Page 19 of Protect Me
He leans forward until the chair stands only on its front two legs and he’s close enough to reach out and touch. I should feel terrified at being alone with a man after everything Robert has done, but Killian is different. Despite the way he exudes power, I know instinctively that he won’t hurt me. Instead, all I feel is attraction.
“We’ll see about that, love.” He lifts a hand and brushes his finger over my mouth then leans back again so the chair falls onto all fours.
I let out a breath, trying to decide whether to tell him to leave or not. That kiss with Bracken should never have happened. And it damn sure can’t happen again—not with him and not with any of the other gorgeous, delicious lion shifters who’ve made it their mission to take care of me.
In fact—
Setting the half-empty mug aside, I push back the covers and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.
“Whoa, what the fuck are you doing?” Killian is out of his chair in a blink, hovering close enough that I very nearly edge back onto the mattress.
But I don’t.
Instead, I shove him aside and stand, inhaling against the dizziness that washes over me.
“I’m taking a shower,” I announce and then start for the bathroom.
Unsteady, I weave slightly left but manage to correct and somehow make it to the bathroom doorway. Bracing the wall for support, I hear Killian growl behind me. My lips quirk because, apparently, I was wrong; Killian can be growly too. And why does that excite me?
“Like hell you are,” he says and marches up behind me. “You just took a shower when you got here.”
“That was a bath,” I correct. “And it was almost ten hours ago,” I say, hoping my fuzzy brain is doing the math right. Besides, this shower is more to clear my head than clean my body, but I refuse to tell him that.
“You’re too weak and unsteady to—”
I whirl, holding up an angry finger. “Let me stop you right there. It’s my body. And while I did come here for safety, I didn’t agree to being ordered around. I get to say what my body needs, and right now, it needs a shower.”
His angry gaze flicks to my thin nightshirt.
“And another thing,” I go on, pretending my skin doesn’t tingle everywhere his eyes touch. “I’m done being drugged and put to bed.”
His gaze snaps back to mine, a warning in his eyes now. “Are you sure about that, love? You’ve never been put to bed by the likes of me.”
His tone is low and gravelly enough that I can feel his words scrape along my nerve endings. My mouth goes dry as I imagine him carrying me back to bed and climbing in with me. Of how close he’d have to press against me for both of us to fit in such a small space. Of capable hands erasing the memory of the very rough ones that were on me last.
I blink, shoving aside those mental images. Maybe a shower isn’t enough. Better make it a cold one.
“I’m sure,” I snap and then step back and shut the door in his face before I can change my mind.
I stand there, listening to see what he’ll do and mildly terrified his next move will be to come crashing through said door and drag me back to bed. Terrified and incredibly turned on.
Ugh!
But instead, he’s silent so long I wonder if he’s left. Finally, he says, “I’m getting you some clothes. Stay awake and alive until I get back.”
A moment later, I hear my bedroom door slam shut.
I grin like an idiot.
Point one, Sway.
* * *
The shower helpsto wake me up. By the time I’m done, I am more alert than before even as the herbs have numbed my aching body against the worst of the pain. Killian hasn’t returned. Or he hasn’t made himself known, at least. Still, I am wary as I push the shower curtain aside, listening for some sound from the bedroom.
Reaching for the towel hanging on the hook, I grab it and wrap it around my body before attempting to step out. When that’s done, I lift my right hand to the shower wall for support—and that’s my mistake.
Steam slicks the tile’s surface. My hand slips off it, and I careen forward. At the last second, I turn my body so I land on my hip rather than my face. The pain of hitting the tile floor is sharp and vicious, and a scream tears from my throat.