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A primitive need to protect her takes over. Rex is unconscious behind us, but I need to get her out of here.
She doesn’t fight me when I fold her into my arms. She settles against my chest like she belongs there, her eyes closing as the waning adrenaline gives way to the bone deep fatigue it temporarily shielded.
I stalk through the halls of RCA. It’s past nine pm on a Friday night so no one is here, but I wouldn’t give a fuck if there were a thousand students present. Nothing’s going to stop me from getting her to safety right now.
She’s asleep before we’ve even made it to the car. If I wasn’t so desperate to get her to my home, I’d just sit there and hold her.
I drive to my place and jog up my front stairs with her in my arms. I have to physically restrain myself from kicking my own door down so it doesn’t slow me down rather than taking the time to open it.
When I’m inside, I increase the heating by a couple of degrees because I know she’s always cold at the temperature I usually keep my place, and stalk to the bathroom.
She’s awake but her expression is near catatonic as she stares up into my face. I place her fully dressed under the jet of hot water and get in behind her.
She turns around when I join her and throws her arms around my neck, bringing my face down and crushing her mouth to mine. She’s assertive as she claims me and it has all the blood rushing from my head straight to my cock.
But when I grab her waist and back to pin her against me and she winces, I abruptly rip my mouth off hers.
She gives me a cautious look. Her eyes are heavy with secrets and I want to bleed every single one of them out of her.
I grab her workout top and pull it off over her head.
Fresh horror stabs me in the gut when it reveals giant, mottled bruises on her shoulders and back. They’re only still forming but are already red, purple, and by the looks of it, incredibly painful.A sick, sour feeling churns in my stomach as roaring sounds in my ears.
I trace over them gently, my blood running cold. I feel it freeze in my veins, the need for retribution tunneling my vision.
“How late was I?” I whisper, tormented by the bruises I’m seeing. “How long did he have with you before I showed up?”
I imagine the worst, my insides gnawing at themselves knowing I didn’t protect her.
“Those aren’t from him.”
My eyes snap up. The fury that I'd been holding at a dangerous, unstable simmer erupts like lava out of a raging volcano.
“Who the fuck did this to you?” I growl.
“It doesn’t matter,” she says, cupping my neck and pulling me back down towards her. I stop her with a hand on her jaw.
“Don’t keep secrets from me right now, baby, I’m about to lose my shit. Tell me who touched you.”
Her eyes flick down to my lips. She takes in the way they’re stretched angrily around my teeth before she replies.
“My father thought it was time for a change of method in my training,” she says. Her eyes flick back up to mine. “Coach Krav executed those orders. Those specific bruises are from when he tied bands around two tires and strapped the other end to either one of my shoulders. He had me pull them ten laps around the gym.”
I recoil, shocked at the visual. “Why did you let him? Why didn’t you just refuse to do it?”
The words sound accusatory and I immediately regret them.
Nera whirls on me, face tight.
She’s angry all of a sudden, channeling all the rage and helplessness she felt earlier into a glare she pins on me. I reach for her but she slaps my hand away.
“It’s not that easy and you know it,” she snaps. “I’vetoldyou why. You don’t get to judge me or blame me for the things I have no choice but to accept. I’m the one who has to live with them, not you.”
Nera shoves at me, trying to move me out of the way so she can exit the shower. I block her path.
She’s not going anywhere.
“I thought you understood,” she cries out, shoving at me again. Her fists come down on my chest, agents of her burning anger and lingering fear. “Clearly, I was wrong. You don’t get it and I won’t explain myself to you again.” When I don’t move, she redoubles her efforts. Her small fists carry no weight. They fall against my chest with barely any power, more for show than true aggression. “Get out of my way,” she demands through gritted teeth.
