The next couple of hours were a whirlwind. The Paradise infirmary couldn’t completely handle his wound, so they had to call an ambulance for Bruce to have a surgeon give it attention it needed.
Anna rode to the hospital in the front of the ambulance, worried that she was about to lose the man she loved.
She loved Bruce. She knew it now. And she worried she might never be able to tell him.
Anna paced the waiting room of the hospital, and when the doctor came out, he said, “He lost a lot of blood. His leg was broken in two places. I don’t know how he walked on it at all. He’s going to be alright in time. But he will have a long road of recovery ahead of him.”
Anna started to cry again and the doctor led her back to his room, where Bruce lay, sedated, his leg wrapped in bandages, covering his stitches.
Anna pulled up a chair and sat next to Bruce, before standing and kissing his forehead, “I love you, Bruce… I never said it before because I didn’t want to scare you away…”
She took his hand and sat, she would stay until he awoke and she refused to leave his side, no matter what the nurses said.
Anna awoke to someone stroking her hair. She didn’t even realize she’d fallen asleep. Her body must have eventually just given out.
“Hi there,” Bruce said with a dopey grin.
Anna instinctively jumped up out of her chair, wrapped her arms around him, and planted her lips firmly against his.
After kissing him again and again she regained her composure and sat back down.
“Sorry for the scare,” he says, morphine slurring his speech slightly. “You look nice in scrubs.”
Anna had completely forgotten a nurse had given her a set of green surgical scrubs to put on. She’d arrived at the hospital wearing only her robe which by that point was covered in blood.
“You look even nicer out of them,” he chuckles.
Anna sees the blanket on his bed rise slightly from the area of his groin, making a little tent. She giggles. He’s okay, she thinks. He’s a little doped up but he’s okay.
Anna felt her eyes well up again. She laughs and wipes her eyes, she’s never been happier to be inside a hospital.
“Bruce…” She starts to say, her hand entwining with his.
“Bruce, I..”
Then someone is standing in the door, and as they both turn to look, a familiar figure stands there.
“Uh. Hi.” Wyatt says, looking awkward.
Anna stands and storms over to him, her face red, her eyes filled with anger. She’s never felt this mad at someone before.
*SMACK*
Her hand flies across his right cheek, she doesn’t care if it angers him, he deserves what’s coming.
“What the fuck were you trying to accomplish?” she growls at him
*SMACK*
The other cheek, his face now turning red from her hands, but Wyatt just stands there. Taking it. Not saying a word.
“I have every right to throw you out of here, but I want to know why? Why put Bruce through that, why put… Why put me through that after I’ve lost nearly everything in my life and he is all that remains?” her face reddening with anger.
Wyatt doesn’t say anything. He just stands there and shifts his weight.
“I cannot believe this.” Anna looks back at Bruce and says, “I need some air. Maybe you can get him to talk.”
Anna storms out of the room and goes down to the cafeteria where she eats for the first time in almost an entire day. Maybe her lack of food caused her to fly off the handle like that, but maybe not. Wyatt knew why they were back at Paradise. It wasn’t because they wanted to necessarily, it was because they had nowhere else to go.
Anna had no one. She couldn’t see her family or even talk to them yet. She didn’t really have any friends of her own. All she had was Bruce…
Right now she never felt more alone. without Bruce she would be lost. She loved him so much, she needed him now, probably more than he needed her.
“Seems your filly caught a little fire, young buck,” Wyatt says, not leaving the doorway.
“Can’t say you didn’t deserve it, old man,” Bruce chuckles.
“Yeah, I suppose I did,” he responds, walking into the room and taking a seat next to the bed. “At least this one didn’t chase me with a knife and threaten to cut my manhood off.”
“No she did not,” Bruce says. “But judging by what I saw last night, you’ve forgiven the red devil for that one. You’ve probably been forgiving her over and over in a dozen positions.”
“I made a mistake, young buck,” the old man says, gruffly. “I was mad but I didn’t do anything to intentionally hurt you or Anna. You know me better than that.”
“Hard to believe you with Carolina in your bed,” Bruce snaps.
“She ain’t in my bed anymore. She ain’t even on the damn grounds,” he says, growing heated. He takes a deep breath. Calms himself. “After last night I told her to tell her daughters what she came to say and leave. And that she ain’t welcome back.”
He pauses.
“Yeah I fucked her. She fucked me. We fucked each other for hours. And I enjoyed every minute,” he admits. “But you know better than anyone how that devil woman gets in a man’s head. Plays games. She got me. I ain’t infallible.”
“Is she really gone?” Bruce asks.
“She is. Saw her out myself to be sure. Security has been told she’s not to be let onto the grounds for any reason,” he says.
He grabs Bruce’s hand. “I came to apologize, Bruce. We have been through too much to let some woman come between us.”
Bruce says nothing.
“I ain’t asking for forgiveness but I am apologizing,” Wyatt says, squeezing Bruce’s hand. “And I trust you will tell Anna for me. I doubt she’ll listen to it from my mouth right now.”
He stands up. Straightens his clothes.
“I stayed up all night finishing your financial business. You’re free and clear to travel where you want when you want. The company doesn’t exist, records say it never did. Your employees all get a generous severance once they sign their NDA.”
Bruce nods.
“And Victor Salvatore won’t be a concern for you, Anna, or her family. Or anyone.”
“Do I want to know?” Bruce asks.
“The man had many enemies back in Italy,” he says. “They may have gotten a tip where to find him. What they did with that tip ain’t your business or mine.”
Bruce chuckles.
Wyatt turns to leave. “I hope you’ll stay at least until you’re healed up. You know how to find me.”
“I’ll talk it over with Anna. I owe it to her to follow whatever she would like to do,” Bruce says.
“Fair enough. She’s a damn good woman. Probably the best thing that will ever happen to you. Heal up, young buck,” Wyatt says, exiting.
Anna returned to the room as Wyatt was leaving. She avoided his gaze and went right over to Bruce, kissing his lip passionately, hands cupping his face.
Maybe it was out of spite, maybe it was just because she needed to, but she wanted to show Wyatt that she belonged with Bruce, that he hadn’t broken them.
Wyatt watched them and knew that they deserved each other. That they belonged together, and that his trying to get between them was wrong. If they invited him around he would be grateful and would enjoy every second but for now, he would leave them be. He turned and left, heading back to Paradise, where he would wait. He hoped he would see them both before they eventually left. Anna didn’t belong there anymore and Wyatt knew the pair of them would go off on their own journey. It was an ending of sorts. It was time.
Anna pulled away and rested her forehead against Bruce’s and stroked his cheek.
“I love you Bruce. I love you more than anything.”
“I love you, Anna,” Bruce says, kissing the top of her head.
They lay together for a moment silently.
“He came to apologize,” Bruce says. “First time I have ever heard a real apology come out of that man.”
Anna says nothing.
“And to give me some information,” he continues. “The business is done. The one you worked for and any business with Victor Salvatore.”
He kisses her head again. “We can go anywhere you want, Anna. Do anything you want. Travel. See anything you’ve ever dreamed. We’re officially homeless, jobless, and very, very rich.”
Anna looks in his eyes.
“That is, if you want to stay with me. Otherwise it’s just me and the dogs starting over.”
He kisses her lips and whispers, “Please stay with me, Anna. I need you. I love you.”
Anna smiles, and laughs quietly. She felt her heart flutter hearing him say those words. They made her realize he felt the same as she did, that they belonged together, for good.
“I don’t know if I could live without you…” She stroked his cheek and sighed. “I don’t think I’d ever enjoy hearing we were homeless…”
She paused and rested her head on his chest. The beeping of his heart quickening the closer she got.
“Let’s buy a home. For us… For the dogs. No gates, no security, no staff. Just.. us…” she says.
Bruce didn’t say anything, and as she lifted her head, she saw him looking at her, a smile on his face.
“What is it Bruce?” she asked with a smile, her hand taking his.
“I guess someone was bound to break me of my bachelor ways,” he chuckles.
He kisses her forehead. “Anywhere you want. We can buy it. We can build it. We can do anything.”
He kisses her again.
“We can even go meet your mom. Just don’t try to have her move in with us,” he chuckles.
“We’ve lived in my world since I met you. I want to see your world. I want to create our world. Together.”
“And…”
He stops. Anna looks at him.
“And if you think you ever want to be in a situation with me again where we would need a safe word I thought of one while my idiot ass was laying here.”
Anna cocks her head at him. Curious but also amused at him sounding slightly like Wyatt.
“O. Hi. O,” he says, punctuating each syllable with a kiss. “Where the love of my life is from.”
Anna giggles. She’s never shown Bruce her world. She doesn’t even know if he knows how to take care of a home without a staff, but she would show him, teach him.
“I think we can stay in Europe. We just may need to bring my family here to visit. Maybe buy a family summer home for them whenever they want to visit.”
She looked at him, laying in his hospital bed.
“I do think we need to stay at Paradise until you’ve healed. That seems like the best plan, but we can go looking and decide what we want to buy or build from there…”
She stops a moment.
“Bruce… Can I ask you something?”
“Anything Anna, I won’t ever keep secrets from you again.”
“Would you…” She sighed and gripped his hand, “would you consider getting married again? I know you’ve had bad luck, and if you don’t want to, I understand, but, I can’t help but ask…”
She knew the answer might be no, but she also knew she needed to know.
“I won’t be hurt by your answer, hell, you don’t even have to answer right now, or tomorrow, or next week. Just know I will marry you in a second, and will gladly be your wife for the rest of your life. But I will also be your life partner if marriage is off the table.”
She kissed his forehead, “just think about it. I’m not going anywhere, regardless of the answer.”
“I never thought I’d get married again,” Bruce says. “I figured I’d be like Wyatt, just bouncing around the world with my dick out until I dropped dead while fucking some hot young thing.”
He stops. Takes Anna’s hand. Looks at the ring on it. Kisses her fingers.
“I also didn’t think I would ever meet someone like you,” he says. “You’re the only hot young thing I want to bounce around on.”
He starts to laugh but a wince of pain cuts him off.
“You’re much more traditional than I am, Anna,” he says. “If being my missus for all the world to see will make you happy, then let’s do it. Let’s get married.”
Anna smiles and kisses him again and again, trying to be mindful of his injuries but excitement and joy taking her over.
“Let’s get out of here before we celebrate too much,” he says, wincing again. “This is hardly an appropriate outfit for the occasion.” He pulls on his hospital gown.
“Go find the doctor and tell him you promise to be the best nurse a man could ever have,” he says, patting Anna’s ass. “I want to go home.”
He stops and kisses her again.
“I want to go home with the woman I love.”
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/pf4t41/the_pleasure_of_business_an_erotic_novel_chapter