Alina
TURNING ON MY side, I nestled into my body pillow, throwing my leg over the bottom of it and pulling it closer, settling back in and preparing to drift off to sleep again, but a foreign noise stopped me.
A soft snore.
Prying my eyes open, one by one, I picked my head up and peered over at the other side of my king-sized bed, holding my breath the entire time.
Max was stretched out on the other side of the mattress, lying on top of the covers, his right arm thrown over his face while his other one rested on his stomach. He was still dressed in his suit, sans tie and jacket. When my eyes traveled further down, I saw he was barefoot, the sight strangely sexy.
What was he doing there, and in my bed no less? When the fog of sleep lifted, all sorts of memories rushed forward.
Being attacked outside the office.
Reporting the attack to an Officer Strinson, Max by my side the entire time.
Max asking me if I wanted him to call anyone.
Me telling him no.
Him bringing me home, helping me to my bathroom where he waited for me to shower.
Giving me two Aleve because my throat hurt.
Asking if I wanted him to stay with me.
Me telling him yes.
Max helping me undress.
Max helping me undress?
Glancing down, I was suddenly all too aware I was only wearing my bra and panties.
Carefully scooting toward the edge of the bed, I placed one foot on the ground but when I lowered the other, I stepped on a shoe and my ankle twisted to the side. Without meaning to, I let out a yelp, covering my mouth as soon as the sound escaped.
But it was too late. Max was awake and staring right at me. A lazy smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he took in my state of undress. I snatched the sheet and covered up as much as I could.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he greeted. At first he was amused, but when his eyes landed on my throat, his grin disappeared, and a look of concern took its place. Sitting up, he leaned over the bed and pointed at my neck. “Does that still hurt?”
Instinctually, my fingers ghosted over the damaged skin. It was tender but otherwise okay.
“No. I’m fine.” I wasn’t fine, not with that lunatic on the loose, but I didn’t want to alarm Max, or anyone else for that matter because I knew somehow my father and Chris were going to find out.
A staring contest ensued, and while I loved to look at him, I needed him to leave so I could get dressed.
Deeming enough was enough, I cleared my throat. “Thank you for helping me last night . . . with everything. But I’m fine now, so. . . .”
“So . . . what?”
“So, you can go now.”
After climbing off the bed, he walked around until he reached my side, stopped to look at me for several seconds, probably assessing me the way he liked to do, then leaned in to kiss my temple.
“Call me if you need me.”
And just like that, he was gone, leaving me to wonder if I should have asked him to stay.
Trying to lose myself in research for a merger my father was working on, I hadn’t noticed anyone walk into my office, my mind on autopilot, and in denial.
I didn’t want to think about what had happened. Besides, the police had my information. If they apprehended Rick, Officer Strinson said he’d let me know.
“Are you all right? I tried calling you a few times last night, and all I got was your voice mail.” Chris stood a few feet from my desk, a genuine look of apprehension etched on his handsome face. I felt horrible for leaving him in the dark, but I needed some more time to come to grips with an incident I so badly wanted to forget.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I had a late night trying to catch up with some work then went home and climbed into bed.” I gave him my best smile, praying he’d believe me, but my hopes were dashed when his eyes narrowed in on my neck. I’d mindlessly started to stroke the skin on my throat and must have rubbed away some of the makeup I’d applied to cover up the finger-sized bruises.
Hurrying to shorten the space between us, he twirled my chair around before kneeling on the ground, pulling my hand away so he could get a better look.
“What the hell happened? And don’t try and tell me nothing.” He gently moved my head from side to side. “Who did this to you?”
“Don’t get upset.” His expression morphed from concern to constrained anger.
“Too late.” He rose to his feet and brought me with him. “Now tell me who dared to put their hands on you.” His nostrils flared, and the muscle in his jaw jumped, and it was then I felt horrible for lying to him. Not about what happened, but about Max. About whatever feelings I had for another man.
“I’ve already reported it to the police.” I was going to elaborate when my father suddenly walked in.
“You reported what to the police?” he asked, rounding my other side to find out what was going on.
“I don’t know,” Chris grated, before turning my head to give my father a better view. “But someone attacked her, and she won’t say who.”
“What?” my father shouted, which made me flinch. Once he saw my reaction, he softened his approach and took my hands in his. “Honey, who did this?” I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a look of genuine concern in my father’s eyes. It’d been years; it was unfortunate it took me getting attacked for it to show up again.
“One of my client’s husband. He didn’t like the advice I was giving his wife, his soon-to-be ex-wife, so he thought he’d pay me a little visit.”
“Is this one of your pro bono cases?” Chris asked, my father also impatiently waiting for the answer. Once I nodded, they both erupted in “I told you not to get so involved,” and “You don’t know what types of people you’re dealing with,” and so on and so on, as if just because they couldn’t afford an attorney, they were less than. It just so happened that Rick Glinn saw his opportunity and pounced.
While my fiancé and my father were rambling on, I caught sight of Max looming in my doorway. The other two men didn’t see him because they were so concerned with me, which wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
“You have to drop that case, sweetheart,” Chris urged, pulling me into his embrace. My eyes flickered to Max, and I saw him tense up, a snarl lifting the corner of his lip as if he were a rabid dog, waiting to attack. I subtly broke free from Chris, squeezing his hand in return before stepping back.
“I can’t abandon her. Besides, the cops are looking for him, so I doubt he’ll come near me again.” I don’t even believe my own lie.
“Were you alone?” my father asked, slamming his fist down on my desk before I answered. “Goddammit, Alina. You can’t put yourself in harm’s way. You just can’t.” He appeared upset, scared even, which in turn made me feel horrible.
I quickly darted my eyes to Max before answering. “Yes, I was alone. But as soon as he left, I went right to the police.” Max’s mouth fell open, a look of betrayal flashing across his face before he snapped his lips together, shook his head and turned to leave. He bolted before either of them knew he was present for most of the conversation.
All I wanted to do was go after him and explain. Explain that I had no choice.
Explain that I didn’t want to anger my father.
Explain that I had no idea what to say to anyone because I didn’t even fully understand my feelings toward him.
Explain that I didn’t want to hurt Chris.
Explain that I was hurting myself, all wrapped up in my own denial.