Bethany
I pushed through the door of the master suite, the room was massive. Xavier was sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed.
His dress shirt was on the floor, more like a bloody rag than a shirt. In the dim light, his torso looked like it had been sculpted from diamond, but the bloody hole in his side ruined the perfection.
He was pressing a white cloth to the wound and there were alcohol beside him; I bet that hurts.
He looks terrible, a voice whispered in the back of my head. He's losing too much blood. What if he passes out? What if he dies in this empty house and leaves me trapped here?
I felt a surge of genuine panic, I felt the urge to run to him, to take the cloth from his shaking hands. But then I remembered the file. I remembered the 'Wife' comment.
I forced my face into a mask of pure boredom, not saying a word. I just walked past him, and climbed onto the far side of the bed pulling the heavy silk duvet up to my chin and stared at the ceiling.
"You're just going to go to sleep?" Xavier voice came. I could hear the strain in his lungs. "I'm bleeding, Bethany. A little sympathy wouldn't kill you."
"Sympathy is expensive, Xavier," I said, my voice flat and cold. "And since you spent all your pocket change on a marriage license I didn't ask for, I figured you couldn't afford my concern."
"I took a bullet for you."
"And I took your last name," I snapped, rolling onto my side so my back faced him.
"I'd say we're even. Maybe the bullet was the better deal, at least it doesn't have to listen to you talk."
I heard him let out a ragged, pained hiss as he moved. The bed shifted. He was too close.
I could feel the heat from his body, every nerve in my body was screaming at me to turn around, and check if the bleeding had stopped.
Turn around. Just look at him. You can't let him bleed out.
"Bethany," he murmured, his voice dropping to a low, vulnerable frequency that made my skin tingle. "Look at me."
"I've seen enough of you to last a lifetime, Xavier," I bit my lips, clutching the duvet.
"If you're looking for a nurse, call one of your maids. I'm off the clock. In fact, I was never on it."
"You're a terrible liar," he whispered. I felt his hand brush against the duvet near my shoulder, his touch almost hesitant. "Your heart is beating so fast I can hear it against the mattress."
"That's just the sound of me counting down the minutes until I can file for divorce," I retorted, closing my eyes tight. "Now shut up and bleed in silence. I have a big day of hating you tomorrow, and I need my rest."
Xavier
My side was on fire. Every time I breathed, it felt like a hot iron was twisting in my ribs. But I couldn't pass out yet. Not while I knew there was a rat in this house.
I hadn't removed everything from the other rooms for refurbishment,I did it because I found a tiny transmitters hidden in the furniture. This master suite was the only room I'd swept myself. It was the only place I could keep her without a sniper taking a shot through a balcony window.
And Julian... my best friend. The guy I'd grown up with. I still couldn't wrap my head around seeing him at the gala in a Schendlin uniform. We'd looked at each other for a split second before we both pulled the trigger. I took a hit to the side. He took one to the throat. I didn't have time to mourn him; I just had to get his blood off my hands before Bethany saw it.
I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to stop the leaking red mess in my side. Bethany was lying there like a statue, pretending she wasn't watching me.
"You're just going to go to sleep?" I managed to rasp out.
She didn't even turn around. "Sympathy is expensive, Xavier."
I ignored her biting comment. My eyes were locked on the ceiling vent. A tiny, red infrared light was blinking and I could tell someone was watching. I needed a distraction.
I didn't give her a warning. I lunged across the mattress, pinning her down. The pain in my side flared so much I almost blacked out, but I shoved her shoulders into the pillows.
"What are you..." Her eyes went wide, her hands hitting my chest to push me off.
"Shut up," I hissed, leaning so close our noses brushed. "Moan. Now."
"You're a creep! Get off me!" She tried to knee me, but I blocked her with my thigh.
"Listen to me, Bethany," I growled, my voice vibrating against her skin. "I'd rather get a jerk off from a sewer rat than actually touch you, so stop flatterng yourself."