Perplexed, he followed her into the larger bedroom and balked when he caught her trying to tear up the carpet from the base in the corner where the mirror had been. “Sassy,” he said cautiously. “Why are you doing this?”
“I have to get it out of here,” she said, yanking. Seams tore; the carpet ripped.
His gaze landed on the blood spots that led from the bed to the door. He closed his eyes, because he knew exactly what was in her mind. She needed to purge the encounter with Ryder from this room before she could even contemplate sleeping in here again.
The problem was that no matter what she did, there would be no forgetting. She could demo the entire house again. Still, the memories would remain.
“Sassy,” he murmured. When she didn’t stop yanking the carpet from the nail strips, he crossed the room to her. He closed his hand around her arm. She pulled away. He didn’t release her, keeping his grip gentle. “Sassy,” he said again.
“It has to go,” she insisted. “It all has to go.”
“It will,” he told her. “I’ll help you. I’ll help you repaint, refloor, refinish everything. But not tonight.”
“I don’t want this to be here tomorrow.”
“You need to take a beat,” he said. “A night, maybe two. You can come home with me and Riot so you don’t have to see this in the morning.”
“I can’t leave Rogue.”
“Rogue can come, too,” he insisted. “Come home with me, Sassy. Let me take care of you.”
She shook her head in a listless motion. “This ismyhouse.”
The quiet strength of her was loud inside his head. Would she ever know how proud he was of her for the way she’d handled Ryder? And terrified of what would have happened had she been someone…anyone else. “After what you did today, there’s no one who doubts that.”
Her throat moved on a swallow. “Nick, did I kill him?”
“No,” he answered. “Though a big part of me wishes you had.”
She gave a little nod, then whispered, “You were right. You were right about him…abouteverything.”
“Not everything,” he admitted. “I should’ve found a better way to prove he was lying about who he really was. I shouldn’t have used your fundraiser or the gallery to catch him in the act.”
She shook her head again, mute this time.
He traced the line of her cheek with his thumb. “Look, if you don’t want to leave home, I’ll stay here with you.”
Her glassy eyes swung to his, searching. “When we spoke earlier,” she said, “I told you I wasn’t ready to talk.”
He remembered, and it crushed him. “I can’t leave you alone.”
She blinked. “I never said that I wanted to be alone. In fact, I don’t ever want you to leave me alone again.”
He drew her to him. “Come here.”
She let him take her in his arms. Strong woman that she was, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her from the room. He kicked the door closed. “Tell me what you need. I’ll do anything to make this right.”
“You already have.” She dropped her head back until their gazes locked. “Now take me to bed.”
His steps faltered.
Her eyes flashed, heat and emotion building behind them. “You heard me.”
Images lit his brain in a lightning storm of possibilities. He tried shutting them down, but they remained, fixed and vivid. “That is far from what you need right now.”
“You asked me,” she reminded him. “What I want…what I need… It’s you.”
Her fingers were in his hair, her nails teasing his scalp. He struggled to speak beyond his muscles tensing, his temperature rising and his jeans growing tighter. The promise in her eyes silenced every well-intentioned thought. It muted the sharp pain in his wrist from carrying her. “Sassy,” he said, latching onto her name. It was the only thing he knew. The only star in his sky. “I need you to be honest with the both of us here…”
