See Me .(58)

Abigail forced her arms to rest at her sides. “Look at me, Sean.”

Kneeling by the tub, he raised his gaze. “Get in the water.”

Her insides twisted, taking the air from her lungs. She couldn’t breathe. He’d rejected her. She couldn’t reach for the pile of clothes fast enough. When she turned, a strong hand caught her by the waist and tugged. She stumbled against him as he sat down on the toilet. He hugged her so tight she could barely breathe. “Baby…baby,” he whispered while he rocked her. “Goddamn it…you’re so beautiful. Goddamn…Goddamn, baby. What happened to you?”

He smelled so good. He’d worked hard all day, and the musky scent of what he’d been doing lingered on his skin. She nestled her nose against his collarbone to sniff. “Y-You smell good.”

“What?”

“I like when you smell sweaty.” She sniffed again.

“You’re crazy, little lady,” he said through a shaky laugh. “Want to get in the tub?”

“Uh-huh.” He helped her step into the hot water. It was perfect. She sank until her shoulders were hidden beneath the surface. “Your apartment is all white.”

Was he blushing, or was it the steamy bathroom? “Yeah, I was hoping this wasn’t going to be a permanent place for me.” He dipped his hand into the water, skimming her thigh. “Thanks to you, it’s not going to be.”

Thanks to her? “I…I need you to do me a favor.”

Lazy fingertips grazed her thigh again, making her want to turn on her side to face him, but she didn’t. That would make her big hip stick out of the water, and she just wasn’t ready for that right now.

“Anything,” he said while making tiny strokes along her skin.

“I need you to apply for the accounting job. I mean the business assistant job. Ron listed it as that in the paper and online. Will you do that for me?”

His fingers stopped moving. “You want me to apply for an office position with Fantasy Emporium? What about the performer stuff?”

She wanted him to quit that, but would he see this as a handout or for what it really was? “You’re a smart, educated business person who can obviously handle accounts and investments. You’re someone I can trust. You wouldn’t be performing anymore if you took the job. You’d make more doing the business side of things. The salary I was paying Thomas was around $65,000 a year. I was going to add on some additional responsibilities to the position so I can offer the right applicant closer to $85,000. What do you think?”

The unreadable expression on his face made her insecurities flare. “We’ll talk about that later. Right now, it’s time for you to tell me what’s going on. You’re stalling, Abigail. Tell me how you got those scars.”

Oh God, I can’t. I can’t! “I…I…” The tears didn’t fall. The sobs were silent. The emptiness she’d felt lying on the bathroom floor the night Justin had tried to kill her came seeping back into her psyche. The crimson river flowing over the tiles was the last thing she saw as her baby’s life force drained out of her body.

“Abigail, come back to me, baby.”

She turned to see Sean’s sorrowful eyes staring back at her. “He’s my ex-husband. His name is Justin. Four years ago, he broke into my house and sliced my stomach…after he raped me.” Wait for it…he’s going to run. When he stood up, she turned over onto her side, unable to watch his back walk out the door.

“And?”

When she peeked over her shoulder, he was leaning over the sink, his wide back hunched as he hid his face in his hands.

“He…he left me on the bathroom floor, and I crawled to the bedroom. A friend was coming over for a celebration dinner that evening and found me. I’d lost a lot of blood. She called 911, and I went to the hospital. I was there for several days. It was all kind of a blur.”

His shoulders started to bounce as his shaky voice whispered, “He tried to kill you?”

She turned back around to face the side of the tub. “In a lot of ways, he did. He threatened that if I didn’t die, he’d find me and make sure to finish the job. He promised to kill me if I was ever with another man. I…I wanted to be with you. I still do, but I don’t want to drag you into all of this mess. I lo—like you enough to want you to stay safe. If you stay with me, he’ll kill you.”

She heard him move, and she rolled over.

Sean skimmed his fingers along the water. “You think I can’t take care of myself and you too for that matter? Abigail, that’s my decision, and I made it the first night we spent together. That prick can’t hurt me and sure as fuck is never laying a hand on you again.”