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“Ty, it’s okay.”
“What?” He blinked at her, then shook his head. “No, it’s fucking not okay. You…” He gestured in her direction. “And I…” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have done that. Christ, I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m so sorry.”
She stood and stepped toward him, but he raised a hand, warding her off. “Ty, I threw myself at you. I kissed you. I climbed in your lap for God’s sake.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He paced again. “I had my hands—” He cringed as though the memory of touching her disgusted him, and her stomach soured. The last thing she’d ever want was to make him feel as though he’d violated her in some way, even if his post-kiss freakout stung like a damn hive of bees. She knew violation, and what happened a few seconds ago couldn’t have been further from it.
“Ty, I promise you, I wanted it. I wanted you.” She ignored the invisible wall he erected between them and grabbed his arms. “I wanted it, and I liked it.”
God, how she’d liked it. Even with him freaking out, her lips still tingled, and her breasts felt heavy with unfulfilled need. She was aware of the strength in his forearms in a way she hadn’t been before. How the crisp, dark hair felt against her palms.
He didn’t seem to have heard her. “I need to go,” he said, tugging out of her grip. “Fuck, it’s my house.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna take a quick walk. Will you be okay here?”
The way he looked out for her, even as he berated himself, warmed her heart. “Please don’t leave. You did nothing wrong.”
He grunted. “Nothing wrong. Right. I’m no better than that fucker from this morning.” He turned his back to her, grabbed his sunglasses off the counter, then stormed toward the front door.
Kelsie’s breath lodged in her throat. She wanted to beg and plead with him to stay. How could she get through to him? How could she make him understand she’d loved his hands on her? She trusted him and knew he’d never hurt her. She wanted more and knew he was possibly the only man she’d ever let touch her again.
His hand gripped the door handle, and the words flew from her, but not what she’d planned to say. “He choked me until I blacked out!” she shouted as the panic of him leaving won out over the shame of what happened to her.
He froze, his back to her and his hand on the door. “What?”
Never had one word been filled with so much venom. Were he any other man, she’d have fled, but there wasn’t a doubt in her mind he’d never turn that anger her way, no matter how hot it burned inside him.
“He—” She sighed. “He purchased me. It was an auction, and he bid on me and won.”
Ty slowly turned until he faced her again, though twenty feet separated them.
“And what exactly did he win?”
Kelsie swallowed. It was impossible to speak of this and not relive every agonizing second as though it were happening again. “Me,” she said, staring at the ground. “He won me, uh, for the night. To do…”
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
“Whatever he w-wanted.”
Ty’s stubbled jaw ticked, and his eyes flashed with fury, but he didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he walked back over with a stiff gait. “Tell me.”
It wasn’t a request, but she nodded. “Um, when the auction ended, I was brought to a room. It had a bed and… stuff. Items for…” She cleared her throat. What could she call them? They’d been made for pleasure, but that hadn’t been their purpose that night. At least not her pleasure, that was for damn sure.
“I get it,” he said.
“Right.” She folded her arms across her chest, rubbing the skin of her upper arms as a chill washed over her. “Anyway, he was aggressive and dove right in.” The memories of his hands and mouth made her skin crawl. “I fought him, but he won. Though I didn’t make it easy on him. But that meant I ended up bruised and battered.”
That was as deep into the details as she was willing to dive. She needed therapy, for sure, probably for years to come, but her mind had gone into protective mode and refused to let her think about the precise details of what happened.
Thankfully, Ty respected her and didn’t ask for more.
“When he was, uh, done, I thought he would leave. But he didn’t. He was mad because I’d gotten a few good shots in, and he had a bloody nose. Some deep scratches too.”
“That’s my girl,” Ty said, finally losing the death glare, though it returned as soon as she spoke again.
“Yeah, well, he wrapped his hands around my throat and squeezed. Hard. He was so angry. Um, he didn’t stop, no matter how hard I fought. It wasn’t long before my vision got fuzzy and then black around the edges. I couldn’t fight anymore after that. It was like my muscles wouldn’t work without air. I was so scared,” she whispered. “I really thought I was going to die, and even though I’d been tortured and wanted it to stop, I didn’t want to die.” Her voice cracked as a shudder wracked her body.
Ty grabbed her and yanked her close, wrapping his strong arms around her. His scent—leather and a bit of tire rubber—invaded her senses, calming her racing heart. There was nothing sexual about the hug. It was meant for pure comfort and healing.
“I passed out,” she said. She wanted to rest her cheek on his chest and stay there forever, but she forced herself to pull out of his hold and take a few steps back. Becoming dependent on him for comfort would be stupid.
