Page 73 of Fixation
My steps are getting smaller the more the room spins.
Soon, I’ll be away from the bed. Soon, I’ll have to crawl.
So be it.
Even with my death grip on the railing, my knees buckle. The basement spins faster. My muscles shiver and shudder under my weight.
I’m about to meet the floor faster than I imagined.
“I’ve got you.”
A lean arm wraps around my waist. Warm and comforting. Pressing me into his wall of a chest. Into a strong, unmoving body.
A safe one.
False safety, my head alerts me.
“Please, let me go,” I cry, frustration thick in my voice.
“You aren’t ready yet.” Anderson spins me to face him. His hand is under my chin, tipping it up. Eyes searching mine in the most surgical way. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”
“Your girlfriend might come looking for you,” I whisper while he helps me up. “It’ll look really fucking bad…” My lips are weak, the words hushed.
“Will it?” He soaks my blood with a washcloth, sterilizing the wounded area.
Anderson cleans me as best he can, I can tell. He’s putting much care into it, this sick man, before pulling a bandage out of one of the cart’s drawers.
I’m warm and dizzy.
I want him to hold me.
That brings a fresh wave of tears to my eyes. “When she finds me here, she’ll be upset.”
Anderson stops bandaging my arm. His hands are gentle on my skin. He’s unnerving, the way he’s staring at me. With his chin dipped and eyes piercing.
“Harper, is that your first question?”
Humiliation is hot and furious beneath my skin. Around my lungs. It’s a lump in my throat, and my hand rises to that tight area.
He’s quick and methodical, getting back to wrapping my arm and stopping the bleeding. He’s done in a matter of seconds, and yet he stays there, not going anywhere or giving me space.
Close and glowering. That’s what he is. “Answer me.”
His intensity gets me hot and bothered.
The world settles around me the longer I’m on my back.
“Why would I—why I—” Too fucking honest. “No! You think I give a fuck who my captor?—”
A hand squeezes my shoulder. “Doctor.”
“Doctor,” I sigh. I lean into him.
He’s sedated you. Multiple times, my sensible side warns.
For my own good, the one who’s been starving for love and then locked in a basement retorts.
Oh, hell.
