“Uh, I’m right here, Hayes.”
I grunted, slipping my hands under her armpits, lifting her onto the counter behind me. My hand found her other cheek, my thumb stroking her soft skin as I stepped between her legs. “I gotta clean this,” I told her, my body trembling with fury. I was trying my best to get a lock on it. The last thing I needed to do was to scare her.
Clean the wound.
Fix the door.
Feed her.
Get answers.
Clean the wound.
Fix the door.
Feed her.
Get answers.
Clean the wound.
Fix the door.
Feed her.
Get answers.
“Where’s your first aid kit?” I whispered, voice shaking.
Her eyes darted, focusing on the mess in her living room. “Hayes, it’s getting cold in here. Maybe we should—”
I bit down, grinding my teeth, and shook my head. “I’ll take care of it. Where’s the first aid kit, beautiful?” I repeated, my voice still soft as my fingers ran through her hair.
“You have to stop talking to me like that,” she rasped, tears in her eyes.
“Not gonna happen.”
Chapter Twelve
Margo
His body heat was almost too much.
Everything about him being here, him kicking down my door, talking softly to me, making promises we both knew he shouldn’t make, was too fucking much.
“I don’t know what to do,” I breathed, bracing my hands on the countertop, staring up at him. “Why are you here?” I paused and shook my head. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Damn him for looking like a knight in shining armor.
Damn him for being gentle with me.
Damn him for kicking down my door to get to me.
Damn for being everything I needed him to be but everything I couldn’t fucking have.
And damn myself for not being enough for him.
The rough pad of his thumb swiped across my good cheek for the fifth time—yes, I’d been counting. “You’re going to tell me where the first aid kit is, and I’m going to clean this cut, then I’m going to fix your door and make you some food. After that, we’re going to talk about who did this to you,” he said softly, an underlying fury in his voice. His eyes flashed with malice, his perfect jaw jumping, violence simmering under his perfection. He was trying very hard to keep his cool—for me.