I relax my posture, nodding to the man, who lets me go.
“Nell, please tell him you are safe with me.” My voice is firm but with a hint of pleading.
She looks at me from under her lashes, and I see the redness in her eyes and her wet lashes.
Fuck.
Nodding, she looks to the man.
“I am okay with him.”
The guy nods to her, then gives me a stern look. Holding my hand out to him, he looks to my offered limb, then to my face, but shakes.
“Thank you for checking that she is safe to leave. I agree that you never know these days; there are some sick fucks in the world, but I can guarantee you that I am not one of them. She is my girl and I upset her, so I want to take her back to our hotel and check that she is okay.”
He doesn’t say anything, so I loop my arms around Nell’s waist and guide her back to the hotel. No words pass between us as we get closer. Her body is filled with tension and I fucking hate that I put it there. Well, not me, but the situation I was in.
When we are far enough from the crowd, she pulls out of my hold, and I do not reach for her, giving her space.
Reaching the hotel, we take the elevator up to our floor. Then we walk to our room, and not once does she touch or speak to me.
I open the door to our room, and she instantly goes into the bathroom, dropping her purse onto the sofa as she passes.
“Nell, we need to talk; I need to explain what you saw,” I call out.
Seeing the time on the clock in the room, I move to the phone to order room service. I am not sure if Nell has eaten yet, so I order almost everything on the menu, leaving out foods I have learned that she does not like.
When I hang up the phone, my phone beeps with a notification. I see an email from Asher with the title - WATCH THIS WITH NELL.
Looking up when I hear the door open, Nell steps out of the bathroom, her eyes red and puffy, and it makes me so fucking angry that Daniella did this.
I know what Nell saw, but I will not take blame for what happened. I know what happened and so will Nell.
“Room service should be here in a little while. I ordered a lot; I wasn’t sure what you would be in the mood for.” I walk to her, her body flinching when I brush a strand of hair off her cheek.
I fucking hate that she is feeling like this.
“I need a shower, and when I come out, I would like a chance to explain. Will you still be here when I get out, or do I have to go all Scooby Doo and track you down?” I see the smallest of twitches of her lips, and it makes me hope that she will be here.
Leaning in, I kiss her forehead, and her breath hitches. Then I step into the bathroom to wash off the sweat and sand from my run.
I take the fastest shower known to man, fearful of Nell running and not waiting for me to explain what the hell happened. If she does bolt, I will hunt her ass down; she is mine, or she will be.
Seeing her collide with that man made my fucking heart stutter in my chest. She could have been seriously hurt, and it made me realize how much she means to me.
Wrapping the towel around my waist, and running my fingers through my hair, I smirk to myself. I have seen the books that Nell reads, and I have checked a few out, so me stepping outof the bathroom in just my towel should have the desired effect I am going for.
Stepping out, I find Nell standing by the window looking out, her arms around her waist. Moving across the room to her, my hands go to her hips. She jerks and then yelps.
“Shit, sorry, I did not mean to scare you.” She spins around at the sound of my voice, her back hitting the glass door that leads out onto the balcony.
Her eyes scan my body, taking in every wet inch. I did not dry my hair purposely so that the droplets would run down my chest and abs.
“Umm.” She licks her lips, her eyes wide as she takes me in. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Oh, you didn’t.”
