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Her gaze narrowed as jealous temper flooded her. What women did he want to understand? Who were these women?
She wanted to meet them, so she could tell them to get their motherfucking hands off her man.
Whoa. Okay, yep, she was delirious. Maybe this was even some sort of weird dream.
Because there is no way she just thought that.
Zander was not hers.
And she did not want him.
“I do not want you.”
And she did not mean to say that out loud.
“What is happening to me? Am I running a temperature? Is this some sort of nightmare?” She held her hand up against her forehead.
Zander moved forward slowly. He watched her carefully, and she realized he was checking to make sure that he wasn’t going to trigger her.
What was it with this guy? Why was he so careful of her and yet, at the same time, he could be so bossy and a little jerkish.
When he was a few feet away, he crouched down and moved to his knees. Because he didn’t want to scare her again? Tears entered her eyes. No one had ever treated her with this kind of consideration. And while she normally had her shields up so she wouldn’t let things get to her, she was feeling rather down and vulnerable today. Without the energy to shore herself defenses up.
And he was slipping on through.
“Are you crying?” His hand rose towards her face. She flinched, and he stopped before he reached her cheek. “I’m not going to hurt you, Little Thief. All right?”
She nodded, then winced as the movement hurt her head and jaw.
“What hurts? Is it your cheek? You still haven’t told me what happened.” His voice was soft. Almost tender.
This man.
Christ.
Killing. Her.
Remember, you’re a tough bitch who trusts no one.
Yeah. She needed to find some of that toughness. Because she desperately needed it.
“Nothing happened to it,” she confessed.
He gently wiped away her tears. Then, to her surprise, his hand rested on her forehead.
“You’ve got a fever,” he told her. “And why does your cheek look swollen? It wasn’t swollen before.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. You have a red splotch on your cheek and it’s swollen. What’s wrong? Damn it. Did Kansas do something to your mouth, is that it?”
“No. This is nothing that Carl did.”
“Then what is it? I demand that you tell me right now.”
“Listen, buster, in case you didn’t get the memo, you don’t get to demand things from me. Got it?”
“I do not get it. Why won’t you tell me what is wrong? Then I can fix it.”
