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“No, stay with me, please.” Tremors took hold of her body from every direction. She nuzzled into him, trying to stop them. “I hate this. It’s not as bad as this reaction is making it seem.”
“Shh, you were traumatized. The reaction is normal. I’m here, and I’m not going to leave you.”
For a long while, he held her in his arms. The noise of car doors shutting outside roused Alyssa, and just when the shaking had eased, dread rose in her belly again. She’d have to recite to the police everything that happened and relive it.
Nathan rose and put her on the bed. “Sit here just a moment. I’m going to tell them to take Cullen and that you’ll give a statement in the morning. Then I’ll come back and help you clean up.”
She nodded, but when he left, she made her way to the bathroom on her own and showered. By the time Nathan returned, she stood naked in front of the mirror surveying her face. A bruise had begu
n to form, and her swollen cheek squinted one eye. The split on her lip had stopped bleeding at least.
“What kind of vacation is this?” She shut her eyes to keep from giving in to another bout of tears. Nathan moved up behind her and encircled her in a warm embrace.
“I’m sorry, Alyssa. You deserve better than this.”
She turned in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder.
“I told you to wait for me.”
“I can take care of myself—mostly.” A sob rose, but she pushed it down.
“Come on. Let me get you in bed.”
With gentle care, he had her ensconced beneath the sheets and then went to shower himself. She shivered until he returned, and he pulled her into his arms.
“Nathan.”
“You should sleep, Alyssa. I’ll hold you until you wake.”
She pushed at his chest and sat up. “I know there’s something you’re not telling me. I don’t want to get into your business, but since it affected me, I think I have a right to know.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking away. “We have history, Cullen and I.”
“What kind of history?”
Still he hesitated.
“Nathan?”
“Five years ago, there was a woman, someone who…attracted me. I did what I had to do to get her.”
Alyssa stared. “What does that mean?” Her chest hurt. She wanted to take back asking him about this.
He rose from the bed and threw on a robe, then paced to the balcony doors. “Her name was Monica Devereaux. I seduced her. I told her whatever she wanted to hear just to get her to agree to have sex with me.”
She cringed. “A lot of men do that. It sucks, but most women recognize the game and choose to either go along with it or tell the man to fuck off.”
He sighed. “I wish it was that simple or that it ended there. The fact is…”
He swore and looked away from the beach to her. The raw expression on his face took her breath away—a mixture between regret and love. Did he still have feelings for this woman after so long? Maybe she’d told him where to stuff it and left his ass when she realized he didn’t want a relationship.
“She and Cullen had been seeing each other for a couple years. Their relationship was off and on again. He loved her. I knew that.”
Alyssa put a hand over her mouth. That’s why Cullen was so bitter about all Nathan owned. He must have felt like he could never measure up. “I can’t believe—”
“It’s worse, Alyssa.”
Make it stop.
