I squeeze my eyes closed tight. His actions are not a hug but it’s enough to give me a little comfort. I hope he stays so I can curl up around him and for the rest of the night, not feel so completely alone. A grunt of surprise has my eyes flying back open to meet Ryker’s surprised ones in my doorway. Shadows move behind him in the hall but I squeak again and yank the damp t-shirt in my hand up to try and cover my bare chest and spin to turn my back to him.
“Sorry! Kang…I didn’t mean…FUCK, Avery!”
The apology and explanation he’s trying to give turn to anger when he swears at me causing me to cringe and peek back over my shoulder at him. He’s not looking at my face though, he’s looking at my back and my side. When I see the fury pass across his features, I realize he’s not mad because I’m almost naked. He’s furious at the marks on my body. He strides into the room as shame washes over me and I turn my head away from him as I start to shake. I shake and tremble and let out a soft cry when I feel his warm fingers trail down my spine over the boot-shaped bruise there and then move to my side to gently brush down across my multicolored bruises.
“Goddamn it!” He whispers harshly, causing me to whimper and flinch but then his arms come around me and he’s pulling me against his hard chest. His head comes down to rest on top of mine and he starts to whisper gruffly.
“No one, no one will ever lay a hand on you again! You have my word. You will be safe here. Safe and protected. I’m so sorry.”
I should be terrified. I should be running screaming from the room as this beast of a man I just met holds my half-naked body against his but instead, warmth starts to fill me. His warmth, his huge gentle arms, and his promise of safety all come together to give me something I’ve never felt before. He makes me feel…like I matter.
My body just melts back against his and his arms tighten softly. He doesn’t say anything else; he just holds on to me from behind with his face buried in my hair and my tears falling down onto his arms. He lets me cry and he lets me lean and it’s enough.
Eventually, he pulls back but it’s only so he can yank his shirt over his head. I tense up, worried that he has misconstrued what has just happened but he drops his huge shirt over my head and helps me thread my arms into it so I can drop the sleepshirt to the floor. He nudges me to the bed and lifts the blankets for me to slide under them and then tucks them over me.
“Kang, guard.” He commands the dog who chuffs back and then the dog crawls up the bed and snuggles right up next to me. I feel his hand lightly touch my hair and then his footsteps recede and the door clicks closed.
I drape an arm around Kanga and close my eyes. I should be horrified, embarrassed. Not only did Ryker get a look at my breasts but he saw the shame that covers my body. I search myself for the desire to run, to escape - but with his dog guarding me and the subtle spice smell of him enveloping me from his shirt, I find only the desire to stay. When I sleep again, there are no more nightmares.
Easton
Iclose and toss the file onto my desk and then rub at my gritty eyes. It’s well past midnight and the stack of work I should have gotten through doesn’t even have a dent in it. I’m preoccupied, distracted, and I don’t understand why. I reach for the cut crystal tumbler half filled with scotch as tired violet eyes and a cloud of glossy black curls flash into my mind. I don’t understand why I feel so…invested…in her and her daughter’s future.
Hiring her was the right call, she’s already proven that with the work she’s done in the house. It was a decent human thing to do to give them a suite of rooms to use so they had somewhere safe to stay until they got back on their feet. Those rooms haven’t been occupied in decades anyways. They’ve been sitting empty since long before I inherited this house. Other than the cleaning service and the designer who gutted and renovated the house before we moved in, I don’t think any of us has even gone into those rooms.
What I don’t understand is why I insisted she and her daughter dine with us. I even came home early from work so it wouldn’t be too late for Chloe. Avery is an employee, a damaged one but still, so why did I even bring up Chloe’s education and me pulling strings to make it happen? For all I know, Avery will take the money at the end of the week and run from here. I drain the last of my drink and push away from the desk. There need to be boundaries put in place. They have a lot of complicated baggage and the bottom line is they are not my responsibility. I have enough on my plate as it is.
I shut the lights off and pass through the kitchen on the way to my room and catch a glimpse of the half-eaten cake on the counter. Baggage or not, the woman is a hell of a cook. My feet slow as I try to decide if I should grab another piece, knowing it will be gone by the time I get home tomorrow. Thoughts of cake fly away as Kanga comes scrabbling around the corner on the hardwood floor from Ryker’s room and makes a wide arc before dashing down the hall to the suite I put Avery and Chloe into.
Ryker follows him next with an expression I don’t think I’ve ever seen on his face before. He looks…unsure. When he spots me, his steps falter and he turns my way while looking down the hall after his dog.
“Kang woke me. He was upset, pacing in front of my door, wanting out.” He lets out a drawn-out grunt, “Her rooms back onto mine. I could hear her crying and screaming.”
I rear back and then look past him in concern, my feet taking the first steps even before my mind has registered that I’m going. Zack wanders in, still wearing his glasses that he only wears when he’s coding, and a smirk tugs at his lips.
“You guys after cake too?”
Ryker looks back at me with a deep frown. “Nightmares, I think.”
I nod down her hall. “We should check to be sure.”
And then we’re both headed that way with Zack trailing along to see what’s going on. Ryker takes the lead and when Zack tries to ask a question, I shush him over my shoulder. The last thing Avery needs is for the three of us to invade her space, even if it is out of concern. The light is off in the hallway but there’s dim light coming from her open door. We almost run into Ryker’s back when he jerks to a stop and flinches back. I hear her squeak out in surprise and then Ryker’s stumbling over his words.
“Sorry! Kang…I didn’t mean…FUCK, Avery!”
He strides into the room leaving a perfect view for Zack and I of Avery’s slim, naked back. Her head is turned away from him and we can both see that she’s shaking. I want to bark at Ryker to get out of her room as she clearly doesn’t want him there but then I see his fingers trail down her spine over the boot-shaped bruise there and then move to her side to brush down across the swath of black, purple and blue bruises covering most of the side of her body. Molten anger rolls through me and I take a hard step forward to enter her room but Zack’s hand on my shoulder pulls me back.
“God damn it!” Ryker whispers harshly to her causing her to whimper and flinch but then he puts his arms around her and pulls her against his chest. His head drops down to rest on top of hers and at that moment I would give my considerable fortune to switch places with him.
We hear him whisper gruffly to her, “No one, no one will ever lay a hand on you again! You have my word. You will be safe here. Safe and protected. I’m so sorry.”
We both see the moment her stiff body melts back against his and his arms tighten around her and then Zack is pulling me back and away from the door and we disappear back into the shadows. We go back to the kitchen and I grip the edge of the cool marble and lean over it until my forehead rests on it for a few seconds. Zack starts swearing so I stand back up and face him.
“Motherfucking, low life, piece of shit!” His blazing eyes meet mine. “Did you see that? That was a fucking bootprint bruise on her back, East! Do you know how hard he would have had to stomp on her for the tread marks to show up in a bruise? What the actual fuck, man? Who does that kind of shit to a woman? I mean, never mind that she’s just a tiny little thing, who the fuck does that?”
I’m saved from trying to find answers when Ryker stomps in the room. My eyebrows shoot up when I see he’s minus a shirt but I make no comment. Based on the way his ham-sized fists are clenched and the absolute fury radiating off of him, it wouldn’t be wise right now. Zack calls out to him as he passes us.
“Where are you going, man?”
