Keeping his bride

Nicholas

“Y OU’RE NOT CONCENTRATING,” Renato sneers as he shoves the blade of his knife towards me.

I barely move out of the way in time. I can hear the snick of the blade cutting the air as I dodge it at the very last second.

Training has always been a way of life for me ever since I was a little kid. My father taught me to always be ready. For anything.

I started doing the knives training years ago, because it gives the boring wrestling and fighting an element of danger that really gets my adrenaline going. I can tangle with my father’s men all day and take all of them on. But when you add a real, dangerous weapon into the mix…well, anything can happen.

I grip the hilt of my knife harder and thrust it towards him as we do a dangerous dance around the outdoor training area. He dodges it easily, as always. Renato is in top shape. All of my father’s men have to be in order to carry out what he expects from them. Just because Renato is closer o my age doesn’t mean anyone go s easier on him. If anything, they expect more. And he knows it.

Sweat drips down my bare back as the sun beats down on it. It feels like the hot rays are trying to peel my flesh off my bones. “It’s hot as fuck today,” I comment before moving to the side quickly as Renato tries his best to cut me.

“It was your idea,” he says with a grin as he steps back and bounces on his heels. “Girl trouble?”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“You know that’s what it is,” I tell him with an eye roll. “Fuck, some days I feel like I’m making some real progress with her. And then the next, it feels like I’m back to square one.”

“Time.”

“What?”

“Give it time. Time heals all wounds, or whatever the fuck it is that people say.”

Renato comes at me again, and this time I follow through with the attack and have his ass flat on the ground in a split second. He squints up at me through the bright sun with a shit-eating grin on his face. “You think I will ever beat you?”

“Never,” I tell him with a smirk as I reach down to offer my hand to help him up. We both return to our designated standing spots, and he motions for me to come at him again.

“I dunno. That girl has your mind all fucked up. I think now’s my chance,” he says with a dark chuckle.

“Maybe,” I agree. I take a stance before charging him. He not so easily discharges my weapon and tackles me to the ground. When he puts his arm around my neck and we’re wrestling, I instantly tap out. If Renato is good at anything, it’s putting someone in a chokehold and making them take a long nap in record time.

“Giving up so soon?” he taunts.

I gather my knife from the grass and go back to position. “Not sleepy,” I quip.

My comment has him howling with laughter. Then, he lifts up his arms and poses, making his larger-than-life biceps bulge. “No one can stay awake with these babies wrapped around their throat.”

“Just because the sun’s out doesn’t mean your guns should be out.”

He nods in agreement. “Yeah, I better put these things away before your girlfriend sees them and decides to come to my room tonight.” And then he emphasizes that bullshit spiel with a wink.

I know his insult is all in jest to rile me up, but it has my blood boiling in two-point-five seconds. “The fuck you say?” I ask through gritted teeth.

Renato must notice my change in disposition because he quickly says with a grin, “Ah, there you are. I’ve been looking for you all day.” He lifts his hand and motions with

his fingers. “Come at me, bro.” And I do.

My blade nicks him twice as we fight and wrestle to the ground. And only when I’m on top of him and my knife is threatening to cut into his jugular does he call it, tapping out.

“Giving up so soon?” I ask, repeating his earlier taunt.

“Fuck, you can be ruthless when you want to be,” he says, wiping the thin lines of blood from his side and stomach with his earlier discarded white t-shirt. After he’s cleaned up, he tosses the shirt aside, and I can see the glint of anger in his eyes. He hates to lose. And me getting the best of him even once feels like losing to him. “No more pussyfooting around,” he grinds out.

I can’t help but laugh at his comment. Most men wouldn’t last one round in the ring with us even if we weren’t technically going full bore earlier.

I’m ge ting into my stance, ready to tak on Renato when I get a glimpse of blonde hair. It’s not the long hair I’ve become accustomed to seeing, but a shoulder-length bob style. And I’m so caught off-guard when her peculiar eyes meet mine that I never even hear or see Renato coming at me.

I feel the blade of his knife slicing through my skin as he tackles me to the ground. “Ah, fuck!” I cry out as he comes down on me hard with all of his weight, effectively knocking the wind right out of my lungs.

“Oh, shit!” Renato yelps as he realizes what he’s done. He quickly scrambles off of me and stands up. “You looked ready, man. I thought you were ready!”

I can hear the panic in his voice. I don’t know if he’s more concerned that he might have seriously injured me or what my father will do to him if he finds out about it.

I’m still struggling to breathe when Selina comes running up to us. I can see the apprehension and fear in her eyes. “Are you okay?” her timid voice asks.

She looks…different. Not just her shorter hair, but everything. She’s in a short floral dress and cute sandals. And fuck, I can’t stop staring at her long legs as I try to recover from the hit. I’m such a sucker for long legs.

My sister runs up behind her, and I realize Aria must have made Selina her project today, giving her a complete makeover.

When my lungs are no longer on fire and I can finally speak, I tell them, “I’m fine.”

Renato offers me a hand up, and then looks down to my stomach and says, “Oh fuck.”

I glance down and see blood flowing out of the open wound. It’s already soaked through the waistband of my gray sweatpants. “It was my fault,” I tell him assuredly. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Selina, will you take Nico up to the nurse?” Aria asks.

Lina slowly nods, her wide eyes focused on my wound. Fuck. I know she hates the sight of blood based on what happened to her in the past.

“Please, hurry,” Aria says, gently shaking Lina’s shoulder.

The urgency in Aria’s voice seems to have its intended effect, and Lina finally snaps out of her odd trance. Grabbing my hand, Lina pulls me towards the house. I walk in a fog, staring down at our joined hands. Her hand feels so small and delicate in mine as she leads me upstairs to the nurse’s room.

She knocks on the door with her free hand, refusing to let me go, and I can’t help but smile. I know I shouldn’t be excited about holding hands with a girl like a prepubescent teen, but this is the most Lina has touched me since she arrived here. Every little step is a giant one with her, and I’m thankful for every single one.

Sarah opens the door and takes one look at me before she says with a heavy sigh, “Come in. Lay on the table.”

I do as she says as she walks over to the sink to wash her hands. I expect Lina to let go of my hand, but she grips it even tighter as she sits down on a chair next to the exam table.

“What happened this time?” Sarah asks with a frown as she puts on a pair of blue latex gloves.

“Knife fighting with Renato.”

“Hmm, usually he’s the one up here, not you,” she admits while she cleans my lower stomach with antiseptic.

“There’s a first time for everything,” I say with a heavy sigh.

Sarah fills a needle and comes to me. “I’m going to numb the area first, because it looks like you’re going to need a number of stitches.”

I grit my teeth and breathe out slowly as the needle enters my skin, and I hold Lina’s hand a little tighter. Fuck,

it feels good to have her here with me.

Sarah walks over to the cabinets and begins opening and closing drawers, collecting what she’s going to use. “So, Renato is normally the one I’m stitching up after one of your knife fights.” She glances over her shoulder and flashes me a toothy grin. “Don’t tell me he finally got the better of you?”

I let out a soft laugh and shake my head. “I was… distracted.”

Lina grips my hand a little tighter, and I gently squeeze hers back for reassurance. None of this is her fault. She’s just so damn beautiful that I couldn’t look away from her.

When her eyes meet mine, she whispers, “I’m sorry.” “Not your fault, sweetheart,” I whisper back.

My term of endearment has her cheeks flushing with a pink blush, driving me crazy. Fuck, I love that she’s shy with me sometimes.

Sarah turns around with a metal tray full of what will ultimately mean pain for me. Having missed our whispered conversation, she asks, “So, what distracted you?”

“The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life,” I answer before glancing over at Selina. Her pink blush is slowly turning into a deep red.

Sarah grins, her eyes moving back and forth between Selina and me. “Ah,” she utters, her smile growing wider. “Selina, how about you distract Nico again while I stitch him up?”

Selina gives her a nod, but I can tell she’s still feeling guilty. I squeeze her hand until her attention is on me. Then I say, “You cut your hair.”

“Uh, yeah,” she says while touching the shorter ends with her free hand. “Do you like it?” she asks, her eyes peeking through some of the stray strands at me.

“Yeah, it’s -.” I stop myself from saying how hot it is. She looks smoking hot with that new haircut. She looks older too. But instead, I find myself telling her, “It suits you.”

She smiles at my comment.

“Holy shit!” I holler as one of the sutures goes deep.

Sarah apologizes. “Maybe this will make you think twice about fighting with knives. You and Renato have better things to do than have a pissing contest every few days, don’t you?” she scolds me.

I grit my teeth and hiss through another deep suture. “No more knives. Got it,” I agree halfheartedly.

A few minutes later, Sarah is done stitching me up. I’m probably going to have an ugly scar on my lower stomach, but I’ll just add it to my ever-growing collection of training battle scars.

Lina pulls her hand from mine, and instantly I miss her touch. It felt so good to feel her skin next to mine. “I think I’m going to go read in my room,” she tells me before walking out.

I stare down at my empty hand and curse inwardly.

Sarah comes back over with some gauze and tape. “Try to keep this dry for a couple of days. And then you can take off the gauze and let it breathe. Don’t scrub too hard when you do shower.”

She fires out instructions, but I barely hear her. I’m too caught up in my own thoughts.

“Hey,” Sarah says, snapping her fingers in front of my face to get my attention. “Did you hear anything I said?”

“Keep it dry. Let it breathe. Don’t scrub too hard.”

She rolls her eyes and grins. “Good enough. Just come to me if any of the stitches open up. Okay?” “Sure,” I tell her before hopping off the table.

“Take it easy,” she warns.

“Sure,” I repeat, causing her to roll her eyes again. Then she asks, “Hey, how is Selina doing anyway?”

“Good. I think,” I say, my brows furrowing. “Honestly, she doesn’t tell me much. I just know she’s in a better place than where she was. And that’s all that matters at this point.”

Sarah nods in agreement.

“See you later,” I tell her before leaving. My feet carry me straight to Selina’s room. I knock, and after I hear her tell me it’s okay to come in, I peek my head around the door. She’s curled up on her bed with a book. “Wanna do something fun?” I ask her.

I can see the apprehension in her gaze, but she nods anyway and says, “Okay.”

“See you downstairs in five,” I tell her. I have an idea. I just hope Selina likes it.