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She leaned into the solid chest behind her and focused on the arms holding her steady.
Quinn.
“I’m so damn sorry, Alex,” he murmured, his voice rough. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, sweetheart.”
She nestled into him. It took another moment before she could continue. “Early on in our marriage, we tried to have a baby with no luck. After countless tests, our doctor told us that my chances of getting pregnant were almost zero. Preston didn’t believe in IVF or surrogacy. Said it was ‘unnatural.’ Adoption was out of the question because he ‘didn’t want to raise someone else’s bastards.’”
“Damn,” he muttered. “I didn’t think it was possible to hate the fucker more, but there you go.”
The corners of her lips twitched. “I’d resigned myself to knowing I’d never have kids. So, I was beyond shocked when the doctor said I was pregnant. Looking back on it, I should have realized my doctor would call Preston the second I left his office. At least, that’s what I’m assuming happened. As you heard from Joe, the mayor and Preston had a lot of people in their pocket. They owned our town. Judges, lawyers, police, doctors. Everyone. But at the time, I was so stunned. Preston’s reaction to the pregnancy was the last thing on my mind. And I sure as hell wasn’t prepared for when I got home.”
Images tumbled in her mind.
Preston’s face contorted in rage.
The blur of his fist flying toward her eye.
The unforgiving cement of the garage floor.
“It was chaos. One second, everything was moving in slow motion. The next second, it was all a crazy, mad blur. I’d barely stepped out of the car when he came at me and punched me right in the face. I fell, and he dragged me inside by my hair. It’s sad, but I remember my first thought was, ‘He’s hitting my face. I must have screwed up somethingreallybig.’”
“None of it was your fault, sweetheart,” Quinn whispered. “None of it.”
“I know that now. Or at least, I try to.” She sighed. “But that night, he wasscreaming. And that scared the shit out of me. He was usually eerily quiet when he beat me. I couldn’t think straight. I remember not being able to focus on one thing. There was just too much going on.”
Quinn rubbed his hands over her arms, chasing away the goosebumps.
“My whole body was on fire. Everything hurt at once. Then, all of a sudden, there’s this sharp pain in my shoulder, and it burned like nothing I’d ever felt before. When I turned to see what happened, there he was. My husband. The man I’d vowed to love, honor, and cherish. The man who’d pledged to do the same for me.” She let out a bitter chuckle. “He’d stabbed me with a kitchen knife. Everything after that was a blur of noise and sensations and images. And pain. The most awful, all-consuming pain.”
She tilted her head to look back at him. “I’m so sorry, Quinn. That was probably waaay more information than you were looking for.”
“No, sweetheart.” He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “Like I said earlier, I want to know everything. Even if hearing what happened to you makes me want to gut the bastard.” Anger swirled in his gray eyes, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. “I want to know about this, about you. And you need to get it out. It’s good to talk about it.”
He moved her so they were sitting face to face, then cradled her hands in his. “Alex, it means the world to me that you shared your story with me. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to keep earning your trust. And if he comes after you, I will do everything I can to protect you. Everything.”
He squeezed her hands, and her heartbeat quickened.
“Can you trust me to protect you?” he whispered.
Reaching up, she framed his face with both hands, smoothing her fingers along the stubble of his jaw.
This man. This sweet, fierce, gentle man...
She nodded. “I do trust you, Quinn.”
His gaze flicked to her lips. Her breath caught, and she pulled him close. A split second before their lips touched, her chest kicked, and her courage fled.
Holy shit. What the hell was she doing?
She turned her head, and his lips landed on her cheek.
* * *
Quinn couldn’t help the smile that tipped his lips. He had no problem with her last-second evasion. He’d been shocked as shit when she’d pulled him close. Things were moving too fast.
He placed another kiss on her forehead before pulling away.
Then his heart nearly stopped.
