The next thing I knew, he was carrying me, over the nurse’s protests, out of the hospital and to the black car waiting outside. I zoned out again on the way back to the Delecta. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until I opened my eyes to see Dylan’s soft sheets as he lowered me into his bed. A moment later, he joined me, pulling my body into his until my head rested on his shoulder, my injured arm on top of his chest. The last thing I felt before I passed out completely was the thump of Dylan’s heart beneath my ear, strong and reassuring.
7
Dylan
It was all I could do to keep from hunting down that bastard myself. The look in Leigha’s eyes when she’d seen me - relief, then terror. It tore at me. She’d done this for me. To keep me safe. Had it even occurred to her that if that video got out she’d lose her job? I wasn’t in the tabloids every week, but I had my share of attention. If the video got out, it would be huge news. Overnight, Leigha would become a sex tape star. Completely unemployable and good for little more than hosting a third rate reality tv show. Or other options far worse.
I could answer that question. She hadn’t thought of herself at all. She’d been completely out of it at the hospital, pale, close to shock, and scared. In no condition to play a game with me. She could have accused me of putting her in that situation in the first place. She never would have been in that hallway, exposed to prying eyes with my hand up her dress, if I hadn’t dragged her along. I didn’t think that had even occurred to her.
It meant something to me that she’d been looking out for me. Something big. And it said a lot about her. But fuck, he’d hurt her. Terrified her. I was taking her in to press charges in the morning. I planned to hold her hand through all of it though I’d have to watch myself. I had a feeling there was worse she was hiding than a bruise to the jaw and a knife wound.
At least the bruises were contained to her face. I’d undressed her unconscious body for bed, my stomach tight with the fear that I’d find matching bruises on her body, her breasts and her thighs. If I had, I might have left her and gone with Axel’s men to bring Steven in. Then I might have killed him.
It’s always hard to say what we might or might not do in an extreme situation. Laying in bed, Leigha’s perfume drifting up from her hair, her warm body pressed into mine, I hoped I’d be smart enough not to do anything crazy, like kill a man in cold blood. Even my lawyers couldn’t get me out of something like that.
At the thought that he might have hurt her worse than he already had, that he could have raped her - the ice in my gut told me there was no limit to what I would do to keep her safe.
Still, she’d earned herself some punishment. I’d go gentle, since her face and her wrist would still hurt when she woke up. But Leigha needed to learn about trust. She’d said she trusted me in the hospital. She probably thought she meant it.
More likely, she wanted to mean it. I needed it to be deeper than that. I needed her to trust me all the way. To her soul. And the best way to show her what that meant was with a good, old-fashioned spanking. Sometimes the cliché was true. Actions did speak louder than words. In the morning, Leigha would find out for herself.
To Be Continued…
Turn the page for a note from the author and a sneak peek at Book Five, the conclusion to The Wedding Rescue.
Thank You