Page 80 of Sweet Possession
The shattering of glass, followed by a string of expletives woke me. Ibolted upright, my heart racing as it took a few seconds to remember where I was. Disorientated, I blinked at the clock on the nightstand.
03:09 am.
What the hell had smashed?
Curiosity mixed with worry had me jumping out of bed before I couldgive it too much thought. I cracked open the bedroom door, light spilling in from the living area lit up the small hallway.
My bare feet sunk into the plush carpet as I crept to where the soundof feet shuffling filtered in.
“Shit,”Fox hissed, making me pause in the doorway. He was staringdown at his hand, a streak of blood trickling from a gash in his palm.
My gasp at seeing the blood drew his attention to me, and a grimacetwisted on his lips when he saw I wasn’t wearing any shoes.“Don’t come any further, Cora. There’s glass all over the floor.”
I didn’t mean to ignore him, but my concernthathe was hurt won out.I stepped forward.“Are you okay?”
In three large strides, he crossed the room, blocking me from goingany further. Behind him, roses lay scattered on the floor, surrounded by broken glass and water seeping into the carpet.
“I’m fine. Go back to your room while I clear the glass up.”His toneheld a hint of coldness, something I’d never heard from him before. I hatedit.“Cora, please. I don’t want you cutting yourself,”he added, softer this time.
“You’re bleeding,”I said, my voice a whisper as guilt began toswallow me whole.
He’d thrown the vase in anger, and now he’d hurt himself.
My fault.
“It’sjusta little cut, I’ll sort it once I’ve cleared the glass.”He raisedhis hand, the blood now dripping from his hand and splashing the cream carpet. He cursed under his breath.
“Let me,”I said, closing the gap between us to take his hand andexamine the wound.
Tingles shot up my arm like they always did whenever part of metouched him. Neither of us moved. I held my breath, waiting for him to give me permission. Slowly, he nodded once.
Rememberingthatearlier, I’d seen a first aid kit in the ensuite, Foxfollowed me through the master bedroom and into the bathroom. I grabbed the kit and rummaged through, making sure it had everything I needed before turning on the tap so I could wash Fox’s hand.
He hissed when the cold water splashed against the gash, the two ofus staring silently as his blood swirled with the water and ran down the drain.
A heavy tension descended around us.Evenin the first few days ofFox bringing me home, it was never like this. I craved for it to be how it was before, but for my own sanity, I had to remember whatthatwoman said.
“There doesn’t appear to be any glass in it,”I said once he’d held hishand under the water for a few minutes, and I’d examined the cut now the blood had cleared.“I don’t think it’ll need stitches either, it’s not too deep.”
He nodded, opening his mouth to say something but closing it beforethe words came out. I wondered if he was going to ask how I knew what I was doing.
The answer was simple. I’d had enough practice patching my dad upover the years.
Fox watched intently as I dabbed a towel around the wound todry the water before laying a gauze over it. My brows furrowed in concentration as I wrapped a bandage around his hand, my mind quiet for a few minutes while I worked.
Once I’d secured the bandage, I took a step away from him, needingto get away from his delicious scent surrounding me.
“Her name is Annaliese,”Fox said suddenly.
My heart leaped into my throat as my wide eyes met his.“She’s anemployee. Or was. After tonight, she’ll never work in a Carson-Fox resort again. But I’ve never fucked her if that’s what she told you.”
My heart stopped beating but I didn’t know if it was out of reliefthathe’d never slept with her orthathe knew what had happened.
“How did you find out?”I asked, unable to stop the question fallingfrom my mouth.
His lips tugged up on one side.“I know everythingthathappensunder the roof of my casino. Besides, do you think I don’t know when my girl is lying to me?”
Heat blossomed in my cheeks at being caught out lying to him.
