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Standing in the middle of his foyer wearing nothing but one of his Handlers’ T-shirts, with tears streaming down her bruised face was Holly. Despite red eyes, a discolored cheek, and the mess of her hair, she was the most gorgeous woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
They stared at each other across the ten feet that separated them. Biscuit seemed oblivious to the tension, wanting nothing more than a good scratch from LJ.
“I—” Holly swallowed as she closed her eyes. After a breath, she tried again. “I’m so sorry, LJ.”
The absolute agony in her voice cracked his heart in two. “Jesus, Holly, say anything, anything to me besides an apology. Scream, tell me to fuck off, say you never want to see me again, but for fuck’s sake don’t tell me you’re sorry for a goddammed thing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
EMOTIONS RADIATED OFF LJ in such powerful waves, the feelings were practically visible. Stress, anger, fatigue, guilt, a whole host of negative thinking wafted Holly’s way, and it had her heart sinking straight to the floor.
He was going to end it. She could feel it in her bones. The incident with his nightmare was fucking with his head, and he was going to cast her aside with some noble notion of keeping her safe from him.
Despite the fact her heart was splintering—something she refused to acknowledge because her heart wasn’t supposed to have gotten involved here—Holly stepped forward and held out a hand. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get cleaned up.”
“Holly—”
“Not now, LJ, okay? I need a few moments to think about something other than the past day. Take a shower with me. We’ll get cleaned up, then lie down and talk.”
He watched her for a moment, eyes assessing as though waiting for her to break. She wouldn’t, at least not until she’d made sure he was holding up.
LJ’s whole body sagged and seemed to deflate like the air being let out of a balloon. With a nod, he put his palm against Holly’s outstretched hand. For just one second, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of having his trust before she walked them both to LJ’s un-frilly bathroom.
His shower was small, a replica of hers, only in reverse. The tiny space began to fill with steam only seconds after she cranked the water to steaming hot. “Turn around,” Holly ordered.
Surprisingly, LJ obeyed. Holly slid her hands under the tight shirt, working it up his back. At mid-spine level, angry red scratches revealed themselves. She sucked in a breath as the fabric of the T-shirt stuck to the marks.
“It’s all right,” he said. “Just give it a good yank.”
She peered around his body and met his gaze in the foggy mirror. “I’ll hurt you.”
A snort was the only response.
Holly gentled her touch as much as possible and took her time working the stuck shirt free of his mangled skin. Every few seconds, she had to give a firm tug to release the fabric. She flinched with each of those. Finally, the shirt made it up to his shoulders, and he took over removing it since she wasn’t tall enough to reach up and over his head.
Long red lines marked his entire upper back and shoulder area. Evidence of how hard she’d been fighting to escape him earlier. Odd, as now all she wanted was to be so close to him they became one. She pressed a soft kiss to an unharmed patch of skin on his back, then rested her forehead against him. “I’m—”
“Don’t say it.” He turned around, cupping a hand against her sore cheek in a touch so gentle, it shouldn’t have been possible from such a large man. “You’re the one who’s hurt. I should be taking care of you.”
The past twenty-four hours had been such a roller coaster of emotions, Holly could barely process the dichotomy between the soaring highs and crushing lows. The loop-de-loops had her mind racing so fast, the rest of her couldn’t keep up. “Let’s take care of each other.”
With a nod, LJ guided her into the shower stall, following directly behind. His big body took up so much of the space, Holly ended up with her back against the wall opposite the spray.
The moment the water hit LJ’s back, he let out a loud hiss that had Holly cringing. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to hog all the hot water, just wanted to get this part over with.”
Large hands landed on her shoulders, then LJ turned them until she was the one under the warm water. “It’s fine,” she said. “Turn around, let me see.”
For a moment, he just watched her with an expression she couldn’t read. Compressed lips, flat eyes, ticking jaw. Then he smoothed wet hair off her brow, gripped the back of her head and placed the gentlest of kisses on her forehead.
