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I didn’t bother looking at her, and halfway to the house, she settled into the cradle of my arms. Lyse didn’t trust me — she would be a fool to do that — but she’d given up fighting me. For now.
By the time we reached the house, my shoulder was throbbing, but I didn’t put her down. I…liked her in my arms, not that I would ever admit that out loud. Chances were good that Lyse would still die, if not at my hands, then in the ensuing war between our families. Or at the hands of a jealous Felix once he found out that his sweet little virgin wasn’t nearly as innocent as he thought.
Even if Ibarelytouched her, Lyse was still bold enough to drop that towel and imprint the image of her naked flesh in my brain.
Pushing that thought as far down as it would go, I opened the front door and kicked it shut.
“What in the hell happened?”
Helena was staring at us with wide eyes. “Go run a bath in Lyse’s room,” I told her.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and I half-expected her to argue. “Sí, jefe.” Then she was rushing up the stairs like the Devil himself was coming after her. I snorted. Maybe he was.
The softthumpof Lyse’s head against my shoulder brought my attention back to the woman in my arms. Her eyelids were fluttering; she wasn’t quite asleep, but the last hour had finally caught up to her. It was on the tip of my tongue to say something, but what? I’d spent every day from the moment I brought her here telling her that if her fiancé didn’t comply, then she would die. I threw her off a dock and watched her almost drown. What could I possibly say now?
What would I even want to say?
I carried Lyse upstairs to her room. I could hear Helena puttering in the bathroom when I set her down on the bed; Lyse didn’t move an inch as I let her go.She’s going into shock. “Make sure the water’s warm!” I called.
Why did I care? My mind kept circling back to that. There was no reason for me to care a whit about her, but seeing her like this, a pathetic, wet tangle of a person, gave me a pang.
“I can take over,jefe,” Helena said as she stepped into the room.
I nearly nodded…but stopped. It would be easier to let Helena deal with this, yes, but I didn’t want to leave the room. “I’ve got it.”
Helena gave me an unfriendly look. “Omar, if you—”
I turned on her, and for the first time in all her years of service, Helena shrank away from me. Like she was afraid that I might actually do something to her. I backed down, rolled my shoulders in an attempt to unwind them, and winced as pain lanced through me for my trouble. “I’m not going to hurt her,” I promised, guiding Helena to the door and into the hall.
Helena was suspicious; I couldn’t necessarily blame her for that. “Why the change of heart?”
I shrugged and glanced back at Lyse, who was starting to sway.Shit. I had to get her out of those wet clothes. “I threw her off the dock,” I said, ignoring Helena’s gasp. “I intended for her to die.”
“But you rescued her.” It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. “Why, jefe? I’ve never seen you change your mind once you decided that someone was going to die.”
I glanced at Helena. “I don’t know.” The words were nearly a growl. “I just couldn’t.”
For some reason, that seemed todelighther. “Get her into the tub and get her warmed up,” she said. “I’ll get her some hot tea.”
“Good. Hurry up.”
Helena rolled her eyes at me, patted my cheek just a touch roughly, and scurried down the hall. The silence that followed as I shut the door echoed around us.Get moving, I told myself, knowing that I was stalling.
“Come on,conejita,” I said, approaching the bed, but when I touched her arm to pull her up, Lyse jerked like I’d struck her. She was coming back online, so to speak, and if I didn’t move quickly, she would work herself into a full panic attack. I’d seen it happen before.
As gently as I could, I got Lyse standing and reached for the hem of her shirt. She resisted a little, making a sad, whimpering noise, and I calmed her the same way I might calm one of my father’s horses when it was frightened. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I promised, saying the words over and over as I worked the shirt over her head.
We repeated the process, me saying soft words of comfort as I pushed the shorts that were slightly too big over her hips and down her thighs. When I reached around her for the clasp on her bra, Lyse’s breath caught in her throat. “Don’t.”
I stopped and dropped my hands. “You need to get in the tub and warm up.” I spoke slowly, making sure to enunciate my words, in case she was having trouble understanding me. “Do you want my help getting in?”
Lyse shook her head. “No.” But she didn’t move. Her eyes were trained on me, as if she were expecting me to attack her. I couldn’t exactly blame her.
“Do you want me to leave? I can send Helena to you.”
She stared at me for a moment, but then, slowly, she shook her head again. “No.”
Frustration rippled through me, but I did what I could to hide it. It wouldn’t help anything to get mad at her…even if I had no idea why I was trying to help.You’re getting bent out of shape over a Rojas, my mind spat at me. “What would you like me to do, Lyse?”
