Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance #2)(61)

This was Viviana's fault. All of it. She was toxic and needed to pay for all that she had done. My fingers reached out, circling around Noelle’s. My touch was gentle against her skin. Her hand felt so small in my large one, her skin was warm against mine.

I couldn’t stop the thoughts from entering my mind as I stared down at my beautiful princess. Was it possible that I loved her? I didn’t even have a real taste of her yet, but I loved the person she was, and I craved her touch when she wasn’t near. I could feel her presence from across a room and seek her out in the middle of a crowded place.

“She will pay for hurting you, princess. She will pay for all the damage she has caused you,” I whispered the words as I placed a soft feather light kiss against her forehead and then to her cheek. That sunshine-colored hair of hers was a disastrous mess, and she smelled like a mix of alcohol and the antiseptic stench of a hospital. Still she was the most beautiful f*cking woman in this entire place.

Quite possibly the entire world. That and she was all mine.

I placed my ass in the uncomfortable blue chair right next to her bed, patiently waiting for her to wake up, my eyes never once leaving hers not even when the seconds seemed to turn into hours.

A nurse came in and administered some drugs into her IV and asked me if I wanted anything to eat or drink. I shook my head no, vowing not to leave Noelle’s side until she woke up. I wanted to be the first thing she saw when she finally opened those beautiful hazel orbs of hers. She would know that I was here for her.

I wouldn’t let her mother twist my image, or make Noelle think that I didn’t care enough to be here for her when I did. I sat in that chair for almost an eternity. My ass hurt, and my arms were stiff, but it was worth it. I would sit here for the rest of my life if that’s how long it took her to wake up. My eyes drifted closed, too heavy to stay open any longer. I was merely trying to catch a breath of sleep when a soft squeeze awoke me.

I blinked my eyes open, the feeling of joy and relief coming over me, my eyes meeting Noelle’s big ones. I reached my arm over to the small stand by her bed grabbing for the water that the nurse placed there, and offered it to her without hesitation.

“Everything is okay, babe, you’re going to be just fine.…” I reassured her bringing, the straw up to her lips. She took a small gulp of water and then another before releasing it back to me. I waited eagerly for her to say something. Anything, almost wanting to beg her to speak right this second.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was coarse, and it seemed to take her some time to get the words out.

“No, baby, don’t be sorry. I wanted to be here for you when you woke up. You didn’t do anything wrong.” A frown marred her beautiful features, and I wanted to take my thumb and wipe that sad look away. Her brow furrowed as she started to speak again.

“Are you okay?” Her eyes were missing that twinkle they usually had and that caused a pang of sadness to creep into my chest.

“I’m fine, babe. Perfect. A million times better now that you’re awake.” I smiled. I couldn’t have her thinking any of this was her fault.

“Do you remember what happened to you? Why you’re here?” I asked for no other reason than to see what she knew, to see if she had any clue as to what happened earlier that night.

“No, not really. I just remember going out with Jordan. I wanted to forget everything that happened with my mom and the rejection I felt after what we did. One minute I was drinking, having a good time and the next you and I were talking and I started feeling really weird. Like I needed to rest and then I woke up here, with you.” There was a small smile on her face when she mentioned me, which made me feel good until the guilt started creeping its ugly head in.

I was partly to blame for this, just like Viviana claimed. I felt like a class A dick for making her feel as if I had rejected her. That was never my intention. I just wanted to protect her from myself until I could calm down, until I could rein in the darker parts of me. I f*cked up royally. I was a royal prick.

“Noelle, I’m so sorry for making you feel like I was rejecting you, baby. I just needed to calm down. Telling me just how pure you were got me way too excited. I just needed to clear my head before I could taint your precious body any more than I already had.” I spoke softly hoping that my words could soothe her, and bring some type of comfort to her emotions.

Her eyes started to drift closed again. I understood why she was so tired. She needed to heal, and they said rest was the best kind of medicine. The drugs that she was given caused an allergic reaction that almost stopped her breathing. If I wasn’t with her, who knows what would have happened to her.

I needed to give Noelle some time to heal and get better. I also needed to take some time to realize just how badly my words hurt her.

“Don’t worry about a thing; you just sleep. baby.” I spoke the words against her skin, as I placed a kiss against each eyelid. Noelle had me like no one else ever had. I would do anything to protect her. To keep her safe.

As soon as I knew she was in a deep sleep, I slipped from the room and headed out of the hospital. I had a couple of phone calls I had to make. I wanted to stay here with Noelle, but I wasn’t sure I could handle spending the next six months being around Viviana. She was already under my skin, and the fact that she was the reason for my miserable upbringing and everything that occurred with Noelle today didn’t make it better. I needed to distance myself from her before I did something that could land me in jail.