“Really?”
“Really. I should have waited for you. Don’t worry. I’ve been kicking my own ass about it ever since I got the call from York. Well, my own ass and the car’s hood…”
She frowned, looking down, reaching for my hand. “What did you do?”
“Got a little pissed off.”
“You need to get these cuts cleaned.”
“Yeah. I’ll get in line after you,” I said. “Is all the damage to your face, or are you hurting anywhere else?”
“My side hurts a little. I fell off the bed onto it.”
“Any trouble breathing? Tightness in your chest?”
“No.”
“Can I look?”
I got a small nod, then reached out for the hem of her shirt and gently pulled it up, exposing her skin inch by inch.
It was no time for desire.
But when I held the material up under her breasts, there was no denying the way it coursed through me.
“Tell me if I hit any sore spots.” I poked around her ribs, but aside from a little hiss when I poked a bruised spot. “I think thisis okay. But here is Ama to confirm that diagnosis,” I said as the door behind me opened.
“What diagnosis would that be?” Ama asked, using some hand sanitizer.
“That she’s incurably gorgeous,” I said, getting a snort out of Lula.
“I’m afraid I have to concur with Raff on this one. Hi, Lula. I’m Ama. You’ve had a shitty night, huh?”
“You could say that,” Lula agreed.
“Raff, Huck wants to talk to you,” Ama said, nodding toward the hallway.
“I’m not leaving her.”
“She’s in good hands,” Ama insisted as she started to collect supplies and set them on a rolling tray.
“I’ll be fine.”
She probably would. She was accustomed to being alone. To not having someone to hold her hand when she was upset, hurt, or scared.
“I’ll be five minutes,” I told her, giving her knee a quick squeeze.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way into the hall to find York and Velle standing there with Huck.
“I don’t want to leave her for long,” I said, looking at the Golden Glades president.
“Yeah, I get it. Just a quick debrief.” He nodded toward York.
“I was in the guest room with my date,” York admitted. “Then I heard Lula screaming for Raff.”
There was that gutting sensation again.
“I told my date to stay put and ran in to find him over her on the floor. I ran in, got him off her, then he and I went at it while Lula crawled to the bathroom. With the girl in the other room, I knew the only way to end shit was to do it silently.” He winced ashe looked up at me. “There was no way to protect Lula from it,” he told me. “It was a long five minutes.”
