Seduced by Innocencey(22)

I stopped at a red light and looked at her. "I can relate to that. I'm really sorry. If I'd known, I wouldn't have kissed you, as hard as it would have been to resist."

She winced, and I thought I'd said something wrong, but she showed me the shirt, too full of blood to be of much use, and her wound still bled.

"If you won't let me take you to the hospital, at least let me stitch it and dress it for you, otherwise you'll need a hospital."

"Are you a doctor?"

"No, but I have a lot of experience. Trust me. Can you do that?"

Her eyes glazed over in pain, and I knew she wouldn't last long if we didn't stop the bleeding. She nodded, and I pulled over into a motel parking lot. "Stay here, I'm going to get us a room."

Her eyes grew big and a look of panic settled on her face.

"Just for an hour or so, so we have privacy, water and clean towels while I fix you up. Unless you want to go home looking like this?"

She shook her head and then closed her eyes to rest.

I took that as a yes and ran in to get us a room, then made a call.

When I got back to the car, she was nearly unconscious. I carried her into our room, then went back to get my first aid kit. With as many bar fights as I'd been in, a first aid kit like this was mandatory.

"Rose, I need you to sit up, can you do that?"

I helped her sit with her back against the bed frame, then gave her two Vicodin. "For the pain. You're going to need it."

She swallowed them, and I collected clean towels and a bucket of water and proceeded to clean out her cut. Each cry from her lips ripped at my soul, but I had to do this thoroughly.

When I began to stitch, she got quiet, and I thought she'd passed out, but her eyes were open and looking somewhere only she could see.

"I'm done, Rose. It's all over."

I wrapped my arms around her and held her to me as she cried. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

When her sobbing subsided I gave her a soda to drink. "This will help with your blood sugar."

She took deep gulps until the can was empty. "Thank you. I'm feeling much better."

A knock at the door caused her to cry out again.

I put my hand on hers. "Don't worry. It's just my sister. I asked her to bring some clothes so you wouldn't have to go home soaking wet and freezing. You can trust her."

I let Tammy in and introduced them. Tammy rushed over to Rose and hugged her. "You poor thing. Let's get you changed and cleaned up." Tammy glared at me. "Don't you have somewhere else you can go for a few minutes?"

I refused to budge. "I'm not leaving her again."

Tammy rolled her eyes. "Okay He-Man, then guard the door. We need privacy so she can get dressed."

Oh. "Right. Of course."

I stood outside while Tammy helped her.

When I came back in, Rose looked dry, warm and much healthier. She smiled when she saw me. "Your sister is awesome. I really like her. Thank you both for all of your help. I just didn't want to involve my family by going to the hospital. It would have been a mess, and the police might have wanted to know what happened. It's better this way."

I had my own reasons for keeping the police out of my affairs, so I couldn't fault her there.

Tammy put an arm around her. "I think you should take her home now. She's exhausted and needs sleep." She looked at Rose. "You have my number. Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

I didn't understand how women could bond so quickly. These two looked like they had been best friends forever.

Tammy tossed a set of keys at me. "Take Dad's car, it's drier. I'll take my car back and have the seats dried."

She grabbed the keys on the dresser and left before I could reply.

I held my hand out to Rose. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and accepted my hand. She'd found a pair of gloves, and I missed the feel of her skin. At the studio she'd said she wore gloves for a medical condition, but her hands looked perfect to me. Perhaps this was another secret she didn't feel she could share with me yet.

We drove back to her house in silence, and panic rose in me as we pulled up to her property. "Rose, before you go, I need to know when I can see you again. I know this date sucked, but I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Her eyes held such sadness as she looked at me. "I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship right now. There's a lot going on in my life at home and I just—"

"—Please, don't say no. Give me a chance. Let me take you on one more date. I promise this one won't end in stitches."

The fate of my future hung in the air between us, clinging to that in between moment as she decided our destinies.

"Okay, maybe one more date won't hurt."