Page 4 of Bruised

“Sorry, Danielo did you just say you have Sienna in your apartment?”

“Yes,” I huff, pushing a hand through my hair. “What’s so wrong with that?”

“Nothing, it’s just…” he trails off before adding, “You never take women home.”

Huh. He is right. I glance over to Sienna who is looking at me in a way that tells me she wants to eat me for breakfast and my cock twitches.

“Well, I’d love to chat, but can you only call me if you’re in immediate danger, please.” I hang up as Milo laughs down the line and begin to tug the sheet away from Sienna. Slowly it glides over her, revealing more of her gorgeous body with each torturous second. Only in the dim light of the room, something isn’t right.

I yank away the remainder of the sheet and she giggles but my blood turns to ice in my veins.

She is covered in angry blue and purple marks. Her breasts, hips and thighs have it the worst but her arms, legs…There doesn’t seem to be a part of her body that isn’t bruised.

“Sienna,” I gasp, encouraging her to turn over where I find her ass is also black and blue. “What the fuck? You look like you’ve been hit by a bus!” Panic rises in my throat. Did I do this to her?

I take a step back and her playful look turns serious before she scrambles over the bed towards me, getting up on her knees and taking my face in her hands.

“Hey, this is fine, I just bruise easily.”

“I hurt you,” I say flatly, unable to look her in her eyes.

“No, you didn’t, I just bruise easily,” she repeats. “If you were hurting me, I would have said so.”

I glance back at the sheets and see the smear of blood. She told me she was a virgin, and I still did this to her.

“Danielo, I promise you didn’t hurt me.” Her words are firm and broach no-nonsense but I cannot touch her. How can I touch her if this is what happens?

I pull my face out of her hands and she drops them by her side as she sinks back on her haunches. I pull my clothes on before opening the curtains and flooding the room with light.

Now I can see the extent of the damage to her beautiful, perfect body and for the first time in my life, I truly hate myself.

Sophie

I’ve never felt more vulnerable in my entire life than when he opens up the curtains and looks at me in the daylight.

Don’t get me wrong I didn’t expect our one-night stand to turn into love hearts and rainbows but I didn’t expect this either.

He looks like he is going to vomit at the sight of my naked body.

The bruises aren’t even that bad, not really.

“Honestly this is nothing,” I try to argue. “You should see me after a Krav Maga session.” The bid to lighten the mood falls flat.

“It doesn’t matter how okay you think this is, I put those marks on you.” His face turns green as a clammy sheen appears over his brow. “I hurt you,” he sputters.

“You’re wrong,” I snap. “You didn’t hurt me, I already told you, I bruise easily.”

“No one bruises that easily,” he huffs, now fully dressed in jeans and T-shirt which hugs his huge torso like a second skin and makes me want to tear it from him.

“I do,” I say, finally dipping my eyes downward with a sigh as I search out my dress which I find in a crumpled heap at the foot of the bed.

“You’re not wearing that,” he growls as he tosses a pair of jogging bottoms and a black T-shirt onto the bed.

I slip both on whilst trying to hold back tears.

“You’re such an ass,” I say, “And I won’t be making any effort to return these.” I grab my strappy shoes and walk from his apartment.

Hailing a taxi and climbing in, I tell the driver to take me back to my place a few blocks away before climbing in with a huff, ignoring the tears that prickle the backs of my eyes.

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