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Who else would he have killed with his bare hands?

I take off my pajamas slowly and set them down on the counter. He still hasn’t come out of the shower. Either I’m being more quiet than I think or he’s completely caught up in his thoughts. Well, or maybe he just doesn’t care. I’m not sure.

As soon as I’m naked, I reach for the door of the shower and tug, pulling it open. Ian is standing with one hand pressed firmly against the wall and the other is on his thigh. He doesn’t look up as I enter the shower and close the door behind me.

Then I walk up behind him, slowly stepping closer. The shower in this bathroom is big enough for like eight people, so I’m not worried about taking up too much space. When I reach Ian, I move until I’m directly pressed up against his back, and then I wrap my arms around him. He tenses for just a moment before he relaxes.

And I stand there like that.

Blood is still swirling off of his body and running down the drain. The water still isn’t clear. Whatever he did tonight, he was thorough. He fought hard and probably pretty fiercely. I don’t know what the situation was – maybe he had to fight my dad’s guys or maybe he just had to fight my dad – and I don’t need him to share that with me.

I just want to be here for him, so I stand there, and I hold him.

Ian is a mystery to me. He’s such a villain in so many ways, but in others I just think he’s hurting. He’s alone just like I am. That’s the problem with our situation. We’re both completely caught up in our own isolation and we both know that there’s no way forward from here.

Tomorrow, I’m going to marry this man I barely know because I don’t have a choice. If I don’t marry him, he’ll either kill me or let me be killed. If he releases me, Ricci and his goons will find me. Well, either Ricci or other enemies of my father. The safest place for me is here with Ian and we both know it.

And I’m grateful for his protection.

I snuggle a little bit closer, holding him tightly, and I let the water fall over both of us. Soon it starts to run cold, but I don’t make a move to leave and neither does he. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me on my wedding day. Maybe he’ll warm up to me or perhaps he’ll just grow colder and colder. The only thing I know is that right now, I’m where I need to be.

Where Iwantto be.

After what seems like hours, Ian finally speaks.

“Rose.”

It’s a command. It’s a question. It’s a statement. It’s so many different things all rolled into one.

“I’m here,” I tell him.

“Why are you here?” That’s the real question, isn’t it? I don’t love Ian. He doesn’t love me, either. This thing between us isn’t supposed to be romantic or special in any way. I just know that when I’m hurting, I don’t like to be alone, and something tells me that Ian is hurting quite a bit tonight. So, I pull him a little closer to me, and I rest my cheek against his back.

“I just want to thank you for protecting me,” I whisper.

“You won’t say that when you realize what I’ve done,” he tells me.

Only, I already know, and I know why he’s done it. I know that a man like my father can’t be left alive forever. I understand this. For just a brief flash of a second, I worry that perhaps it wasn’t my father he’s killed.

Georgetta?

But he doesn’t have a reason to hurt her.

No, it wasn’t her.

“Did you hurt Georgetta?” I whisper, still finding myself needing to say it out loud.

“No.”

“Then I don’t need to know,” I whisper. I tug him a little bit closer, and I shut my eyes tight. I don’t need to know, I promise myself. I don’t.