Page 70 of Renard's Deliverance

“You know that if you didn’t have a sore back, you’d be going over my knee right now.”

She giggled, then groaned. “Promises. Promises.”

He shook his head. “Stop laughing. Just stop doing anything that makes you sore.”

“Pretty sure I’d have to stop breathing, then,” she grumbled.

His frown deepened. “I don’t like hearing that. I’ll wait in the bathroom without coming into the shower with you. So long as you tell me if you need me.”

He followed her into the bathroom where she started to undo the buttons on her shirt. He brushed her hands away.

“You really don’t have to do that,” she told him.

“I do. And you’re going to let me.”

“I’m not very good at accepting help.”

No kidding.

Anyone could see that.

“Someone must have taken care of you in the past.”

They better have.

Because he didn’t think that he could bear to think of the alternative. That she’d never had anyone look out for her.

“I grew up mostly taking care of myself. It wasn’t until I met Lilac and Ryleigh that anyone took care of me.”

“What about your boyfriends?”

She scoffed. “Men are the ones who hurt me the most.”

There was a bitter note to her voice that made him pause. “Then they weren’t men. Not decent men.”

“No. None of them were decent,” she agreed. “None of them would have undressed me without having one thing on their mind.”

He cupped her face between his hands. “Well, I’m not them. And the only thing on my mind is making sure that you’re all right.”

He was killing her.

It seriously felt like her insides were melting.

How was it possible for a man who scowled so much to be so . . . damn . . . sweet?

To make her want to wrap herself around him and never let go?

It didn’t make much sense, but here she was staring at him like he hung the moon.

He drew off her shirt before crouching down to pull off her faux-leather pants. She was really regretting putting them on now as they were a pain in the ass to get off. But he didn’t swear once as he got them off, gruffly ordering her to hold onto his shoulders for balance.

Even though he was being extremely gentle with her, by the time she was standing there in her bra and panties, she was breathing heavily through the pain.

“Want me to undo your bra?”

She nodded and he reached around and undid her bra.

“Panties?”

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