Page 21 of Guarded Love

This was not the time for me to admire her body, but memories of that night in her room insisted on replaying, anyway. I had placed my hands on this body. I had felt its fullness, its softness, and I was left wanting more. It had been my decision to stop things where they were, and I stood by that decision. That didn’t mean I couldn’t wish things had gone differently. I still did, whether or not she believed it.

There was no telling how long she would be asleep or what she would need when she woke up. Was I supposed to stick around? I didn’t have any other plans that couldn’t be altered, but something told me she’d be insulted if she woke up and found me waiting. Barrett hadn’t hired me to be a babysitter either. I had done my job. Nobody would blame me for going home. And fuck them if they did.

Even so, I tucked her in carefully, then went to the window, lowering the shades to dim the late afternoon light coming through. The bedroom featured a flat-screen television opposite the bed, so I left the remote next to her where she could easily grab it. Then I pulled her cane from her bag and leaned it against the nightstand so it would be easily reached.

That should be enough, right?

What if she got hungry…

Thirsty…

I shook her gently, leaning over the bed. “Hey. Eve. Do you want me to leave you some food here? What do you like?”For fuck’s sake, was I really doing this?All for a woman who had basically admitted to coming on to me because she figured I would be an easy lay?

Her dark hair spread across the pillow when she turned her head, and thick, dark lashes fluttered against her soft cheeks before her full lips started to move. “I’m fine,” she whispered. Her fucking mantra.I’m fine. I don’t need you. You’re not good enough for me.

Why did those two words have the ability to put so much doubt in me?

It was then that I remembered her prescriptions. Was I supposed to pick them up? Against my better judgment, I went through her bag and found the paperwork the hospital left her with. “Don’t get on my case for fucking around in your things,” I warned as I skimmed the contents.

The prescriptions had already been called into a pharmacy down the street. She would probably need something for the pain eventually, and I knew if I left it up to her, she would find a way to walk over there. She was that damn stubborn.

At least the meds were already available by the time I reached the pharmacy, so I didn’t have to wait. On the way back, I considered picking up something for her to eat, but I didn’t have the first idea what she liked. Knowing Barrett, he would’ve made sure the kitchen was fully stocked. Then there was the matter of her getting around.This isn’t her first rodeo,I reminded myself. Yet I couldn’t shake the uncertainty. Just because she had already gone through this so many times didn’t mean she had to do it alone this time.

It sort of made me wonder how many other things she had dealt with on her own. That was something we had in common. What a shame she wouldn’t want to hear about it or anything else I might have to say.

“Hello? Who’s there?” Her voice rang out with fear once I reentered the penthouse and closed the door. She was still in the bedroom and very much awake.

“Jack the Ripper,” I announced and started for the bedroom, snagging a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

“Wait! I-I’m not dressed all the way.”

“I’m sure you don’t have anything I’ve never seen before,” I said with an exhausted sigh.

“You’ve never seenmebefore,” she retorted before adding, “And you don’t need to see my leg.”

“Sutures don’t scare me, babe,” I reassured and hung out near the doorway, leaning against the wall.

“I’ll overlook the fact that you just called me babe. Where did you go?”

“To pick up your meds.” When all that greeted me was profound silence, I explained, “The paperwork was with your stuff. I figured you would need them.”

“Thank you.” I wondered how much it took out of her to mumble those two words. “I’m ready. You can come in now.”

“Only if you think I can stand it. Unless you’re afraid I’ll ravish you while you’re incapacitated,” I teased, unable to stop myself.

She was frowning when I entered the room, pulling the silk covered duvet around her chest. She had changed into her nightgown—black satin, trimmed in lace, low-cut with thin straps that exposed her delicate collarbone, smooth shoulders, and chest. The sight did things to me it shouldn’t. I was only human. Even if she still had the personality of a thorn bush with PMS, she was a beautiful, curvaceous woman.

A woman whose skin flushed darker red the longer I looked at her. “Thank you.” With one arm over her tits, she reached for the bag with her other hand. “You really didn’t have to do that. I would’ve figured something out.”

“Did it ever occur to you that you don’t always have to figure something out? That other people might want to help make things easier?”

“I don’t want to be a burden to anybody.”

“Whoever said you were a burden? That’s bullshit.”

“Yeah, well, there’s another side to being so well taken care of.” She wiggled her fingers, still waiting for the bag. I handed it over before leaving the water on the nightstand.

It wasn’t easy to keep my eyes off her, but it was harder to push away the mental image of her lush body spread out on the bed like a waiting feast, with that black satin skimming her curves. What the hell was wrong with me? There were a thousand women, maybe a million, who would gladly warm my bed that very night. I would only have to snap my fingers, flash a grin, and I might as well consider my dick sucked.

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