I hear him chuckle lightly and then he whispers something to her which has her relaxing. “It’ll need a couple of stitches.” He grabs some things out of his bag and starts wiping at the area, stopping when she gasps and asking if she’s okay.
Looks like he’s not as angry as he was. For all the broody front that he puts on, he’s basically a giant fucking teddy bear.
I don’t move an inch as he stitches her up, and all the while she sits there, taking the pain without having anything to numb the area. This in itself tells me that she’s no stranger to being hurt and in pain. The thought has my teeth clenching and that same muscle in my jaw ticking.
“You need to watch for a concussion over the next day or so, if you start to feel dizzy or you throw up, go to the hospital.” He stands and packs his stuff away.
“I can’t—”
He turns his face to hers, his eyes narrowing. “I said you need to go to the hospital. When I say it, I mean it and you listen. Got it?”
She nods her head slowly as a smile starts to spread across his face. “Got it, Caveman.”
He snorts and rolls his eyes, turning around and packing up his stuff before moving away.
“Gran’s freaking out,” Seb announces. “I suppose we should get you home.”
“I’ll take her,” I say, all too eagerly.
“No you won’t, I want you in my office,” Ty growls, spinning around and walking away.
I turn to watch him and then look back at Lexi. “Thanks for this, Evan. I really appreciate it.” Her voice is small, and when she stands and wobbles, I go to catch her but West gets there first.
I want to rip his hands off her. No, I want to rip his hands from his body so that he can never touch her again. Shit.
Shaking my head, I offer her a smile and nod before I turn away. Because if I don’t walk away now, I’m afraid I’d get in too deep with her, and that’s the last thing I need. Not because of her past, but because I haven’t even known her for two months and already I want to wrap her in a protective bubble. I want to hold her, I want to make her mine. But I can’t.
Fuck! Why did she have to come here?
I push her out of my mind as I walk over the mats and to the office, opening the door and stepping inside.
“What were you thinking?” Ty thunders as soon as I’ve closed the office door behind me. “An ex-con? Really, Evan?”
I open my mouth as I step forward, ready to defend not only myself, but Lexi too.
When did I start to feel the need to defend her?
I shake my head, trying to get the image of her face out of my mind, but it’s no use, no matter what I do, she seems to be there. It’s only getting worse the more I see her and the more I speak to her.
“I…”
“I can’t believe you would do something like this. Our family is on this compound.” He sits down and leans back in his office chair, his hands coming up on his head, the muscles dancing in his arms as he tenses.
“You didn’t see how scared she was when—”
“Who cares!” he roars, standing up and slapping his hands on the desk. My gaze follows his chair and I raise a brow as it bangs off the wall. Ty rarely gets like this; sure he gets worked up and shouts, but not like this. He never lets his anger overtake him.
This would be where I would normally step back and hold my hands up while telling him that I shouldn’t have done it. Not anymore; I’m sick and tired of pleasing everyone else, of making sure that I haven’t upset them.
My own anger surges through me and I step forward, gripping the back of the chair that sits opposite his desk, my knuckles turning white from the force.
“I do,” I grit out through clenched teeth. “I fucking care.”
“What?” he asks, a frown on his face and a sneer pulling up the side of his lips. “You… care?”
Do I care? It’s a loaded question, one that I probably shouldn’t be admitting, to myself or him, but I can’t help it.
There was something about the look in her hazel eyes the first time I saw her that drew me in. The way she’s so awkward and speaks before she thinks: I like it all. Shit! Do I like her, like her?