Page 148 of Beautifully Wounded

Jols’ smile spreads wide. “So you do care about him. I knew I was picking up on something between you two.”

“What? No.” I shakemy head, trying to backtrack. “He’s just protecting me. Kind of like a big brother.”

A deep chuckle comes up beside us and we turn to see JD has returned, ice packs in hand.

“I’m pretty sure it’s fucking illegal for a brother to look at you the way Ringo does, kid.”

I roll my eyes and Jols giggles.

“Right! And there’s no way he’s that good of an actor.”

Wagging her brows at me, Jols bumps her shoulder with mine, and once again my face heats.

“Thanks for the ice packs,” I mutter, snatching them from JD and hurrying back to the room, their laughter following me all the way there.

Back in the room, I stand outside the bathroom door, unsure if I should go back in.

Maybe he sent me to get ice packs so he could have some privacy. Maybe he needed to fix the erection issue.

I step backwards and return to the room, not knowing what else to do, so I sit on the end of the bed, staring at the ice packs chilling my fingers.

A couple of minutes later, I hear the bathroom door open, and when I glance up, Ringo rounds the corner, a trail of water running from his neck, over his pec to bead on his nipple.

I want to lick it off.

Wait. What?

OMG, where is my head at lately?

“Thanks for the ice packs,” he grunts, his eyes locked onto me and I nod, quickly standing and holding them out as he approaches, a towel wrapped around his hips, sitting low.

Oh my…

Ineed to get out of here. I’m feeling way too hot and hungry. So hungry. Just not for food.

“Hey,” he rasps, hooking his finger under my chin, and I realise I’ve been staring at the V that disappears under the towel. “Serious question. You doing okay?”

Am I doing okay?

I consider that.

A week ago, my parents locked me away, forced drugs down my throat, and were determined to make me marry Daniel the next morning. But then this man kidnapped me. Terrified me. Chased me. Forced me to sit on his lap for hours in a car. And then…

Well, then, so much has happened. I’ve been scared, distraught, angry, aroused more than I’d like to admit, confused, and finally when I started to feel safe, the cops came, assaulted the men and women before announcing they were looking for me, and then tonight, my protector was beaten in front of everyone.

I shouldn’t be okay. I know I shouldn’t, yet as I stare into Ringo’s dark eyes, just him and me in this crappy motel room, I can honestly say that I am, in fact, doing okay.

“I’m alright.” I nod. “Just worried about you.”

He chuckles. “I don’t break that easy, Angel, but if you’re offering some TLC, I won’t refuse.”

I smile at that. “So you’ll let me look after you without whining about it?”

“I never said that.”

I giggle as he releases my chin and moves to his bed.

“Come and lie down with me. Put on some of that god awful noise you call music.”

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