His Mafia Queen

Dry and Sparkling

Riley

I spend the next few days recovering at Gabriel's house. It almost feels decadent. The pain from my kidney is mostly gone, the weather is perfect, and Gabriel's place feels like a resort. The day after he spanked me, I pass most of the day in bed, reading and napping.

Gabriel's thrilled about this, of course, because it means I'm not exerting myself or getting into trouble. I try to do it a second day, but am bored beyond belief, so I do a little work, then lounge by the pool.

On day three, I'm going out of my mind with boredom. I'd rather go back to work. At least that way I'd feel productive and not like a woman who's leeching off her boyfriend.

"Babe," I say to Gabriel, who comes home at lunch to check on me, "I'm going to return to the newsroom tomorrow."

"The hell you are, babe," he says good-naturedly. The doctor said you need to rest for a full week.

I make an exaggerated, whiny noise. We're standing in his office. He comes over and wraps his arms around me.

"I feel useless," I groan.

"You're very useful to me." He kisses my forehead. "And beautiful. Don't forget beautiful."

I roll my eyes. "Stop. I don't like being here without paying rent or contributing in some way."

He holds me by the upper arms, at arm's length, away from his body. His face is screwed up into a deep squint. "You're joking, right?"

"No," I say crossly. "I don't like doing nothing."

He begins to chuckle and folds me into his arms. "Try to relax. Please. Do you want me to hire a private yoga teacher? They could come to the house. Maybe you could set up by the pool."

"No," I mutter into his chest, although poolside yoga does sound lovely. "I'm just bad at sitting still, I guess."

Gabriel leaves an hour later, apologizing on his way out that he won't be home for dinner. I paste on a smile and tell him I'm going to tackle a long book I've been meaning to read. He beams.

"I love you," he says, then kisses me deeply, with tongue.

"Mmm," I hum while grinning against his mouth. "I like that."

"I do too, almost too much. Be good today, okay?"

"I will." I bat my eyelashes at him. "And maybe I would like that private yoga teacher."

He beams. More than anything, Gabriel loves solving problems and finding solutions. "I'm on it."

I nod and watch him go, feeling a twinge of loneliness in my chest. But I don't want to let that feeling linger, so I decide to make the most out of the free time I have. I'm not sure I've ever gotten this much time to myself since starting college, and definitely not since I began working at the paper. I should enjoy this.

I grab the book I mentioned to Gabriel and settle onto the couch, determined to lose myself in its pages. As I read, I can feel my mind beginning to relax, the tension and anxiety of the past week slowly dissipating. For an hour, I read, but my mind wanders and then I do, too.

I end up in the bedroom with Reese, and nap for a while. We're on the bed (when we first hooked up, Gabriel didn't want the dog on the bed, but he's relaxed the rules since I got sick). When I wake, I debate whether to return to my book.

When I can't muster the energy to open it and read more, I set it on the nightstand and sigh. I'm stretched out in bed, it's seven at night, and Gabriel's at his business meeting. I stare at Reese, and he stares back, his dark brown eyes like buttons.