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“No problem. It was nice to meet you, Eliza. You’ll have to come back soon,” Natalie says to me.

“Nice to meet you too, and I might when my skin isn’t on fire,” I laugh.

When she leaves, the room falls silent for a moment before Calder speaks. “We are going to put this salve on you and then help you get dressed, okay?”

“Okay,” I sigh.

“It should help with the pain and swelling,” Julian informs me. “If you get uncomfortable or want us to stop, just speak up. Okay?”

“Okay,” I say.

How bad could it be? Just my two sexy bosses touching my naked body. No big deal. Right? Wrong. As soon as they start rubbing that salve into my skin, I am in big fucking trouble. The only thing that saves me from embarrassing myself is the fact that their touch is also causing me pain, so when I groan, I have an excuse. Eventually, the pain becomes overwhelming, and I move up to my elbows so that I don’t feel like I am stuck to the table.

“Almost done,” Julian says softly.

“Mhmm,” I groan as I tense up when Calder goes over a particularly tender spot on my lower back. Julian gently rubs the salve into my inner thigh, dangerously close to my pussy. He is being so careful, and I appreciate it more than I know how to express. I would love for this man to touch my pussy, but not like this. Not tonight, after everything I’ve been through.

“Okay. Sit up here, and we can help you with your shirt,” Julian says.

They keep me concealed with the sheet until I can sit up and hold it. “Fuck, I don’t want to put a bra on,” I sigh.

“Then don’t. You’re going to the truck anyhow,” Julian says, putting my shirt over my head. He carefully puts my arms through before pulling me off the table to stand. Next, he and Calder help me back into my leggings, and I am finally clothed again.

“I’ll drive your car. You ride with Julian,” Calder says. “Have you eaten?”

“No. I’m not very hungry, though. I just want to sleep,” I admit.

“Okay. Let’s get you to bed then,” Julian says with a soft smile.

“Thank you, guys. I know I’ve been…. Stupid. I should have listened…”

“Stop,” Julian says. “You are not stupid. You were abused and manipulated. You’re safe now, so we can work on helping you heal. Okay?”

“I just don’t want to impose on your bachelor life,” I say, and Calder laughs.

“You are not imposing,” Julian says with a smile. I nod and just accept this for what it is.

Julian and Calder walk me out to Julian’s truck before I hand my keys over to Calder. Not even five minutes into the drive, I fall asleep. Next thing I know, Calder is standing at my door. He gently wakes me before helping me inside. I’ve been here before,but coming here like this is different. They are different this time.

They take me upstairs and down to the end of the hall, carrying all of my belongings. I tried to grab a few things, but they weren’t having it.

“There is an empty shelf in the bathroom closet you can take over. Towels are also in there. We can show you the rest of the house tomorrow, but you should get some rest,” Julian says.

“Any house rules I should know? Expiration dates for my stay? Rent price?” I ask.

“You can stay as long as you’d like, and if you try to pay us, we will just use that money to buy you something. House rules…. Uhm… Don’t set the place on fire,” Julian says.

“Or do. Insurance payout would be nice,” Calder says with a shrug.

“I’ll get my shit in order soon. I’ll actually be able to have my paycheck now, so I’ll start saving, and I can get out of y’all’s hair,” I say. “Why didn’t you want me in the pool house, though?”

“Because we’d feel better having you close. He is volatile. He thought you were sleeping with us, so I don’t really want to find out what he would do if he knew you were living here,” Calder says.

“Probably pull the trigger,” I say, and Julian sigh. “Thank you. I feel out of my element, and I think I am more traumatized than I thought, but I feel safe. This means a lot.”

“We’ve known you for six years, Liza. You mean a lot to us, and we want to take care of you,” Calder says. “Get some sleep. We will be down in the living room if you need anything. There isn’t much in the kitchen, but we can go shopping tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I yawn.