Adron pushed the oxygen mask off his face.

His doctor gave him a peeved glare. “Would you stop that, you need it.”

“I can’t breathe with it on.”

“You can barely breathe, period.” Theo put he oxygen mask back in place.

Adron narrowed his eyes at the man, but as usual, Theo didn’t care. Over the last eight years, their battle of wills had become legendary with the hospital staff.

Theo brushed a hand though his graying black hair while he scowled at him. “I can’t believe you’d even try to have sex in your condition. What were you thinking?”

That his wife had the best ass he’d ever seen...

Adron jerked the mask off. “I’m not a friggin’ eunuch.”

“No, you’re not. But that’s about the only part of you that didn’t get cut off and that still works the way God intended it to.” Theo put the mask back in place. “You need to remember you’re a man whose internal organs are barely fused together. Their functionality is minimal at best, and any strain on them can kill you. How many times do I have to tell you that you can’t put any pressure on your abdomen?”

“Well, if I have to die, I’d rather go out with a good bang.”

Theo curled his lip. “You’re not funny.”

His throat tight, Adron closed his eyes. An image of Livia drifted through his mind, and he cursed it.

Theo checked his IV. “If you’d wear your chest brace—”

“It’s hot and it chafes. I can’t even move in it.”

Sighing, Theo set his electronic chart aside. “Like it or not, Adron, one misplaced fall and you could break something and kill yourself. Your body is as fragile as a flower.”

Yeah, there was something an assassin really wanted to be compared to. He, the baddest of bad - the man who’d once made the worst scum in the universe tremble in fear, was now a goddamn flower.

I wish I were dead.

Adron removed the mask again. “I don’t care. I’m not going to wear that monstrosity. It makes me look like a freak.” Which he was, but by the gods, he had no intention of letting everyone know just how damaged he really was.

Theo rolled his eyes. “One day, that stubbornness is going to get you killed.”

Yeah, but obviously not soon enough.

More roughly than before, Theo replaced the mask. “By the way, there’s a reason why I don’t give you medicine to completely numb your pain. You need to feel it to know the limitations of your damaged body. Tell your wife it was a nice thought, but in the future you better not let her help you. Not unless you want to become my permanent guest here at Hotel Hell. Now keep that damn mask in place or I’ll have your hands restrained.”

In one last act of defiance, Adron made an obscene gesture. Rolling his eyes, the good doctor walked away.

Theo stopped at the door and turned back to face him. “And the next time you want to have sex, you better find some way to do it without putting any strain on your chest or abdomen. I’m not kidding, Adron. You do this to yourself one more time and I will geld you for it.”

###

“Hey, big brother.”

Adron opened his eyes to see Zarina leaning into the room. He tried to muster a smile for her, but couldn’t. The pain was just too much right now. Not to mention she wouldn’t be able to see it anyway for the mask covering his face.

Still, he was glad to see her. No matter how bad he felt, Zarina and her offbeat sense of humor could always make him feel better.

“Theo the Bad just said it was okay to see you. How do you feel?” Zarina took a hesitant step inside his room, and it was then he saw Livia behind her and all thoughts scattered.

His wife had her long brown hair braided down her back. The blue conservative pantsuit made her pale skin glow and those large doe eyes held so much tenderness in them that it made him ache to be whole.

To be able to love her like she deserved...

Adron clenched his teeth as a wave of desire tore through him. He couldn’t stand to see her, knowing she belonged to him, and yet he could never again have her.

It was the cruelest blow of all.

He turned his head away from them so he wouldn’t be reminded of what a monster he’d become. Wouldn’t remember the man who could have made love to her all night long without tiring.

Now...

He looked down at his bare, scarred arm that disgusted him. The twisted flesh. The puckered skin... How could Livia not be repulsed by him? Even he hated himself. “Get out and leave me alone.”

“Adron?”

The sound of Livia’s gentle voice washed over him like a gentle caress and it tore through him like glycerin on glass.

She came forward and when he felt her touch on his scarred arm...

Forget the pain of his injuries. They were nothing compared to the mental damage that touch wrought. “Get away from me!” He pushed Livia back and glared at his sister as his monitors blared. “Take her to a lawyer and get us divorced. Now! I mean it, Rina. Don’t you dare ignore me.”

Theo came running in with two nurses behind him. “Out,” he snapped at the women. “I told you not to upset him.”

Livia felt her tears swell at the sight of the doctor forcing Adron to lie down and the sound of Adron cursing them all.

Her throat tight, she looked up at Zarina. “What did I do?”

“It’s not you, sweetie.” Zarina hugged her to her side as they left the room and headed down the hallway. “Adron is just blaming you for what Lia did.”

“Lia?”

“His first wife.”

Livia stumbled. “He was married before?”

She nodded. “Yes. And she was one serious bitch. To this day, I’d love to rip her cold heart out and feed it to her.