Frank’s eyes glittered with malice, but he let her go, shoving her so hard that she fell to the ground.
Liam wanted badly to beat the living hell out of Frank.
But not until Raina was safely out of range of that knife. “Move away from him, honey,” he said gently.
Raina’s eyes were dull as she looked at him, but she complied, scooting backward into the shelter of a big tree. She huddled into a ball of sheer misery.
“Okay, buddy. I’m all yours. Bring it on.”
“No—” Raina cried out. “Hal, you don’t know what he’s like.”
Frank cocked one eyebrow, fingers beckoning. “What’ll it be, boy? Gonna come out from behind her skirts?” He snickered. “Not that her skirts ain’t most often found flipped over her head.”
That did it. One swift kick at Frank’s wrist dislodged the knife, then Liam waded into Frank with both fists.
Frank knocked Liam’s head back with an uppercut to the chin.
Liam charged again, lowering his head to catch Frank square in the midriff, sending them both flying.
Frank fought back, and he fought dirty. Liam blessed every stunt fight, every brawl with three elder brothers as he struggled to block and counter the heavier man. Rage fueled him as he recalled Raina being terrorized by this brute. Grimly, he sought to punish Frank, suffering his own share of blows.
Frank staggered back, chest heaving. He laughed with no trace of mirth. “Your pretty boy here, he thinks he can take me.” He stared at Liam but spoke to Raina. “But you ain’t gonna be around forever, are you, city boy? Rainie here, she’s a fickle woman. You might keep her naked and willing for a little while longer, but ain’t no one satisfied her yet.” He looked at Raina over his shoulder. “ ’Course, maybe he’ll find out just what you are, and he’ll get wise like Ben did. What you think, Raina honey? Want me to tell him all about the shame you brought on your grandma?”
Liam glanced at her stricken face. “Shut up.”
“Huh, sugar? Want lover boy here to know?”
“Enough.” Taking advantage of Frank’s focus on Raina, he slipped up beside Frank and twisted his arm, finding a pressure point he’d learned from a martial arts advisor on his last film. He dug fingers into the tender spot. Hard.
Frank gasped. Sweat broke out on his forehead.
“I just might be the city boy you think—” Liam ratcheted up the pressure. “But even city boys understand a thing or two about bullies. I don’t much care for bullies, Frank.” He tightened his grip.
Frank gagged.
“You and me, we don’t have to like each other, but we can come to an agreement, see. As long as you stay away from Raina, I’ll be glad to let you go your way and I’ll go mine.” He relaxed his grip.
Frank wheezed out his relief.
Liam smiled. Then hit another pressure point.
And brought Frank to his knees on the ground before him. “One thing about having money is that even if I’m not here, I can hire men who aren’t much on bullies, either. Maybe I won’t be here long—probably won’t. But you’ll never be sure if Raina’s guarded or not.” He increased the pressure. “Best to assume she is, Frank. Good idea to head on down the road and let her be.”
He released Frank and stepped back. “Bye, now. Nice meeting you.”
Frank rose unsteadily, his color gray, his breathing hard.
His eyes filled with hate. “She’s not worth it, boy. And we ain’t through.”
“Fine by me. As long as you leave the lady alone, I’ll be glad to oblige you anytime. You say the word.” Then, in a move calculated to enrage, Liam gave his back to Frank, as if he posed no threat, and began to walk toward Raina.
“This ain’t the end, boy,” Frank shouted, but his voice was already receding, and Liam knew he had won.
This round, anyway.
He spared no more time for Frank, focusing instead on the woman before him, her eyes dark and vacant.
He stopped two feet away and knelt beside her. “Raina,” he said quietly.
She didn’t answer.
“Let me hold you, Raina.” Slowly and carefully, he extended his arms.
She recoiled.
“He won’t come back,” Liam said. “And I’ll protect you.”
One faint flicker. “You can’t. Nobody can.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t around when you needed me.” He wasn’t batting too well on that score lately. “But I’m here now.” Gently, he clasped her arms to draw her close.
One pale shoulder lay exposed by the torn shirt. Her whole body shuddered hard enough to rattle bones. “No man…not ever again,” she whispered. “No touch…I can’t let—”
She stumbled to her feet and bolted from the clearing.
He tore off after her. “Raina, stop. You can’t see where you’re going.”
But she was beyond comprehension, guttural sobs punctuating her headlong race through whipping branches—
Until something tripped her. She broke her fall with her arms and bent double, shuddering.
Liam crouched beside her. Tentatively he placed one hand on her slender back, feeling every rib.
“Don’t—” She recoiled. “Go away.”
He removed his hand but remained there. “I’m not leaving.”
She curled up in a sitting position, everything about her shouting the urge to protect herself. “No—”
“Don’t say you don’t need me, Raina. I’m not buying it.” He caught a glimpse of her face then, a portrait of misery.
But not fear, he didn’t think. “I won’t harm you.”
She tucked her head into her legs. “I know.”
Relief coursed through him. “I’m going to pick you up now and carry you back to the cabin.”
“No—” She flinched. Then took a deep breath. “I can walk.”
He had his doubts, but she had a right to her pride. “Okay. Let me help you up, though.” He extended a hand.
After a moment, she accepted it and let him lift her to standing. She glanced down at herself, at the torn shirt. With a gasp, she turned away and tried without success to straighten it, but half the buttons were gone. Her shoulders rounded protectively.
Liam’s hands clenched with the need to help her out, to restore her to the prickly woman she’d been. This vulnerability terrified him. Quickly, he stripped off his T-shirt. “Here,” he offered, handing it over her shoulder. “You can put this on to—you know. Cover yourself.”
“You’ll get cold.” She took it, looked at it for a minute. Clutched it against her breast.
“I’m worried about you, not me.”
“You were incredible.” Finally, she met his gaze. “I can’t remember the last time anyone stood up for me.”
“He didn’t—” Liam left the question unfinished.
“No.” Her gaze darted away. “Thanks to you.”
“He hit you.” Fury rose again as he studied her face. “You should be examined.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“I could force you.”
She met his eyes. “But you won’t, will you?”
He exhaled in defeat. “I want to be sure you’re okay.”
Her mouth tightened as memory darkened her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
He decided the moment could use some lightening. “How about two wounded warriors lean on each other on the walk back?”
A smile flitted across her lips as she glanced at him in wary gratitude. After a long pause, she answered, “All right.”
He placed an arm around her shoulders. She hesitated, then slid hers around his waist. Slowly, they made their way back to the cabin.
Slut. We’re not finished. Frank’s voice boomed inside Raina’s head as she entered the cabin. Saw in her mind’s eye the blade, the contempt in Frank’s eyes.
She slipped from Hal’s grasp. How could she stay here, understanding how deep the hatred went? Realizing now that her neighbors would never accept her, that her mistakes would follow
her forever?
But where could she go?
“Hey,” Hal said, coming up beside her. “Why don’t you sit down. Rest a minute.”
“No—” She shoved away from that broad, muscular chest. Looked around for escape.
“Sit.” With firm pressure, he urged her shoulders down. “You’re pale as milk.”
“I don’t want to.” She eluded him, but the walls of the cabin were shrinking on her. Panic rose. She would never make it. She wanted a drink. Wanted more, but a drink would help—
Blindly she raced for the doorway.
He caught her first. “Hey, take it easy. He’s gone.” Hal pulled her close.
She struggled against his far greater strength. He wasn’t budging. “Let me go,” she whispered.
“Not until you’re calmer.” He wrapped her in his arms and cradled her head in one big hand. “Let me be your friend, Raina.” His voice was everything soothing, everything safe and warm and kind.
Was it so wrong to want his comfort? Raina stood stiffly in his arms, her fingers flexing as she tried to resist the lure of all that he offered, how it would weaken her if she said yes.
But the terrible yearning for oblivion had faded when he embraced her.
Replaced by a craving that could be just as habit-forming.
As long as you recognize she’s a slut.
Raina jerked.
Hal held on. “Take a deep breath. Just relax. Let all of it go.” His chest rose with his own inhalation.
“No. He was right. Frank.” She curled her fingers against Hal’s chest. “I’ve done…terrible things.”
“Sh-h-” he murmured, spreading his legs and rocking her side to side. “I don’t believe that. We all make mistakes.”
She heard aching regret in his voice. Was this where the shadows came from?
“Not like mine. You have no idea—”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re safe now.”
Oh, God. How she wished… His words aroused a craving she’d fought all her life, but time and hard knocks had demonstrated how futile it was to think that hunger could ever be met and mastered.
There was no safe place, not even here in the only spot she’d ever experienced it, however temporary. For the moment, though, if she kept her sights low, her expectations minimal, she could have this respite, fleeting though it would be.
And so Raina let herself relax against him, a man she barely knew, a hero faced with a woman who’d forgotten how to believe in them.
“That’s right,” he crooned, his arms so strong and reassuring that she let her own close around his waist, his bare skin a banquet for flesh that had been so long deprived of caring human touch.
His heartbeat thudded against her ear, its rhythm slow and deep. A remnant of fear shuddered down her body as she relaxed a little more. Endless moments formed a chain of contentment she didn’t dare trust, but oh…how good this felt to her. She snuggled against him.
A quick gasp…the tightening of his arms…the press of him against her belly—
He quickly put space between them. “I’m sorry—I don’t want to scare you—” His cheeks were actually red.
“I’m not that weak.” She clenched her hands. She wouldn’t be, damn it.
“Of course you’re not. You may be the strongest woman I’ve ever met, and given the women in my family, that’s saying something.”
Why, now, were tears pricking her eyes? Her head dropped as she tried to find her voice. “I’m going to make it.”
“I think you can, but Raina—” He paused. “Are you set on this? I could—” There was an odd note in his voice. “I have friends, contacts. I could help you settle somewhere else or hire someone to…”
Did she want to remain, after what had happened?
Honestly? No. She wanted to run far and fast.
Help me, Gran. Help me discover that strong woman this man thinks he can see. She was too aware of just how weak she was, how close to the edge. How easy it would be to slip over.
Her throat filled. She cleared it. “No. But don’t worry about me. I understand that you need to leave soon. You never lied to me.”
He moved away, looking anywhere but at her. “There are things you don’t know about me,” he finally answered.
“Same here, but we won’t see each other again, so it doesn’t matter.” At least, it won’t if you never find out. “You’re free to leave whenever. I’ll be fine.”
He studied her for a very long time, his brow wrinkled. “The list isn’t finished. I’m going nowhere yet.”
She could only stare back.
Then he smiled. “It’s your turn.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I’m going to heat you a bath. Take care of you.”
“You’re hurt. You should lie down.”
He laughed. “After a few lousy punches? Get real.” He headed for the door. “Sit. Take a load off. You’ve been through a lot. I’m going to fix you a bath, then you’ll have a nap.”
Once on the porch alone, Liam dropped his head and exhaled loudly. He wanted to take care of her. Images of Frank assaulted him.
What in the world was he doing?
Then he thought about the woman inside.
You never lied to me. Liam pinched the bridge of his nose between finger and thumb. What was the greater kindness—to continue the charade or to shatter her illusions? He had to go soon. What in the hell had he done, getting involved with her?
His fingers curled in memory of how she’d felt in his arms. How much he’d wanted to step out of that tub last night and lose himself in her. To exalt her, pamper her, show her that she could indeed relish the act of making love.
He clenched his teeth, trying to stem the need that was eating him alive.
She was wounded. Frank’s slurs were still etched into his memory. Slut.
Sometimes, Liam hated his own kind. He reached the well, brutally yanking the bucket upward and replacing it. Men hurt women. Battered them into submission for the sake of satisfying their base urges.
Frank was such a man, and within Liam grew a drive he’d never imagined.
He could kill Frank, he thought. With little remorse.
The darker impulses heretofore had played no role in Liam’s life, yet suddenly he was assaulted by them. From someone known to be kind and easygoing, he’d turned into the most primitive sort of male, pawing at the ground, ready to defend his—
Mate. Oh, no. Uh-uh. No matter how much Raina Donovan aroused protective instincts in him, getting more involved here made absolutely no sense in the grand scheme of things.
Liam Sullivan was destined for greatness. Everyone was sure of that. His star was hot and rising higher. He just had to get past this situation with Kelly and—
How could he leave Raina? The realization hit him right between the eyes that he couldn’t.
He had to find a way to make her go with him to Texas. Once there, he’d figure out something. He would never forgive himself if he left her behind, aware of how much Frank—and others—despised her.
What the hell had she done to them? More than simply marrying a rich guy, that was for sure.
I don’t like sex.
Hot little piece, this one.
The voices battered him as he made trips in and out of the cabin, carefully ignoring the woman huddled in her grandmother’s rocking chair, pale and still. Throughout the process of heating the water and testing it, he averted his gaze from her. Fought to be invisible, a simple human servant. Only a caretaker.
While the primitive aftermath of fighting for her roared through his veins.
The tub was full, the water hot. “It’s ready.” Was that his voice, a croak?
Then from beside him, when he’d never heard her move.
“Show me.”
“What?”
“You said I was capable of passion. That I just hadn’t met the right man.” Those blue eyes were merciless in their focus. “Maybe I have.”
L
iam sucked in air through his nostrils. Yanked his gaze away. “No.”
Her hand covered his forearm.
He clenched his jaw. “Get in the tub, Raina.”
“I wanted you last night. You’re beautiful. Such…so much man.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering.
Responding. Ready to drive within her—
“Get in the tub, Raina,” he repeated.
She shrank into herself; he saw it from the corner of his eye. Once more she was the damaged woman he’d met, and he wanted to throw something.
“I’m trying to do right by you, don’t you get that? I won’t be here long.”
Blue eyes blazed. “Screw you.” Defiantly, she stripped off the torn blouse. Unsnapped her jeans, drew the remainder of her clothing down those long, smooth legs, then stepped slowly into the tub, daring him not to look.
He wasn’t gentleman enough to comply.
But when she sank into the water, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned away to give her privacy.
Every sound tormented him, each splash, every slide of water over flesh he ached to touch. He couldn’t stand it anymore and spun around to go outside.
Until he saw the expression on her face as she lay there, eyes closed, so sad and hurt.
Caretaker. Remember that.
He stepped up behind her and tried not to focus on slender pale limbs he could see too clearly beneath the water. He picked up the pitcher she used to wash her hair and filled it.
Raina didn’t move.
Carefully, he poured it over her hair, then reached for the shampoo. Fingers that itched to trace over her body slipped into her hair instead, massaging her scalp.
Her breathy whimper nearly undid him.
Long, painful minutes passed, punctuated by tiny moans. Silvery sighs. Liam was surprised that, despite the gnawing urge to slip his hands down her neck and over her shoulders to the cool rounds of her breasts, he could somehow content himself with the way her hair slid like coarse silk between his fingers, how the curves of her skull felt as fragile as an eggshell in his big hands.
Until she arched her back and undulated, bringing those small, tender breasts out of the water.
“Show me.” Her voice went low and throaty. Blue eyes popped open to pin him. “Please.”
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