Xia's POV:

I had just showered and changed into cute pajamas for the night while Rico had waited for me due to fact that he had to wait for a while after having a shower before the gauze could be put.

He took in a sharp breath as I wrapped the gauze around his abdomen. He was still sitting on the edge on the bed with me standing right beside him. I did tell him that it would be better if he stood up but then again, he is a stubborn man...child.

As I was doing so, he spoke up. "So, have you done this before?"

"Nope. It's my first time." I replied, carefully going around the bullet wound to make to sure that I didn't hurt him even more than I already was.

"You're doing it quite well." He complimented, looking right at me.

"Well, thank you. It would be better if you stood up so that it be easier and much closer for me but no. You don't wan-" I stopped myself from speaking any further when I felt his arms wind around my waist.

It all happened so fast because the next I knew was that I was leaning on him; my arms limply rested on his his broad shoulders to balance myself while he still held onto my waist, pulling me closer. I felt my cheeks turned crimson red at our closeness.

"Is this close enough for you?" Rico asked. His head was tilted upwards so I could clearly see him smirking at how shy I was feeling at the moment.

His minty breath fanned my face, reminding me how close our faces were and made it impossible for me to think. Normally, in a situation like this, I would have definitely replied to him with a comeback but I was so overwhelmed. I couldn't even think straight.

Rico tilted his head slowly and inched closer; he touched his cool lips to mine for the second time, very carefully, parting them slightly. And almost without hesitation, I leaned in, my lips craving for his. Our lips pressed against each other's delicately and as soon as it did, it felt as though time stopped in a collision.

His signature manly cologne and scent drove me wild, causing my mind to go haywire. Perhaps time did stop when our lips met but that didn't lessen the fluttery feeling in my stomach. Rico deepened the kiss by parting my lips with his which made little shivers of pleasure and panic shoot through me. He invaded my senses like I had never experienced before and I let him.

I sparked alive, my heart swelled to the point of bursting. Pressing against his body just a little, I dug my fingers into his soft, dark curly hair. The rush of sensations that crawled across my body was maddening. Scary. Thrilling, even.

This made me nervous. I hadn't dated anyone since that asshole of an ex of mine and never planned to. Where are these feelings even coming from?

Sensing my nervousness, he moved one of his hands from my waist to the back of my head, stroking my hair in a way for reassuring me which was more than enough for me to stop the loud thumping of my heartbeat.

His fingers traveled around around my body, slowly tracing down my spine with a mind of their own. Our lips remained sealed. It was like we couldn't get enough of each other. We were devouring one another, drowning in each other's feelings.

But I couldn't take it anymore so I pulled away, desperate for air. He rested his forehead on mine, our breaths ragged. Just as I was about to move away, he placed his now swollen lips on my neck, sucking and nibbling from time to time. I bit my lips, trying to suppress the moans from erupting.

Sweet baby Jesus! I need holy water!

I knew where this would lead if I didn't stop right now. And yes, I like him but I want to take things slowly...at least for now. Plus, he is injured and literally has a hole through and through his abdomen so I didn't want to take any risks.

I moved my hands from his hair to the nape of his neck and gently pulled his head away from my neck. He looked up at me, a worried expression taking over his face.

"¡Dios Mío! , I'm so sorry." He apologized, unwinding his arms that were around the curve of my waist. "I just got carried away. We could go as slow as you'd like."

I inwardly smiled at how respectful he was being and secured the end of the gauze piece."It's alright. Maybe when you're feeling better."

"When I feel better?" He repeated. "Well, in that case, I've never been much better in my life!"

I chuckled, "Yeah, right. I totally didn't see you flinch a few seconds back. We have to sleep, Rico. It's 2:30 AM."

"Fine." He huffed, resting behind on the bed.

"Okay, well, goodnight." I said, walking towards the door to leave his room.

"No, wait." His voice stopped me. "I need someone to tuck me into bed."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "So you mean that you can have a shower all by yourself but you can't pull a quilt over?"

He grinned, "That's exactly what I mean."

Being the nice person that I was, I went to the bed and pulled the quilt over his very toned body.

"Are you happy now?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

"And a goodnight kiss?"

Smiling, I bend over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek to which he reciprocated. Before I could lift myself up again, he pulled me towards him, making me lose my balance and fall on top of him.

Now I was partly on him and partly hanging off the bed, which is not the best position in the world, in my opinion. And yeah, I probably look like an amputated Oompa Loompa right now.

"Oops...I wanted a goodnight cuddle." He said, a mischievous sparkle evident in his dark eyes; a look that I was too familiar with. It was the same look that Nico had when he stole a kiss from me by placing his forehead on my lips.

I didn't think much, all I wanted to do was sleep at this point. I climbed further onto the bed and over him, careful not to make contact with his abdomen.

I cuddled up under the quilt and into his arms, resting my head on his hard but warm chest. He kissed my forehead and whispered, "Buenas noches, Preciosa mía (Goodnight, "

"Goodnight, Rico." I replied, my stomach doing somersaults at the term of endearment he had used for me.

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep next to him in his arms.

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❤️