Page 22 of Score on You

Too many emotions flicker across his features. The kaleidoscope is almost fascinating to witness until he speaks. His tone lacks its usual vibrancy when he utters, “Someone did this to you? On purpose?”

I gulp at the prospect of pain, but manage a jerky nod in confirmation. It’s my fault and I’ll accept what he deems acceptable. “Are you going to teach me a lesson?”

“The fuck?” His voice borders on a roar. “Absolutely not. I could never hurt you. Please tell me you believe that.”

In any other circumstance, I’d shrink away from the curse launched in anger. Instead, my posture remains straight with renewed confidence. Ridge is responsible for providing that.

“I trust you to never hurt me.” My gaze admires the gleam that crosses through his.

“Who did this, Callie?” Now he sounds too calm. The steel of a blade preparing for battle.

“My father,” I whisper.

“Your—?” He sputters while struggling for a full breath. “Your father did this to you?”

“Yes, as he should have.”

His mouth opens and shuts twice without him uttering a sound. “How can you be so nonchalant about this?”

“I deserved the mark. It was a fair exchange after I burned our family meal.”At least according to them.

Ridge rolls his shoulders, standing to his full height. “Where can I find him?”

“Why?”

“I plan to teach him a lesson of my own.” His knuckles crack as he forms a fist. “He dared to lay a hand on you. That was a big mistake.”

“What’re you going to do?”

He takes several steps backward. “For starters? Burn his arm.”

“You can’t!” I reach out as if I have the ability to halt his retreat.

“How can I not? Your own father hurt you.” He turns away and my stomach drops.

“Are you ashamed of me? I’ve been bad.” A sob catches in my throat. “I’m scarred and damaged. Unfit to be a wife. I won’t blame you if you never want to see me again.”

Ridge whips around to face me before I can blink. There’s a storm in his gaze, but I’m not afraid. Never of him. Especially when his arms lift, inches short of embracing me. I almost beg him to close the remaining distance. But that’s too bold. Even for me on this night when I’ve been more brazen than ever before.

His thumb brushes over my ruined flesh. The touch is soft, barely noticeable. Yet I feel his finger along my skin as if he’s reaching into my soul. “You’re perfect, sweetness.”

“I’m far from it.”

“Not to me.” Ridge pauses and his wild heartbeat thumps loudly in the silence. “To me, you’re all that matters. Meeting you is the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Fuzziness clouds my brain and I’m unsure how to respond. “We only just met.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true. I’ve felt very… attached to you, from the first moment I saw you.”

My eyes lift to collide with his. “Then why would you harm my father?”

He drops his thumb from the permanent reminder of my error. I feel the loss of his touch like a physical pain.

“I’m very upset, Callie.”

“With me?”

“No!” Thunder booms in his expression, shaking his entire frame that’s already rigid. “Never with you. I’m furious at your dad.”

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