Page 114 of Carnal Games

“K-Kian?” I stammer, turning my head toward his voice.

“I’m here,” he says. His tone is the softest with a hint of a crack at the edges, a tone I’ve never heard from him. “You’re okay.”

His blurry face comes into view. I blink my right eye several times until my vision clears and I can make out his tender expression. Troubled lines tighten his forehead while the rigid set of his jaw sharpens his cheekbones.

“What happened?” I ask, desperate for answers. Something is making my head all fuzzy, keeping it from jogging my memories. I want to curl up into a ball and sleep for days.

“Someone attacked you in the office,” replies Kian grimly.

The frightening incident viciously slams to the forefront of my mind. One second, I was trying to get the printer to work and the next, I’m on the ground and being beaten over and over. It all occurred so fast that I couldn’t even defend myself.

Assaulted? I was physically assaulted! It sounds unbelievable to admit, even in my head. Completely strange. I have no clue why whoever it was targeted me.

Tears burn my eyes as I remember the fear, the terror, the horrible sound of kicks against my body. I went into such a shock that I didn’t even scream for help. All I kept thinking was that my life wouldn’t be the same a second before I succumbed to darkness.

Bile rises in my throat as I ponder what horrible deed they did afterward.

“Oh god.” I heave. Kian’s strong grip around my wrist is the only thing anchoring me to the present. “Did they… Was I…?”

I can’t even say the word, let alone be able to handle the reality.

“No.” Kian shakes his head as anguish darkens his gray eyes. Lacing his fingers with mine, he squeezes. “They roughened you up, nothing else.”

The weight lifts off my chest, and I cry out in relief. “Who found me?”

“I did. I took you to the hospital when you wouldn’t wake up. You have bruising on your face and a couple of broken ribs. It’ll take a few weeks to heal. The doctor has given you heavy pain meds, so you’ll be feeling sleepy until tomorrow.” He recites it all in a clinical tone. Though I more than sense the anger brewing underneath his calm façade.

I have a faint recollection of someone poking and prodding me with their hands, but nothing else.

Kian continues, “I didn’t call Nathan, but I informed your friends. They came to see you at the hospital. Rosalie and I had a disagreement when I told her I’ll be taking you home. She’ll try to convince you it was kidnapping. It’s not what happened.”

The latter makes me smile a little.

So, if I’m not at her place, then where am I? Because this bed doesn’t seem like mine. The sheets are a million times softer, like lying on a bed of clouds. The pillow is too big. While the room smells of chocolate and spice….Oh my!

“Did… did you bring me to your apartment?”

“Yeah.” His voice washes over me in a rough caress. “I need to wake you up every two hours and check to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”

The callous and brutal Kian is telling me that he fought with my best friend, who is one tough opponent, to spend the night taking care of me. When he had the perfect chance of pawning me off and having his solitary life back.

He picked me.

Is it because he’s feeling guilty? Or is he beginning to feel something deeper for me?

Despite the ache in different parts of my body, a heady rush flows down my back.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Kian,” I murmur.

What if he hadn’t found me and I had been left there for the entire night?

A hollow laugh escapes him, and he rips his hand from mine. I immediately want to snatch it back. Instead, I fist the sheets underneath me.

His hand balls into a fist on the arm of the chair he’s sitting in. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. You should be angry and threatening to sue me for letting it happen at my company, where my employees should be safe.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I reason, meaning it. “It could’ve happened to anyone.”

“It happened to you.”