Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Good. Now, you go on and take yourself into the primary bath. I’ll be there with the meds and some water in a second.
He walked toward the kitchen and I made my way into the primary bedroom—finding more dark wood, cream, windows, and a bed that looked so comfortable I almost wanted to cry again.
Because everything hurt now.
I guess once the emotions were worked through and the adrenaline had eased, I was able to feel every point of contact with the guy’s hands, fists, the pain from where I’d fallen to the hardwood floor. My whole body felt like a bruise. But my face hurt the worst. And my throat was on fire from the strangulation, making swallowing my own spit feel like shards of glass.
The bathroom was covered in the same tile as the kitchen—looking luxe and inviting. There was a walk-in niche long enough not to require any doors. Then, of course, there was the massive soaking tub that Raff had slowly filling with steaming water.
Sucking in a deep breath, I turned and made my way toward the floating vanity, forcing myself to confront my reflection for the first time.
It wasn’t pretty, but it also wasn’t as horrific as I’d been telling myself it might be. There were dark rims around both eyes. My cheek was swollen from the trauma to my jaw. And, yeah, there were marks on my throat from the man’s hands that I was sure would only darken with time. But, as a whole, it could have been so much worse. A little carefully applied makeup and some ice and I could probably pass as my usual self.
I was still standing there, staring at myself when Raff came in, placing a glass bottle of water and a pill on the counter beside me before making his way to turn off the water.
I took the pill and set down the bottle again, still staring at myself.
I saw Raff making his way back before he moved in behind me. In the mirror, he sucked in a deep breath, released it, and pressed his chin down on my shoulder.
“You okay?”
“I feel like it should look worse. It felt worse.” My hand lifted to gently trace over my throat.
“Don’t let yourself try to downplay how bad it was just because there isn’t ‘enough’ evidence of it on your skin.”
My head tipped, leaning against his for a second.
Then we stood like that for a long moment or two before Raff’s head turned, pressed a soft kiss to my neck, then straightened and stepped away.
“Take your bath. There are some fresh pajamas on the bed. Can I make you coffee? Tea? A snack?”
“I’m just tired. But thank you.”
“Okay. Take a quick soak. By the time you’re out, the meds should kick in so you can knock out.”
With that, he left, closing the door as he went.
Alone, I stripped and slipped into the bath, feeling the almost too hot water ease the aches in my body.
As my eyelids grew heavy, I climbed out, dried off, put on the robe, then brushed my teeth with the brush and paste supplied, being careful not to touch the spot where I now had no tooth.
On the bed, I found a butter-soft sleep set with a T-shirt and long pants in a pale yellow.
But when I climbed into the bed that felt like a cloud, I couldn’t seem to settle, regardless of how slow and heavy the meds were making me.
On a grumble, I threw off the bedding and did exactly what my heart was begging me to do.
I walked out into the main area, finding Raff lounged on the couch—changed into a fresh tee and some black sleep pants. He looked exhausted but stared blankly up at the ceiling.
I didn’t say anything.
I just walked over to him, reached for his hand, and pulled until he got to his feet and followed me through the living room and into the main bedroom.
“Lu, you okay?” he asked as we got closer to the bed.
“I don’t want to be alone,” I admitted, unable to meet his eyes when I said it.
True to form, Raff made light of what he knew was something difficult for me to admit. This man leapt sideways onto the bed, landing with a bounce, and declaring, “In that case, I’m open for a snuggle.” He threw his arms open wide.
He was so good at that.
Making it easy.
Like he knew it was hard for me to seek solace from someone else. And wanted to ease that discomfort about it.
I turned off the light and slid under the covers before slowly curling into him.
His arms went around me, slowly and gently at first, but then much more tightly as I settled in.
“You know what I think?”
“Mmm?”
I was too distracted to manage more than that. His body was firm and warm. His heartbeat was a metronome against my ear. His arms were an anchor, keeping my negative thoughts from sweeping me away.