“Well”—Gavin shrugged as he gently set her down on her feet—“I proved you wrong about one thing you said.”
Frowning, she forgot what she was going to say. “About what?”
“You didn’t die.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Please tell me I didn’t see Moon’s ass,” Ginny begged.
Reaper turned to lock the door, fighting the overpowering urge to break into laughter. Ginny looked as if she’d been hit by a lightning bolt. The thunderstruck expression on her face after witnessing Moon and Jade fucking on the steps was hilarious, but that it happened right after he promised her he would make the brothers behave doomed the likelihood of him being able to convince her to stay—especially if he gave into his mirth the way he was dying to.
Making sure the door was securely locked so he’d have a fighting chance of catching her if she tried to escape, he told her, “Okay, then I won’t.”
He moved next to her and began slowly raising her top so he could see the damage Allerton had inflicted on her.
“Gavin, I’m not in the mood to have sex right now.”
He stopped, her top rolled under her breasts, and gaped down at her. “You’re kidding, right?”
The last thing on his mind was sex. She was a hot mess, with her hair disheveled, hanging loosely around a face covered in bruises, highlighted by lips that were puffy and split. Ginny looked like the feminine version of Edward Scissorhands.
Perplexed at what he was doing, she frowned at him. “Then why are you taking my top off?”
“I want to make sure we don’t need to take you to the doctor.”
“I look that bad?”
“Let’s see how much damage we’re dealing with.”
“I don’t feel as sore.” Ginny experimentally raised her arms in the air, acquiescing for him to continue removing her clothes.
Making sure he kept his body blocking the mirror above the dresser, Reaper slowly rolled her shirt over her breasts, then helped her slip each arm out. Casting the top aside, Reaper had a full view of the bruises marring her body.
“Can you turn around? I want to see your back.”
Gradually turning, Ginny exposed her back and shoulders. Bruises covered her skin. However, expecting them to be black and purple he was relieved to see they were already turning a muted brown and yellow. Either Ginny was an extremely fast healer, or Greer’s touchy-feely behavior saved her a couple of weeks of recuperating.
“Greer healed me, didn’t he?” Ginny prodded him when he remained silent and unhooked her bra. Going to the bed, she sat down to remove her shoes.
“I was so aggravated with his craziness that I didn’t realize what he was doing until after we left.” Lifting up off the bed, she started pulling her jeans down, grimacing when she bent down to get them over her knees.
“Greer makes it a habit of irritating everyone.” Reaper knelt down and helped peel her jeans off. Then, lifting Ginny back in his arms, he carried her into his bathroom.
Setting her down, he filled the tub with warm water, then grabbed Epson salt, towels, and washcloths from the closet.
“He does it to make people keep their distance from him, or that they won’t notice what he’s doing.”
Generously pouring the salt into the tub, Reaper shot a quick text to Nickel before removing his own clothing. He swirled his hand in the water to check the temperature before lifting Ginny back into his arms and depositing her into the tub.
Ginny gave a moan of pleasure, luxuriating in the warmth.
Stepping into the tub behind her, he sat down and grabbed the washcloth he had hung over the side. “If Greer’s only pretending to be an asshole, he’s got it down pat.” Reaper gave his own sigh, relaxing back in the tub. “He isn’t the only one good at pretending.”
Reaper watched the line of Ginny’s spine go straight. “Do you mean me?”
His lips twitched as he gently wet the two cloths in the water, then laid them over her shoulders. “You could have given me an inkling that Agent Collins wasn’t as shady as he was pretending to be, or that your plan was to incriminate Allerton and it was never about helping him find the artifact to get him off your back.”
“I wanted to. A couple of times, I almost did.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry, but you kind of suck at pretending,” she said apologetically. “You don’t hide when you dislike someone, and in front of Allerton you made it plain that you disliked and distrusted Agent Collins.”
“In other words, I helped the plan by being kept in the dark?”
“Yes. Are you mad at me?”
“No. You did what you felt you had to do to stop Allerton, regardless of your feelings for me. You trusted me that I could handle my own shit, while you took care of what you needed to.”