Page 13 of Her Hero Daddy

“Haylee? Are you okay in there, sweetheart?”

Shit. How long had she been in the bathroom daydreaming?

“Uh… yah. Sorry. I just… I’m coming.”

When she walked out, Kane sat in one of the chairs with a look of concern on his face, but as soon as he saw her, the concern disappeared, and then his mouth formed into a smile that probably made women’s panties drop.

“I’m ready. Sorry. I’m just moving a bit slow.”

The worry in his eyes returned.

“I haven’t checked any of your other owies… do you think you have any broken bones? How are your ribs?”

Owies? What was she, two? But the way he spoke to her and said all those cute words made her body react in a way that had her squeezing her thighs together again.

“I don’t think I have any broken bones.”

His eyes narrowed, “How are your ribs?”

She couldn’t help but lower her eyes to the floor to avoid his.

“Come here, Haylee.”

She snapped her eyes back to his face. He waited patiently in the chair with his finger pointing to a spot between his legs.

Shit.

“They are fine. I think I’m just sore,” she answered hesitantly.

“Come here, please,” he said softly, keeping his finger pointed to the spot in front of him.

She slowly walked forward, holding her breath when she stood only inches from him. He reached out for her hand and gently pulled her forward toward him until she was standing between his legs. It was the closest she had been to him except when they were in the bathroom, but this time, instead of having her back to him, they were face-to-face. The scent of woods and citrus filled her nose. Unlike Tim, who wore the most expensive pretty-boy colognes that gave her a splitting headache at times, Kane smelled masculine and fresh.

“I want to make sure you don’t have any broken ribs. I’m going to lift up your shirt so I can look at them, unless you want me to take you to the emergency room before we leave to get them checked out?”

His words hovered like a black cloud. She hated hospitals. The thought of going to an emergency room made her feel ill. But the thought of him lifting her shirt made her feel antsy.

“I’m fine. I promise,” she whispered.

His expression changed from soft to stern in the blink of an eye, his hands reaching out to hers again, squeezing them gently.

“That was not one of the options, Haylee. You have the choice of going to the hospital or letting me look. What’s your choice?”

He isn’t here to hurt you. He just wants to make sure you’re okay.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

Kane studied her, still holding both of her hands in his, and he squeezed again and nodded.

“Okay. I’m going to lift your shirt and look. I promise I will be gentle. I will never hurt you, Haylee.”

She wished it could be that easy to believe his words. She had trusted Tim, and now she was having to be rescued by Kane, who could probably kill someone just by looking at them.

“Okay.”

His large hands slowly moved away from hers and lifted the hem of her shirt. She suspected he was moving slowly so he didn’t scare her, but as a result, her breath hitched as his warm hand brushed against her skin. The slowness of him pulling up her shirt was not helping to eliminate the warmth between her thighs. He lifted the shirt only as high as the bottom of her bra line, and his face became dark as he studied her midsection.

“You have a lot of dark bruising around your ribs on the right side. Did he kick you?”

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