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She took a deep breath. “I know.”
I still was in disbelief that this slip of a woman could take down five guys and still be standing. “I…howdid you do this?” I waved a hand at the men on the floor.
She leaned heavily against a crate, still favoring her right leg. “I would rather not talk about it. Can we leave now?”
“Yeah. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Believe it or not, I’m in severe pain. I can’t walk, that’s why I just stood here, gritting my teeth against the agony waiting for you to find me.”
Chapter 11
Kat
Without a word, he walked behind me, and a low whistle escaped past his lips. It wasn’t a catcall, that's for sure. I knew exactly what caused him to do that.
“The back of your thigh is black.” He bent down, and I cringed at what he would see. “You’re going to need to go to a hospital.”
I jumped when I felt his fingers trace over my scar. “This isn’t the first time this has happened to you, is it? Is that why you’re no longer in kickboxing?”
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to get into detail as to what happened, nor did I want to tell him why it did. I nodded. “Yeah, it’s what ended my career. Can you stop staring at my leg and get me out of here please?”
“Yeah, sorry!” He moved around to the front ofme where we ended up doing this weird dance of trying to figure out how to get me out of there.
“I’ll just carry you if that’s okay?”
Finally, the man had a sensible suggestion.
“If I want to get out of here, I have no choice, because I'm not walking out on my own, and I don’t think you want to be calling an ambulance with all these dead men laying around.”
His brows snapped together at the sting of my words. “No! That wouldn’t be a good thing.”
With a gentle but firm grip, he hooked his arm behind my knees and lifted me up in his arms. His muscles tensed with the effort or perhaps he was pissed off that he had to carry me. Either way, I unconsciously wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine. As he carried me through the warehouse to a side door, I couldn’t help but notice the way a muscle jumped in his cheek. Probably because he was clenching his teeth, just so he didn’t have to talk to me. Which was fine by me.
The fresh breeze coming off the lake hit my face as soon as we stepped out of the building, and I could hear the distant sound of crashing waves. Rory quickened his pace towards the beach where our car was parked, I glanced up at him and felt a stirring in the pit of my stomach. I was always a sucker for a sharp, well-defined jawline, and hecertainly had one.
“We’re almost there,” he announced, as if I couldn’t see. But I wasn’t looking forward to sitting in the car without his arms wrapped around me. Despite our hatred for one another, I felt a sense of safety being in them.
As we approached the car, Rory gently set me down on my feet beside it, his hand lingering on my waist for a moment before he released me. I leaned against the sun warmed surface of the vehicle, grateful for the support it offered as he unlocked the passenger side door. He helped me inside, carefully, as if I were made of fine China. Once seated, I turned to look at him standing outside the car, a silent question in my eyes, why wasn’t he getting in?
He fingered my torn bra and that act alone had me shivering on the spot. “I’m going to leave you here for a minute and see if our stuff is still on the beach. Will you be okay?” he asked, his gaze never leaving mine.
“Yes, of course,” I say between chattering teeth. I start to shake as the reality of what just happened sinks in.
He hands me the keys. “Start the engine and crank the heat, I’ll be right back.” He closed the door with a thud, and I watched as he walked away. When he was out of sight, I stuck the key in theignition and started the 4x4. Heat soon flooded the cabin but that didn’t completely stop me from shaking. I knew it could take up to an hour before the adrenaline left my body, I just needed to be patient.
To keep me distracted, my eyes were glued to the windshield, waiting for the second that Rory’s head would pop over the steep incline that led to the beach.
I saw the umbrella before his head and was relieved to see that he had my clothes. I really didn’t want to go to the hospital wearing my underwear if he insisted on taking me, after all, I was at his mercy as to where he took me. Something I didn’t like, being at his mercy.
He tossed everything onto the backseat before he opened the driver’s door and climbed behind the wheel. “Here you go,” he said, passing me my clothes.
I took them and quickly donned on my shirt, but my jeans were going to be a bit of a challenge. Feeling his eyes on me, I looked at him, “Do you think you could give me a hand?”
Without a word, he got out and made his way over to my side of the car and opened the door. Taking my jeans from me, he barked out, “Turn in your seat.”
I did without question, both legs dangled outthe door, and he bent to remove my shoes. The second he took the foot of my injured leg; I swear I drenched my panties. Because he didn’t just take my foot in his hand, no, he caressed it like it was the most precious thing in the world. His touch was electrifying, sending shivers down my spine and igniting a fire deep within me. As he slowly slid off my shoe, his fingers lingered on my skin, tracing delicate patterns along my ankle and up to my calf.
And God help me, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him no matter how hard I tried. His intense eyes locked with mine as he continued his sensual ministrations, a smoldering heat passed between us, a silent understanding of the desire that pulsed through our veins.
