“I came by and you weren’t here. I saw you come out of the store.” He says, returning to my knees. “This will hurt.”
He pours the peroxide over, and I press my lips together to stop the scream. My eyes water, and I sniff. Holden gently puts band-aids on me and shakes his head. I’m sure he’s calling me an idiot over and over again in his head.
But he was there. He was looking out for me without trying to get anything out of it. Sure they promised my dad they’d keep me safe, but … he just took care of it. While I’d been trying to figure out how to de-escalate, he’d just come in, fixed the issue, then seen to me.
“You’re good at this,” I murmur.
Holden looks up at me, then gently wipes under my eyes. My lips quiver. “You didn’t trust me?”
“I trust you, Sophie. I don’t trust the world.” He says, pulling me close by the back of my neck until our foreheads touch. “I’ve never been so glad to have paranoia. If something would have happened to you…”
“Don’t tell the guys,” I say suddenly. His eyes darken again, and his jaw goes tight. I put my hands on his chest. “Please. They’ll be so mad at me. I can’t have all of you mad at me.”
“You broke the one rule we have.” He says, voice still hard.
“I know. And I’m so glad you were there to be my hero.” I say quickly. “You took care of me, you took care of the problem, and now it’s over, so only we need to know. Please.”
Holden considers that a long moment and puts his other hand on my cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Because of you, I am. He was going to … I think he-”
“He didn’t want your money.” Holden nods. “The world isn’t as good as it seems.”
“I won’t go anywhere alone again. I’ll stay here unless I’m with one of you. I promise. I promise.”
He sighs and looks over the bandages on me. He brushes the outside of my knees with his fingers, then kisses just above the band-aid. I shiver. Not only did Holden save me from a nightmare, he took the time to take care of me. He’s still here, making sure I’m okay.
I swallow and wipe my eyes again. “Are you okay?”
He looks up at me with surprise, then nods.
I take his hands, see his knuckles are already blackening with bruises. One of them is broken open. I swallow and grab a small band-aid, putting it on and kissing the spot gently. Holden makes a soft sound in his throat and flexes his hand.
“I’m sorry. And … and thank you.”
“Don’t thank me for that.” He snorts. “I was ready to kill him.”
“I know. You protected me and … you saved me, Holden.” I whisper. “You saved me.”
I don’t know why that seems so important, but it does. Holden leans forward and kisses me softly. “Stay close to us.”
I nod. “I will.”
He stands up and kisses me again. “Trust me.”
“I do.” I breathe.
Holden slowly climbs on top of me, feeding me soft kisses. He rubs his fingers through my hair. “You’re too precious to lose, Sophie.”
I shiver and stroke up his arms. “I’m right here. You’re here. We’re okay.”
His lips mold to mine, and then he dives deep with his tongue. I moan softly and slide my hand over his shoulder and along the back of his neck. Holden is good, warm, protective. He’s prince charming whether he sees himself that way or not.
“You’re important to me.” I breathe.
Holden pauses and arches an eyebrow at me. “Because I played hero?”
“You didn’t play anything.” I kiss across his jaw. “You never do. You’re you, and that’s all that’s required.”
“Sophie.”
“You are a hero, Holden.” I hold his gaze. “My hero tonight, but you always are.”
He snorts and shakes his head. “I did the bare minimum.”
“Don’t do that.” I kiss him softly, rubbing my nose over his. “Don’t minimize who you are. You’re a strong, resilient, amazing man. I’m lucky to know you. Don’t pretend to be less.”
He groans softly and steals my mouth for a kiss that curls my toes and makes my back arch. I shiver and give myself over to the kiss as if there’s a choice. Holden touching me, talking to me, opening himself up to me little by little is … is humbling and flattering and intoxicating.
When he draws back, he licks his lips. “I should go, let you sleep, and … recover.”
Holden starts to untangle himself, but I hold on. “Stay?”
“I probably shouldn’t, Sophie. You’re hurt.”
I chew my bottom lip. “I didn’t ask you to fuck me. I asked you to stay here. I don’t … I don’t want to be alone.”
Holden pulls me further up the bed and lays with me. He pushes my hair from my face like he doesn’t want anything blocking his view. “Nightmares?”
“You protect me from those too.” I rub his chest and curl against him. “Please don’t hate me.”
“That’s impossible.” He lifts my chin when I don’t answer. “It’s impossible for me to hate you, Sophie.” He kisses my forehead. “You scared me.”
I search his eyes for any trace of a lie, and there is none. There’s only relief and exhaustion. I kiss him again. “I’ll be here when you wake up, right here. Band-aids and all.”
He nods and draws me close. I’m half asleep, my mind already trying to reprocess what could have happened when I hear his whisper against my ear. “I’m here.”