Page 13 of Love Shots

CHAPTER FIVE

Summer hadn’t stopped shaking and Teddy was reluctant to let go of her. As soon as he’d closed the door to her apartment, he’d taken her over to the couch and sat down while she remained cradled in his arms. She was currently perched in his lap, her face buried in his shoulders. Still goddamn shaking. He was trying his best to soothe her. But right now, he felt helpless. All he could do was hold her and hope it was enough.

That asshole ex of hers was going to pay. Teddy had been too lenient on him downstairs. His fist should have been in Colt’s face the moment he dared to touch Summer. That and the filth he was spurting to her was unforgivable. What gave him the right to speak to her like that? Prick.

The most concerning thing though was that he’d never seen Summer react like this before. Not to anything. He liked to think he knew her pretty well. They’d grown up together. Spent an ungodly amount of time with each other. Seen each other at their best and at their worst. But this? This he’d never seen. Something was up. Something had changed.

It was a while before Summer spoke. When she did, her trembling was just beginning to subside. Nonetheless, Teddy kept a tight hold of her. His touch seemed to have calmed her, so he wasn’t about to let her go.

“I’m sorry,” she croaked into the crook of his neck.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” His hand unconsciously began stroking her back. “How you feeling?”

She lifted her head, and he got his first look at her since he’d carried her inside. She looked almost ... scared. “I-I’m okay.” She quickly ducked her head again and went to crawl off his lap, but he didn’t let go.

“Dollface, look at me.” When she kept her head low, he tried again. “Please. Look at me, Summer.”

Slowly turning her attention back to his face, he watched her throat muscles work as she gulped. “I’m okay, Teddy. Thank you for ... y’know. I’m really sorry. I know it’s busy and the last thing you needed tonight was to—”

His finger went to her soft lips to halt the nonsense she was sprouting. “Summer. Like I said before, you have nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t ask for that asshole to harass you. This is on him. Not you. Understand?”

She nodded but looked no less upset. In fact, her beautiful eyes began to swell as they filled with water. Tears cascaded over her flushed cheeks, and Teddy felt his heart constrict. He was helpless again. Pulling her back into him, he let her sob into his shirt, continuing to stroke her and offer her words of comfort. He hoped like hell he wasn’t making things worse. Crying women had always been his weakness. But a crying Summer could bring him to his knees.

Teddy didn’t know how long they sat there. It could have been minutes or hours. But he vowed to stay there for as long as she needed him. When the tears eventually dried, he decided to try and talk to her again.

“Tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, dollface.”

When she didn’t immediately reply, his heart began to sink. But then she surprised him. “I was scared. I know it’s stupid, but I thought ... I thought ...”

His stomach twisted. He didn’t have a good feeling about where this was going. “What did you think, doll?”

She was quiet for so long Teddy thought she wasn’t going to answer. When she finally spoke, her words made his fists clench. “I thought he was going to hurt me.”

His mind went back to that bruise on her arm. “Who hurt you, Summer?” He tried to keep his voice calm, but the anger inside him was bubbling to near boiling point.

Every single muscle on her body tensed. That’s when he knew. Some asshole with a death wish had dared to lay a hand on her. His Summer.

“I-I ... Can we not do this tonight ... please? I’m tired. So tired.”

Luckily for Summer, Teddy was a patient man. He might not get all the details tonight, but he would make sure he did eventually. Sooner rather than later.

Tightening his grip on her, he pulled himself up and off the comfortable couch cushions and strode toward the bedroom. It was time for her to rest. As he lay her down on the white sheets, she gripped his shirt, preventing him from pulling back.

“Will you stay?” Her voice was nothing but a whisper.

“Sure, doll, if that’s what you want. I can sleep on the couch.”

“No.” She wiggled up onto her elbows. “In here. Can you stay in here with me? Please.” He watched her take a deep breath before she met his eyes again. “You make me feel safe.”

Whoever the person who hurt her was, he was a dead man.

He swallowed down the lump in his throat and reached for the wrist that was still clinging to his cotton shirt. “If that’s what you want Summer, that’s what you’ll get. Now, let’s get these shoes off, yeah?”

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