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She looked up at him as he winked, then away again. Only this time, her face grew hot. A wink from Maxim Malone . . . hell, it was like someone running a thumb along her lips or kissing her neck.
It made a hot rush of pleasure fill her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just . . . I really appreciate you staying. You didn’t have to. I would have been okay. You didn’t have to try to sleep on my uncomfortable couch or change my sheets or make me food.”
“I wasn’t going to leave you while you were sick, Rainbow.” He sounded affronted.
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I owe you big time.”
He sighed. “Aston, look at me.”
She flicked her gaze up and away.
“Aston,” he said in a firmer voice that made her shiver in reaction. Crap. What was it about that voice that just did it for her? That made her want to do whatever he told her?
She’d promised herself when she left them that she would never have to do anything she didn’t want to.
Only . . . that was the difference, wasn’t it? With Maxim, she wanted to do whatever he asked of her.
Anything. Everything.
Which was more than a little terrifying.
“Baby, why aren’t you looking at me?”
“You held my hair back while I puked. And helped me change my clothes. And carried me into bed.”
He made a strangled noise. “I went too far? I made you uncomfortable?”
Her head snapped up so fast that the room around her spun. She held a hand to her temple. “No, that’s not what I meant!”
He stood and she dropped her head again.
Great. Now, he was leaving. She got it. Really, she did.
Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt less.
But then he suddenly returned, moving the food aside to sit on the coffee table in front of her. He held his hand out, showing her the painkillers in his palm.
“Take them. Your head hurts.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“Only a little bit. Drink now.” He held up the electrolyte drink. “You need to drink all of this and eat some food, understand?”
“I’ll try.” She swallowed the pills down.
Reaching out, he lightly grasped her chin, tilting it back. She attempted to keep her eyes down, but he held her chin there until she raised her eyes up to look at him.
“That’s better. Are you upset with me for helping you?”
“I can’t . . . no. You helped me. Why would I be upset about that?”
“Because I stayed in your apartment. Got you undressed. Called a doctor. Saw you while you were vulnerable and weak.”
Shoot. Yeah. There was all that. But still . . .
“It would be unfair of me to be upset at you when you were looking after me.”
“So if you’re not mad at me and I didn’t upset you, then why are you so against looking at me?”
“I just . . . don’t know how to repay you. And I feel bad that you stayed the night on that horrible couch and felt obligated to take care of me—”
“Whoa, I’m going to stop you right there. I know you don’t know me that well, but there is something you should know. I never do anything that I don’t want to do. Ever. Understand me? I didn’t feel obliged. I also didn’t feel sorry for you or whatever shit is going through your head. Got me?”
She felt lighter.
But she still didn’t understand.
“Then why? Why help me?”
“Because we’re friends, silly girl. And you’re worth helping. You deserve someone to help you. You don’t have to do it all alone, Aston.”
What was he talking about? He didn’t know about her life before now, so it wasn’t that.
“I know that.”
“Do you?” he pressed. “Because someone else would just say thank you. They’d expect some decency from a friend who saw them in need. They wouldn’t expect me to have just walked away. Would you have done that? Left me sick and sleeping on a bench in the foyer? Or walking in the rain, sopping wet and hunched over some groceries? Or let me freak out in an elevator without helping me?”
Would she?
Of course not.
“No.”
“So why are you so shocked that I would? Have I made that bad of an impression on you?”
Well . . . crap, no. She couldn’t even lie. Maybe she used to think of him as a playboy who spent his time partying and fucking. But she knew better. And she really shouldn’t ever judge a book by its cover.
“No. You’ve been nothing but, well, I won’t say kind . . .”
He grinned. “I’m your knight in shining armor. Admit it.”
“What?”
“Yep. I’m totally a hero. Your hero. This might be where you swoon in my arms. But you already did that.”
“I did not!” This guy.
“You sure did. You swooned. I’m your hero. Admit it.”
“You’ve got an ego the size of my ass. That’s all I’ll admit.”
