act like one. If he weren’t my father, his ass would be in the ditch by the main road right now. I’ve got shit stirring at work and I’m trying to figure out why you were here to begin with since you refuse to tell me.”
I roll my eyes again, and in turn, he leans in closer and lowers his voice even more.
“And that right there,” he continues, “makes me hard. You know it does. But I refuse to even kiss you until we come to some sort of understanding. There’s a middle ground, Bella, we just need to find it. I swear, it’s on my list right after I check off all the other shit, the first is nursing you back to the kick-ass woman who ensnared me years ago.”
I look up at him, his lips close to mine despite his promise not to kiss me. I’m honestly relieved. My resolve is not weak but my body is. I don’t have the strength to punch him in the face. “You’re a shitty nurse.”
“You’re a shittier patient,” he boomerangs.
True. I decide to negotiate because the four walls of his bedroom are about to close in on me. I can’t remember the last time I’ve laid in one position for so long. “I’ll get up on one condition.”
“Name it. I’m desperate.”
“A phone. A laptop. A tablet. Something to check my messages and touch base with my people.”
He pulls in a deep breath and stands straight, all six feet and four inches of him, holding out his hand again. “Done. But in return, you eat every meal in the kitchen, walk around the house, sit in the family room. I want Abbott to get used to you being here. You can cuss at Red for all I care—he deserves it. But unless you’re sleeping, you’ll spend time among the living.”
Damn. He knows I’ll do anything to communicate with the outside world. He has me by my lady balls.
I put my hand in his and bite back my wince as I sit up. “If you’re hell-bent on torturing your family with my presence, then you’re the craziest bloke I know. Fine. I’ll do what you want—I needed a phone last week in the hospital.”
He helps me to my feet as I try to ignore the smug look in his dark features. His lips even tip on one side and the pain in my chest it creates has nothing to do with the hell I’ve been dragged through in the course of the last week. His warm hands land low on my hips where he gives me a light squeeze. “Your phone was delivered two hours ago. I encrypted it. I know you know how to cover your arse, even though I’d rather be the one in charge of that. I’m fond of your ass and miss it.”