Page 22 of Urgent Vows
"Yes, but that wouldn't have stopped him. It probably would have made him worse."
She is right and for only the second time in my life, I feel helpless. The first was when my father died of a heart attack. And now, as I look at the woman I married this morning and realize if I hadn't done so, she would have continued to be abused until she ended up like her mother.
Dead at her father's hand.
Chapter 8
SEVERU
I allow the doctor and Aldo back into the room.
"This is a compound of witch hazel, arnica, and other medicinal herbs." The doctor goes to hand a tube of cream to Catalina.
I put my hand out for it. He had to touch her for the exam; that was enough.
He doesn't hesitate to hand the tube to me instead, but keeps his attention on my wife's face. "It will help with the bruises and swelling on your hand and mitigate some of the pain. I also want you taking a staggered regimen of two different analgesics for at least three days. That will also help with the pain and swelling."
I put it in the pocket of my tuxedo jacket. I will apply it to Catalina's bruises when we are alone in our room later and no one else can see her body when I remove the clothing covering them.
"Alright," she says to the doctor.
"Do not skip doses and make sure you never take them on an empty stomach. They can wreak havoc with your stomach lining otherwise."
Catalina frowns. "If you say so."
"She will take every dose," I say, more for my wife's understanding than the doctor's.
She gives me a disgruntled look but doesn't argue.
"Apply ice packs to the affected areas several times a day for twenty minutes at a time. If you ice all three areas at the same time, you may get chilled, so make sure you have a blanket handy."
Catalina rolls her eyes at the doctor. "I think I can figure that out."
I feel a twitch in my lips that is almost a smile.
"Yes, well," the doctor says. "The bruising on your face and hand should heal within a matter of days, but your ribs will take four to six weeks."
"Will that hinder her ability to have sex?" I ask.
Catalina blushes violently, covering her face with her undamaged hand. "Did you have to ask that?"
"Yes," I assure her. I want her, but I will not take her if it will cause her further damage.
"She will do better with you above her until her ribs heal, either on her back or on all fours," the doctor says, showing no signs of reticence discussing this subject. "But do not allow your weight to rest on her in either position. No strenuous intercourse that shakes her body too much."
In other words, be gentle with my new wife. I am not a gentle lover, but if it means I get to sink my cock into her pussy without waiting six weeks, I can control my usual inclinations.
Catalina makes a strangled sound but doesn't lower her hand from her face. "Can we be finished talking about this?"
I look at the doctor. "Any other limitations?"
"No," he says.
Aldo coughs. Catalina's hand comes down and she glares past me at my head bodyguard. "Don't you laugh. And don't you dare repeat this conversation to anyone."
"Aldo would never repeat a private conversation between us," I tell her. The man is too smart to do something that stupid.
"It's not exactly private. The doctor and nurse are here. So is Aldo," she says in a tone that can only be described as grumpy.
