He pulled away from me and looked down into my eyes. He stroked the side of my face and grimaced as he saw me wince at the sensitive, bruised area there. “Lex, I need to know if he hurt you…anywhere else.”
I shook my head mutely. I still wasn’t ready to talk. Not yet. He closed his eyes and took a long, shuddering breath. “Okay. You’re okay. Just sit here.” He settled me down on to the edge of the tub. It was a huge whirlpool tub, and I realized with a start that this was Shayne’s bathroom. He turned on the faucet, and I watched him put a stream of liquid bubble bath into the water.
He stayed on his knees as he turned to me and took my hands in his. They were so warm, and I felt so cold. They were so big compared to mine that it looked as if they swallowed mine whole. “I want you to take a bath. I’ll leave a t-shirt on the bed, and we’ll get you new clothes in the morning. You can crawl into bed and sleep. I’ll take the sofa. Take your time, Lex. I’m not going to leave you alone tonight.”
Fresh tears welled in my eyes at his kind words, and his gaze seemed to burn on my face. He brushed my tears away. “Don’t cry, Lex. It’s okay. Please, don’t cry.” I leaned my cheek against his palm and closed my eyes as I let out a deep breath. I felt his lips against my forehead. “If you need me, just call.”
Then he got up and left the room letting the door close quietly behind him I stared at the water and for a moment didn’t know what to do. But then I stood and started to strip away my clothes. Shayne seemed to have guessed that I wanted to feel clean again. Right now, I felt dirty. Abused. Shaken to my core.
I sat down in the warm water and let it start to warm me. I forced myself to empty my mind. As the water level rose, I started to feel my muscles unwind. I turned it off when the water was just a few inches from the top. I stretched and leaned back. I closed my eyes, and then I saw Bill’s face blow up in my mind. I sat up straight with a small cry. The door to the bathroom burst open, and Shayne was there beside the tub. He touched my shoulder. “Lex. What is it?”
The bubbles sat high enough on the surface of the water that most of my body was hidden, but I still saw his eyes slide down my body. I didn’t care. Shayne had done the unthinkable for me. I owed him my life. I just had no idea why he had done it.
“Why did you come for me?” My voice was hoarse as if I had been screaming for days.
An expression of surprise crossed his face. “Why would you think I wouldn’t come for you?”
“I’m a nobody,” I whispered. “They took me because they thought I was your girlfriend.” I gave a mirthless laugh. “It was because they were at the fight. Bill and his partner-in-crime heard what you said about me. Obviously they didn’t stick around long enough to see Marcus take that other girl back to your locker room, otherwise, they’d have known it wasn’t true.”
Shayne’s finger lifted my chin so that my eyes met his. “Lex, I didn’t have sex with that woman that night.”
I felt my heart start to race. “You didn’t? I saw the picture she posted on Twitter.”
He grimaced and then shook his head. “No, I didn’t sleep with her. I let her take a picture before she left. She was a bit enthusiastic about it. But I kicked her out. I didn’t want her.”
“Why?”
After a pause, I thought that he wasn’t going to answer me. Shayne sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You’ve been through a lot today, Lex. I think there’s probably some other things we should talk about before we have this conversation. And when you look at me like that, I start thinking about other things, and I need to have a clear head. Finish your bath. Get some rest. We can talk in the morning.”
He squeezed my shoulder before getting to his feet. A moment later the door closed, and he was gone.
He hadn’t slept with that woman. I turned that information around in my mind. I sat there until the water had cooled thinking about this man who had come into my life and taken it by storm. I thought about what had happened in Bill’s apartment. I knew then that no matter what he said, Shayne had feelings for me. Just like I had feelings for him. But I wanted to hear him say it, and I wanted to tell him how I felt too. It felt more important than ever to talk about it as soon as possible.
I had fallen for Shayne Malone. For the first time, I didn’t care what anyone would think of that. He had saved me, and I would be forever grateful to him. It was time to find out the truth now, and I was determined to get it.