“Yeah.”
“Was that—”
A strange noise cut off her words.
Rosie’s head peeked over my shoulder, in the direction of the sound. “Lucas?” she whispered loudly.
I opened my mouth, but the sound grew louder, stopping my words.
“What is that?” she asked over thescratch scratch scratch. “What the heck is that?”
That was a damn good question.
I spun us around, now holding her for more than one reason.
The scratch continued, increasing in intensity, and I took a tentative step forward.“Pero qué cojones…”The Spanish curse slipped out of me as I stretched my neck.
“Oh no,” Rosie loud-whispered. “Lina says that a lot when something’s about to go wrong.”
I moved us forward.
“Lucas, I don’t like this. What are you—”
“Shush,” I told her softly. “I think there’s something behind the record player.”
A pitchy screech left the vicinity of the box, so I peeked down in time of…Ah, mierda.
“Okay.” I softened my voice. “I want you to remain calm, Ro.” Because if that was what I was pretty sure it was, and Rosie happened to be scared of—
A scream pierced my ears.
Okay. So, she was.
“Lucas!” Rosie bellowed, jumping and managing to climb up my body as if I had been nothing more than a pole. “A rat! Is that a rat!?” A hand landed on my face, another one on my shoulder. One of her knees reached my armpit. “No, no, no, no. Please, tell me that’s not a rat!”
Throwing my arms around her waist, I adjusted her around me so her legs would close around my hips. “I’m not going to tell you any of that.”
“Why the hell not?!”
Chuckling, I placed my hands on the back of her thighs and turned us around so she’d face the opposite way. “Because there’s a huge rat in the apartment and I’m not going to lie to you, Ro. Not ever.”
Another scream.
Pivoting, I tried my best to carry her to the other side of the studio while she squirmed in my arms and left me with no choice but to place one of my palms on a perky and rounded ass I promised myself I wouldn’t think about. “Hey, Ro?” I told her, holding back a groan when she wiggled right against my crotch. “I’m going to put you to safety, okay? But it’s going to be easier if you stop moving.Please.”
That seemed to put a stop to all her squirming because she froze in my arms. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Lucas.” She tried to hop off from my embrace, but I didn’t let her. “Am I too heavy? I’m such a jerk. Let me—”
“Stay right where you are,” I told her as I carried her the rest of the way with only a light limp and placed her on the counter very gently. “It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not.” Her expression was remorseful, pained. “I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that.”
And yet, I hadn’t even cared about her doing so. I hadn’t cared about the tightness gripping the now weak muscles under her weight. Or the soreness I’ll suffer in a few hours after our dancing session. To be honest, I was sick and tired of paying attention to any of that. I was sick of not being able to do whatever I pleased because of this goddamn injury.
Swallowing, I answered the only way I could: “Don’t worry about it. I don’t.”
She nodded her head, and one more time, she shocked me by not pressing. Pushing me to talk about it. Instead, she lowered her voice. “I’m terrified of rodents.” She lifted both legs and placed her bare feet on the counter. “And now I can’t stop thinking about that…”—she shivered—“that creature eating away at my toes.”
Her expression was of pure disgust, and it made me smile. “It won’t eat your toes.”