Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Where are you bleeding?” Liam demanded.
Trust Liam to notice first. He stepped forward, making her cower back.
Fuck, Nico hated seeing that. Hated her fear. Liam came to a stop and froze. Nico knew the other man could look terrifying with his cold eyes and huge build.
Nico came closer and crouched down, hoping to reassure her. To his surprise, Liam followed his lead and bent down as well. That wasn’t usual.
“Pretty girl,” he murmured. “What happened? Where are you hurt? What were you looking for?”
Her wide eyes moved from him to Liam, whose gaze was taking in everything before narrowing down on her hands.
Which she had hidden in the skirt of her nightgown.
Bingo.
Liam sat back on his ass. Slowly. She still watched him like a deer watching a hunter. Terrified that at any moment he might pounce. But Liam kept his hands where she could see them, his gaze steady. No quick movements.
“Lottie,” Nico pressed.
But her gaze remained on Liam. The biggest, baddest threat in the room. Nico didn’t blame her. But he wouldn’t get anything out of her like this.
Nico opened his mouth to suggest that maybe Liam should wait in the bedroom. He didn’t like to do it, but she was barely responsive. The last thing he wanted was to push her into a panic attack. Or to have her start screaming and alert the rest of the house.
Before he could say anything, though, Liam spoke up.
“Charlotte, look at me.”
Her gaze snapped up to Liam’s. Her eyes widened. Her breath coming in sharper pants.
“Liam,” he warned.
“Where are you hurt?” Liam asked her. His voice was quiet. But there was a definite stern tone to it. He wasn’t going to be denied.
She shook her head. Damn, she’d just denied Liam. He did it all the time, but most people didn’t.
“Hmm. You’re going to go with no, huh? You sure?”
With eyes filled with trepidation, she nodded.
“I don’t think so,” Liam replied in that still soft voice. “Show me your hands. Right. Now.”
Her mouth parted slightly, her eyes so wide they seemed to take up most of her face. He was concerned they were stressing her out too much. It wasn’t healthy.
“Liam,” he warned.
“There’s a time to go soft and a time to go hard. We both know our roles. And I’m telling you right now, it’s my time.”
Fuck. Okay, he had to trust Liam knew what he was doing.
Her gaze dropped.
“No. No looking away,” Liam told her. “Look at me.” Reaching out slowly, he took hold of her chin and raised her face.
Nico could see how fast her chest was rising and falling. If she had another panic attack, he was taking her to the hospital. Fuck it. This wasn’t healthy.
“You know me. You might think you’re scared of me. But you’re not.”
Her gaze narrowed.
“You want to know how I know that? Because you would have yelled for your brother as soon as I walked in if you were.”
Nico had been wondering if they should go get Regent, but Liam was right. She hadn’t screamed, and despite looking panicked and unsure, she was actually standing up to Liam.
“I’m not going to ask again,” Liam warned.
Her eyes narrowed, but then she turned just her gaze to Nico since Liam still had hold of her chin.
“Marshmallow,” he told her.
Her lips twitched.
“I’m going to need to know what that means at some stage,” Liam told them both.
“Nah, you don’t need to know, does he, Lottie-toe-tottie?”
Both of them shot him looks.
“I know, I know,” he said dramatically. “It’s hard to be this gorgeous and funny. But you know, someone has to do it.”
Another lip twitch.
Hey, if he had to act like a clown to get her to smile then he was here for that. All day long.
Whatever she needed, he’d provide.
Liam dropped his hand from her chin. Relief filled her face. Oh, dear. She was in for such a rude awakening if she thought he was giving up.
He placed his hands palm up on her lap. She stared down at them.
“We can wait all night. I’ve got nowhere else to be.”
“You don’t want him to be up all night, Lottie,” Nico told her. “He’s a bear if he hasn’t had enough sleep.”
She let out a small sigh, then to his surprise, she drew out her hands. The knuckles on her right hand were red and swollen, and one had a cut on it.
What the hell?
She placed her hands on Liam’s. He raised them up, staring at them, then her again.
“Who?”
Nico heard her suck in a breath, knew she was surprised by the question.
Liam leaned in. “Who?”
“N-no one.”
“You hit someone. Why? What did they do? Who was it? Tell me.” Liam shot out the questions like bullets from a semi-automatic. Hard. Relentless.
Her breathing grew rapid again.
Nico moved in closer. “You’re not in trouble. No one is going to harm you. Liam just wants to know so he can protect you. Who was it?”