Page 84 of Mad As Hell

“Wedding dress fitting,” I explained. When he frowned, I added, “Gary hired some Italian designer for the dress. She needed measurements, so Gary sent Adam to get them.”

“Motherfucker,” Ryan seethed. “Did he… Are you…”

“Majorly grossed out? Yeah. He didn’t do much more than cop a few feels, but it scared me,” I confessed.

“I’m going to break his fingers off one by one and shove them up his ass,” Ryan vowed.

A soft, dry chuckle slipped from my lips. “Do me a favor and let me watch, okay?”

“I’m so sorry,” Ryan murmured, shaking his head. “I should’ve been here to protect you. I should have—”

Surprising us both, I reached out and covered his lips with my fingers. “Don’t. This wasn’t your fault.”

He kissed the pads of my fingers before grabbing my hand with his, his touch gentle, like I was the most delicate china that would shatter any second. “This is my fault.” His head tipped back as he left out a frustrated breath. “Is this what you wouldn’t tell me before? Has Adam been bothering you?”

Fear lingered in his eyes as he studied me.

I shook my head. “No. And I probably shouldn’t have texted you, but I was scared and…”

“And?” His hand cradled the side of my face.

I let my eyes drift closed as I leaned into the warmth of his touch. “And you make me feel safe.”

His arms came around me, soft and hesitant at first until my arms wrapped around his waist and I clung to him. When he realized I wasn’t shying away, he crushed me to his chest with a groan.

Finally, I felt the ice in my veins start to melt. Here in Ryan’s arms, nothing could hurt me.

I knew I was supposed to keep him at arm’s length, but after Adam had slinked away, smug and satisfied, I’d needed a safe harbor. I needed to feel like my room—the one place on this campus I should have been able to escape to—hadn’t been violated.

His large hand rubbed slow circles across my back. My tense muscles slowly relaxed, but my back still ached from shivering for the past ten minutes straight. Now that my adrenaline was crashing, I was painfully aware of how gross and tight my leggings and shirt were. I needed them off.

A whole new wave of panic set off a cascade of impulses. I lurched back from Ryan with a gasp, my hands going to my shirt and ripping it over my head.

Ryan’s eyes flared wide in a surprised way that would’ve been comical any other time. “Mads.”

“I need a shower,” I snapped, spinning around. I yanked off my clothes in fast, jerky movements. The sound of fabric tearing as I pulled my leggings off echoed in the silent bathroom. I didn’t stop until I’d peeled off my underwear and kicked them as far away from me as possible.

It didn’t even register that I was naked and Ryan was right freaking there as I stepped into the shower stall and turned the hot water on as high as it would go.

The initial spray of cold water before it heated was a shock to my system. The air in my lungs evaporated, and I was dimly aware of Ryan collecting my clothes from the floor and taking that goddamn towel with him.

I reached for the bar of peppermint scented soap I adored as he left the bathroom. My heart juddered at the sight of his retreating back, and I almost yelled for him to come back.

Instead, I clamped my teeth together and focused on scrubbing every surface I could. He would be back. I knew it in my gut.

It was why I had called him. I’d known on some primal level that Ryan would come through for me.

He returned a moment later and went into the linen closet to pull out fresh towels for me. For a second, his eyes met mine through the steamed-up glass, and I could see he was still conflicted. He wanted to be there for me, but he also wanted to find Adam and beat the shit out of him.

I forced a small smile onto my lips, but his frown only deepened. With a heavy sigh that I read in the rise and fall of his shoulders, he turned and left the room. He pulled the door halfway shut, probably in case I needed him again.

Longing surged in my veins.

I always needed him.

It was a hard, ugly fact that I’d been avoiding. Now that the initial shock of Adam being here and touching me was starting to fade a bit, I was left with that bone-deep truth.

I shut off the water, my skin red and glowing. My scalp tingled from the tea-tree-infused shampoo and conditioner I’d used. I wrapped my hair up in one towel and used the other to dry myself before knotting it around my chest.

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