“I’m sorry,” I whisper, taking another step back.
Keller’s eyes pop open. “What are you sorry for? It’s that motherfucker Wolfe who’s going to be sorry. Seeing you in that hospital… Jesus.” Large hands run through his mangled hair and he stares up at the ceiling. I’ve seen Keller upset, but this is beyond angry. Keller’s eyes glint with lethality.
But my mind isn’t focused on Keller or his desire for revenge. All I can think of is if I was in the hospital for a seizure, the doctors would have seen my scar. My heart races, throbbing painfully inside my chest. Did they tell Keller about my injury? I can’t have him treating me differently. He’ll be afraid to touch me. He won’t give me what I need. He won’t help me feel safe.
I retreat another step, surprised when the back of my legs hit the mattress.
Keller’s hands fall from his head and he focuses on me. Tilting his head, he gives me a strange look. “Where are you going?”
“I’m…” I glance around the room, searching for my clothes so I can get the hell out of here before I have to see the pity in his eyes.
In a flash, Keller is in front of me before I can come up with an excuse to flee. His thick thighs pin mine to the bed, while his wide hands and long fingers span my waist, holding me firmly in place. “What’s wrong? Why are you afraid of me?”
“I-I’m not. I just… I need to get back to my r-room. To clean up.”
“I had all of your things moved here. You’re not staying by yourself. I’m not chancing you having another seizure with no one there for you.” Keller barks out an unamused laugh. “Fuck that. No way. You’re not leaving my side ever again.”
I wonder if I get a say in the matter, but decide not to argue… yet.
“How did I get here?” I change the subject, trying to remember the events between waking in the hospital and waking up here, and fail. There’s only darkness, and the horrific, haunting images of “the incident.”
Keller raises an eyebrow and brings up a hand to brush my hair back behind one ear. “You don’t remember? You were awake, but kind of out of it. They said you would be like that from some of the medications they gave you. You signed the discharge papers and everything.”
“Oh.”
I wait for the questions. My heart is pounding so hard I’m shocked it doesn’t crack any ribs. Any minute now, Keller will mention the scar, the brain injury. He’ll want to know. He’ll see me differently. Back to being treated like delicate glass. My lungs constrict, and I’m suddenly desperate for air.
“Britt?”
Pins and needles prick at my fingers and toes, ice racing up and down my extremities as my chest squeezes tighter.
“Britt? What the hell?”
Suddenly, I’m being swept off my feet and laid gently on the center of the huge bed. Keller wraps his body around mine, throwing a leg over my hips and an arm over my shoulders. He pulls me close, whispering into my hair.
“You’re okay. Jesus, I’m going to kill that fucker Wolfe for doing this.”
Gritting my teeth, I take deep, measured breaths through my nose, in and out, in and out, until the shimmering edges of unconsciousness recede from my vision and my heartbeat slows.
“Don’t hurt him.”
“What?” Keller pushes up on one elbow, leaning over so he can see my face. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Don’t hurt Wolfe. It’s not his fault.”
“Britt—”
“Please, Keller.”
Keller
My stomach twists as Britt’s big, blue eyes bore into me, unwavering in their quest to see right into my soul. For the first time in a decade, the sound of my given name doesn’t dredge up feelings of loathing and resentment.
I try to put the wall back up, the protective armor that has surrounded me for so long, but Britt reaches over and with gentle fingers, caresses my rough cheek. Just like that, the wall she’s been chipping at since we met, crumbles to dust.
“Don’t shut me out,” she whispers. “I can’t…” a sob rips from her chest. “I need you.”
Fuck.
I have to look away. Images of my sister hit me hard. Kinsey needed me and I fucked up. Who’s to say I won’t do the same with Britt?
“Please?” She scoots closer, brushing her lips over mine. “Keller.” My name is a soft whisper against my skin.
I breathe in her scent, citrusy and soft. Desire coils in my spine, along with an odd, knotted sensation in my chest. Britt parts her lips and kisses me passionately. My dick very much wants in on the action, but the new, unfamiliar feeling has me pulling back.
“No. I can’t. You’re injured.” I untangle myself from Britt’s embrace and climb off the bed, confused by my warring reactions. I want her like I’ve never wanted anything, anyone, but what kind of an asshole would I be if I fucked her one day after she cracked her head and had a seizure?
Britt leaps to her feet on the other side of the bed, her face and neck flushed crimson. Her beautiful mouth is pulled into an angry scowl. “I’m not broken and I’m not made of glass, Keller!”
What the—?