I am a monster out of your worst nightmares.
The man looming over me wasn’t safe. He was unstable, and it didn’t matter if something terrible had happened to him to drive him to this madness. He might not be pure evil, but he was still dangerous, no matter if he’d been hurt.
A low grunt caught in his chest, and he abruptly shoved away from me. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you, and I meant it,” he muttered, mercifully releasing me from his intense black stare.
He pushed to his feet, then glanced down at me. Reflexively, I hugged my arms protectively over my chest and shrank into the bench at my back.
His lips pinched as though he’d bitten into something sour. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Bambi. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“It’s Allie,” I whispered, hating the way he dehumanized me with the dismissive nicknames.
A shadow danced over his tight jaw, and he shook his head sharply. “You’re still bleeding,” he rumbled. “You should get home and clean up. Come on. I’ll walk you to your door.”
He held out a big hand, and I cringed away. His fingers clenched to a fist as he slowly withdrew the offered support.
When I didn’t move for several tense seconds, he spoke again. “It’s late. I’m not leaving you out here on your own. Get inside, lock up, and I’ll go. But not until you’re safely home.”
“Why do you care?” I asked bitterly, hugging my arms tighter to my middle.
His eyes flashed as he fixed me with an intense stare, pinpoints of light glittering over the dark pools. The effect was mesmerizing, and for a moment, everything fell away except for the two of us. “You’re innocent,” he rumbled. “I don’t hurt innocent women. And I don’t let them get hurt. Especially when they’re as reckless as you are. There are other monsters lurking in the dark.”
That final remark needled at me, and I broke away from his deep gaze. “Yes, you’ve said that,” I managed to scoff. “Funny how you’re the only one I’ve ever seen.”
He jerked back as though I’d slapped him. “Fair enough,” he said tightly. “Doesn’t change anything. I’m not going anywhere until you’re safely in your apartment.”
I shifted on the bench, confusion tangling my thoughts. I should be terrified that my captor was standing over me, but he was acting as though he was my protector. I didn’t know what to do with that, so I sat stiffly for several more seconds, silently willing him to leave me alone.
As though that would work. The man was a stubborn monster, I’d give him that.
“Fine,” I bit out. “I’m going home now. Happy?” I pushed to my feet and immediately swayed, my shaky body wobbling on my high heels.
A strong arm closed around me, long fingers bracketing my waist to support my weight. I tried to jerk away, but I only managed to stumble. Max made a rumbling sound of unmistakable disapproval, and my spine went rigid with indignation. He didn’t let me go.
“Those things are a death trap.” He scowled at my designer shoes. “I’m walking you to your door. Don’t bother arguing. You can’t walk straight, and I don’t feel like scooping you up out of the way of oncoming traffic again.” When I still didn’t take a step forward, he sighed. “Are you going to walk, or am I going to have to carry you? Your choice.”
“I’m walking,” I said through gritted teeth. “You’re infuriating as well as insane, you know that?”
He kept his arm braced around me as we started to cross the street. “Yeah, and so are you.”
I huffed out a furious breath, but he held me as firmly as ever. The man clearly wasn’t even a tiny bit intimidated by me or my considerable anger. With his huge, muscular frame folded around mine to protect me from falling, I couldn’t deny that I truly wasn’t a threat to him. The very idea was laughable.
We reached my door, and I fumbled in my purse until my fingers found my keys. “You can go now,” I said as coolly as I could manage. I didn’t want to open my door when he was so close. The memory of his body pinning mine to the wall as he drugged me was still horrifically clear in my mind. A residual shudder of revulsion rolled through me.
He finally released me, stepping away quickly as though I’d become white-hot. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you, and I meant it,” he rumbled. “Now that I believe you won’t go tattling on me to your father, I’ll leave you alone.”
I stiffened. Tattling? That made it sound as though my abduction and interrogation had been child’s play. I pressed my lips together, locking my retort inside.
“I’m home. You can leave,” I reiterated, giving him a pointed stare.