Page 19 of Claimed By the Boss

A finger on my lips cuts off the tide of words. “I know you didn’t plan any of what happened, Leo. If anyone should apologize, it’s me.”

I pull back, my tongue sweeping out to taste the heat of his skin. “What do you have to be sorry for? You were just caught up in the pheromones when you saved me.”

“Did you think I was so far gone that I couldn’t have had my driver take you home?” He traces the line of my jaw. “Don’t mistake me for a kind man. I saw a way to get what I wanted and took it.”

A shiver goes through me. “You…wanted a baby?”

“I wanted you.” His green eyes sweep over my face. “You fat with my child just makes it sweeter.”

Pulse quickening, I swallow hard. “You wanted…me?”

“Is it so shocking?” His thumb caresses my bottom lip. “It’s bad practice to proposition employees, but I wouldn’t be a good businessman if I didn’t snap up an opportunity when it literally falls at my feet.” His eyes crinkle in amusement.

“But why…” My eyes drop, then widen in shock. “What happened to your hand?”

With a step back, I cradle his palm, staring at his bruised, bloody knuckles. “Did you get into a fight?”

“It’s nothing.” He pulls his hand out of my hold. “I just removed some trash that was…putting my interests at risk.”

Stomach swooping, I turn and hurry to the bathroom. From the linen closet I discovered earlier, I grab one of the monogrammed hand towels and run it under the faucet, then wring it out and return to where Nolan stands, sipping his smoothie.

“Sit down.” I point to the settee.

“It’s really nothing.” Setting his drink down, Nolan shrugs out of his suit jacket and drapes it across the back of the couch before he rolls up his sleeves and settles on the cushion I abandoned.

I kneel on the floor in front of him and take one large hand in mine, dabbing at the abrasion.

He stays quiet, allowing me to play nursemaid without complaint.

With a wince, I press the towel over the largest split on his knuckle. “Was it Rich?”

His hand curls into a fist, then relaxes. “He shouldn’t have touched you.”

“How badly did you hurt him?” Based on the condition of Nolan’s knuckles, Rich has to be in the hospital. “Will he press charges against you? I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

“Let’s just say, he won’t be bothering you again.” His free hand smooths back my hair. “He’ll never attack another Omega.”

“Did you kill him?” The question escapes as a whisper, and I expect Nolan to pretend he didn’t hear.

His sharp gaze studies my face. “Would it bother you if I did?”

Does it make me a horrible person if the idea of Rich no longer out there, preying on people, fills me with relief? Or that the thought of Nolan protecting me like that sends a thrill through me?

I look away from him before he sees what a bad person I am. “I don’t want you to go to jail because of me.”

“He should have heeded my first warning.” Tension fills Nolan’s body. “But he had the balls to come back and try to buy you.”

“It wasn’t the first time.” Head down, I lift the cloth and blow on the wound. “It was just the first time I was for sale.”

His hand curls around the back of my neck. “Never again, Leo.”

I stay focused on his wounds. “Then you can’t buy me anything.”

His fingers circle the Mark he left on my nape. “That’s different.”

Stubborn about this point, I remain silent.

“Fine.” His foot nudges against my calf. “We can go collect your clothes tomorrow. But when you grow out of them, I will buy you new ones.”

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