Page 34 of Devoured

I’d told myself I could protect her. And the first thing that happened when I showed back up in her life was this?I’m so sorry, baby.My heart ached as I touched the stitches. I’d been so scared of breaking her. And here she was. Sitting in my bed…broken.

Tears started falling down her cheeks.

I pulled my hand back. "Why are you crying? Does it hurt?" I was trying to be gentle.

She shook her head.

It wasn’t convincing. But I needed to finish this up. I placed a white bandage over her stitches. I tried to be gentler as I applied the medical tape to keep it in place. I didn’t want to keep hurting her. It was like it was all I was capable of.

Her bottom lip trembled. "I want to go home."

"Penny, you are home." I cupped her chin in my hand.

"Please, Professor Hunter."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight."Not ever again.Yes, this happened tonight when I showed back up. But she’d been drinking. She’d been hanging out with a piece of shit.

Breathe.From here on out I was going to keep her safe. I pulled her head onto my chest.

"I need to go home." She sniffed. "Please."

I kissed her forehead. Her scent calmed the ache in my chest. I heard her words, but I couldn’t do it.I can’t.It wasn’t just that I wanted to keep her safe. It was that I finally had her back in my arms. And I couldn’t let go. I’d stayed away from her for so long. I’d never be strong enough to do that again. "You need rest."

She looked down at her lap. "Why am I wearing one of your shirts?"

"I didn't want Dr. Ridge to see you in the outfit you were wearing earlier." The costume was sexy as hell. No one should have ever seen her in that but me.

"You undressed me?"

"Yes."

"You shouldn't have done that."

"Penny, I've seen you naked plenty of times."

She looked up at me. "You're not allowed to see people naked that you've ignored for two weeks. That's not how things work. You've got everything backwards."

She was rambling. It reminded me of when we first met and she kept losing her words around me. I still found it incredibly endearing. "In that case, I'm sorry."

"Good."

I kissed her forehead next to her bandage.

A rumble of thunder sounded outside. A moment later I could hear the patter of rain against the window. I breathed in Penny’s perfume and closed my eyes, remembering our first kiss. It was a stormy night just like this.

"It's raining," she mumbled.

I kissed her forehead again.

"Whenever it rains I think about you. It's when I missed you the most.”

There was a lump in my throat that wouldn’t go away.Me too, Penny.

“You promised you wouldn't be mad at me. You promised."

I had nothing to say to that. I did break my promise to her. I knew I was a disappointment. I knew I was a fucking mess. But couldn’t she already see all that? So instead of answering her, I kissed her forehead again.

She looked up at me. "You should put ice on your eye."

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