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“Do I have a dick?” he returned gruffly.
She bit down on a smile. “I take it that’s a no to the tea?”
“Nope. It’s a hell no. Tea,” he scoffed. But the twinkle in his eye told her he was teasing her. “Come on, sit forward. I’ll give your neck and your good shoulder a rub.”
“You really don’t have to,” she told him.
“Do I seem the type of guy that ever does anything he doesn’t want to?”
No. Not at all. So, against her better judgement, she slid down the bed and he settled in behind her. Oh, God. West Malone was touching her. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.
The scent of him surrounded her. Masculine. Warm. Woodsy. He smelled like the outdoors mixed with a scent that was all West. And it was enough to make her clit tingle, have her nipples hardening.
Shit. Shit.
“Relax, baby girl. Nothing’s going to happen. I’m just trying to make you feel more relaxed so you can sleep.”
Yeah. That might not work considering having him so close was just making her more wound up.
“Lean back against me. Let me help you. You’ve got to get some sleep so you can heal.”
She closed her eyes. Forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths. Well, as deep as she could manage with the aches and pains in her body. Doc said she had to sleep with the brace on her shoulder. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it kept her from moving it suddenly and hurting herself. He hadn’t been happy it hadn’t been iced immediately. But she’d been in too much pain to move for a start and then she hadn’t really wanted to leave her bedroom and risk running into Spence.
He hadn’t sought her out in those three days she’d lain in bed and suffered. Once upon a time, he’d have tried to apologize, have felt remorse.
That didn’t happen anymore. He was falling further into the darkness, and it was terrifying.
“Sh, easy, sunshine. Tell me if I hurt you.” He had one hand on the back of her neck, massaging it, and the other hand on her uninjured shoulder. He dug gently into the sore muscles, and she groaned, her head falling back of its own volition, finding his shoulder.
“That’s it,” he murmured to her. He moved his hands to massage her scalp. “Just let it all go. There’s no need to worry about anything. I’m here now. I’m going to take care of you. No one will ever hurt you again.”
Her eyes drifted shut, exhaustion overtaking her. But one final thought flooded her brain. I wish I could believe him.
9
“I want to see him.” West strode into Jake’s office early the next morning. Last night, after he’d gotten Flick back to sleep after her nightmare, he’d lain next to her on the bed, watching her sleep.
He hadn’t managed any sleep himself. He knew she was scared her brother was going to come after her, after them. She didn’t yet believe he could protect her.
He wasn’t angry about her lack of trust in him. Even though she knew who he’d been, she didn’t know the full extent of the darkness in him. And, if he had his way, she never would.
But it was there. And in these circumstances, it was going to work fully in his favor.
He’d always wondered why Flick had fixated on him. Before she even knew him, she would stare at him with this look on her face, a look he could never figure out until now.
It had been hope.
She’d chosen him, not because she’d been attracted to him, although he knew that was there, he’d felt it last night. She’d been affected by his closeness just as he’d been by hers. As she’d pressed her body back against his, his cock had hardened. He just hoped she hadn’t felt it.
No, the reason she’d been sending him those looks, why she’d decided she wanted him wasn’t to do with any attraction. That had likely been a bonus or an afterthought. It was because she looked at him and saw someone who could help save her from her nightmare.
Maybe that should have upset him. Made him angry. But he got it. She wanted to survive. She saw him, his family, and knew they were strong enough to help her.
With someone else he’d have thrown them out the door. But not Flick. She was all alone. She’d been held by a monster for years and beaten on a regular basis. It could have made her retreat. Could have broken her. Should have.
Instead, she’d gone looking for someone stronger than her monster. Someone to defeat him. A champion.
Christ, who knew he could be a champion? He hadn’t been for Lana. But
