28 - Creative

Mia's POV.

All I could think about as Federico made his way out of the bathroom after giving me the best head massage anyone had ever given me was how good those fingers would feel on other parts of my body.

All I had to do was go into the bedroom and tell him I wanted him. It was so, so tempting. But even if I wanted to give in to that temptation tonight, I was too tired to do much. And I definitely did not want our first time together to be when I felt like death warmed over.

I sighed to myself, washing myself up with my left arm because so much as moving my right one hurt like a bitch. Once I was sure I was clean enough, I got up and grabbed the towel he had left for me, wrapping it around me with one arm and securing it in place.

Then, I called out to Federico to come and get me because I felt completely drained. I never knew something as simple as taking a bath could tire me out as much as it did today. I felt like I would fall asleep standing up if I could.

He appeared at the door at once, pausing when he looked at me.

"I, uh, need help putting this on," I told him. I couldn't quite maneuver my hand enough to wear the shirt on my own even though he had been thoughtful and gotten me one with buttons so I wouldn't have to raise my arms to wear it.

"Right," he said, moving towards me and helping me out of the bathtub first. Then, he held out the shorts for me to step into first.

I used my good arm to hold onto his shoulder as I balanced myself and stepped into the shorts one leg at a time, which he then pulled all the way up underneath the towel, his thumbs brushing against my hipbone as he did so.

His gaze darkened at my quick intake of breath but he didn't say anything before holding out the shirt for me as well.

"Wear it in your injured arm first, it'll be easier that way," he told me when I began to put my uninjured arm through the shirt first.

I paused, thinking that he was actually right and did as he had asked. I was able to wear the shirt without much trouble. He quickly buttoned it up for me while I removed the towel from underneath.

"Looks like someone has had a lot of experience dealing with injuries like this," I said lightly as he picked me up again and began to carry me toward the bed. I was so tired that I didn't even try to protest.

"Unfortunately, I do," he replied, not offering any further explanation as he gently laid me down on the bed.

"Mama's sent this for you while you were bathing. You should eat this before sleeping," he said to me, blowing on a spoonful of the soup to cool it down before holding it up in front of my mouth.

Like an obedient little kid, I opened my mouth and let him feed me. The rich, creamy taste of the soup made my mouth water as it slid down my throat, soothing me. "This is the best soup I've ever tasted," I declared, opening my mouth and waiting for him to feed me some more.

He chuckled, but placed another spoonful into my mouth anyway. "I know. It used to cheer me right up whenever I was feeling ill when I was a kid."

"Such a mama's boy," I muttered, concentrating on the soup.

"And proudly so," he replied, not even denying it.

Once I was done practically inhaling the soup, I laid down in bed, too tired to keep my eyes open for another minute. "Good night," I muttered, getting lost in dreamland within seconds.

***

When I woke up hours later, Federico was freshly showered and leaning back on the sofa close to the bed with a newspaper on his lap.

"Ah, look who's finally awake," he muttered when I looked at him.

"I'm injured. I think I deserved that nap," I retorted, Whiskers meowing loudly from the balcony where she seemed to have taken up permanent residence that I was, indeed, fight.

"See, even Whiskers agrees with me," I said to a rather amused looking Federico.

"Of course, she does," he muttered before getting up from his spot on the sofa and grabbing a covered bowl from the bedside table and placing it next to me on the bed.

It had different kinds of fruit cut up for me to eat. He held up a piece of strawberry in front of my mouth, motioning for me to open my mouth. I did as he had asked, chewing it slowly. "I'm not a quadriplegic. I can use my hands just fine," I said to him once I had swallowed my bite.

He held another piece of fruit in front of my mouth. "I know," he said simply, not giving me the bowl so I could eat it myself.

I rolled my eyes at his behavior, though on the inside, there was a swarm of butterflies in my stomach at this unexpectedly sweet gesture of his.

"Say, if I knew all I had to do to get you to be all nice and sweet to me was to get shot, I would've done it ages ago," I couldn't help but mutter, a teasing lilt to my voice.

"You talk as if I'm not nice to you at all," he replied dryly.

I chewed on the kiwi he had just fed me thoughtfully. "You are, but never like this. This is princess treatment at its best."

"Don't expect me to do this all the time," he muttered as he fed me another piece of fruit. "Oh and the doctor called while you were asleep. She wants you to come in for a scan to check for any other injuries just in case."

I frowned. "But other than my arm, I feel just fine. I don't think I have any other injuries."

"It's a precautionary thing. Just to make sure everything's alright."

I stared at him for a moment. "Does she want me to get scanned or do you want me to?"

He huffed out a breath. "Don't be a brat about it. You're getting a full body scan and that's it."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I liked that he was being so concerned and caring and attentive towards me, but a full body scan when I was feeling just fine was too much. "I'm not. I don't need it."

He glared at me. "You do."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not getting it and that's it."

"Mia—"

I cut him off with another shake of my head. "No. I don't want to waste any more time. Where's that pen drive I had copied all those files to? I need to start looking into them now," I said to him instead, both because I wanted to change the topic and also because I wanted to get back to work.

His glare turned hotter. "You're delusional if you think I'm going to let you work when you can't even lift your arm straight."

I groaned. "It's not like I have to do weightlifting or something. I only have to work on my laptop for God's sake."

Federico shook his head, the stubborn ass that he was. "No work until you're fully healed."

Fine. If that's how he was going to be, I'd just have to get a little creative to get that pen drive from him.