Page 19 of The Healing Touch (Manwhore #3)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Becca rubbed her back. Sitting for so long really did a number on it.

She’d ignored the pain and gotten all the pre-orders done and organized everything he’d need in one of the plastic baskets she’d ordered, from markers to pens, to his swag and business cards.

The only thing she was having issues with was the banner.

How the hell did people get them put up?

This one was defying gravity. She’d smacked herself in the head more than once before giving up on it. Dimitri could figure it out.

She surveyed her work and felt a little pride. She’d managed to get everything done. All he’d have to do tonight was sign the books she’d already organized.

Her eyes flitted to the door like they had a hundred times the last few hours. Where was he? She kept worrying about him. He’d been in a lot of pain. He’d been limping when he left. What if he was out there somewhere, hurting?

He had his phone, she reminded herself for the thousandth time. If he needed her, he’d call.

Which was the crux of the current situation.

He needed his friend to be friends with benefits, and she needed him to be her happily ever after.

Neither of those things would happen. That knowledge caused her to toss two of the books.

She’d cried all over the pages when she’d opened them to shove swag in them.

No point in crying over something that could never be, she berated herself yet again.

She knew who he was and what he was and wasn’t capable of.

And he wasn’t capable of a monogamous relationship for more than a few weeks, and even then, it would only be sex, not love.

The door opened, and she swiveled around to see Dimitri walk through it, his face somber. What was he thinking?

When he came farther into the room, he stopped, shocked. “You did all this?”

“Well, yeah. It had to get done, D.”

“You’ve been crying.”

She looked away, embarrassed. She was an ugly crier. Splotches and eyes that looked like she’d had a bad run-in with every allergy known to man. “It’s nothing. We need to leave in a few minutes so we can get set up. All this stuff needs to be loaded into the Jeep, and…”

Dimitri came over and wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her hair, cutting off her rambling. “I’m sorry, Becca.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Yes, I do. I left you here to do all this by yourself. I got thrown off balance for a minute, and I didn’t stop to think about all this shit.”

“Yeah, well, I’m your PA. It’s what you pay me for.” She tried to shrug him off, but he only held on tighter.

“No, I don’t pay you nearly enough to deal with all my baggage,” he all but purred into her hair, and she shivered. She definitely needed to put some space between them.

“We need to leave, Dimitri.”

“We need to talk first.”

“We don’t have time.” Panic flared in her stomach, worming its way up her spine. Please, please, please, not now.

“Look at me, Krasivaya .”

She pulled away enough so she could tilt her head up. His eyes were serious but unsure at the same time. It gave her pause. What was he thinking?

“I…” He stopped, and his eyes widened. “Calm down, sweetheart. I can feel your panic starting to flare up.”

“How…how can you tell?”

“Your eyes are so dilated you might as well be in the dark. Your breathing is labored, and you’re sweating. Any other time, I’d say you’d been good and fucked.” He smiled, trying for humor, but it didn’t help. It only made it worse.

She pushed him away and bent over at the waist, trying and failing to get control of her panic. She knew what he was going to say, and hearing it was causing her to stress out more than the thought of the crowd they’d be walking into. Becca couldn’t lose him. She just couldn’t.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, babe. What do you need? Just tell me what you need.”

“Inhaler,” she gasped. “My purse.”

He brought it to her, and she took two long, deep pulls from it, the medicine helping her brain to understand her lungs needed air. Dimitri stood there, rubbing her back and speaking in Russian. She didn’t understand a word of it, but it helped to calm her.

“Better?” he asked once she could breathe.

She nodded and sat on the overly plushy chair. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” He sank down on his knees in front of her. “What happened? You told me only crowds bring that on, but we were talking about…”

“It was the crowds,” she interrupted him. “I’ve been rushing around trying to get all this together without having thought about actually going over there. I guess it hit me all at once when I told you we needed to leave.”

“You never were a good liar, Rebecca Joyce.”

“Let me have my lie right now, okay?” She closed her eyes against the questions in his. “Please, Dimitri?”

His hands cupped her face, and he leaned in, his breath brushing against her very hot skin. “You can have your lie for right now, Krasivaya , but not for much longer. We need to talk, but you’re right. We have to go set up.”

When his lips ghosted over hers, it caused her eyes to spring open. He grinned and tweaked her nose. “Now, get your ass up, and let’s go get this done.”

She watched him call the front desk and ask for someone to bring a luggage cart to their room and to have the Jeep brought around.

He seemed more sure of himself than he had when he came in.

It was a subtle change, but one she noticed.

He was up to something. She just hoped it didn’t involve ignoring her unspoken pleas to not break her heart.

At least he’d given her a reprieve. She didn’t want to face that conversation.

It caused her physical pain. She went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, trying to erase the signs she’d been a blubbering fool earlier.

Her face looked haunted and her eyes bruised.

It was a good thing she’d brought that makeup along.

Diving back into the bedroom, she found the makeup kit in her overnight bag.

She made quick work of it, and by the time she was done, you’d never know she’d been a splotchy mess.

She looked damn good. Becca knew she wasn’t ugly, maybe not beautiful, but she could turn a head or two.

Especially with makeup as her weapon. Tonight, it would help to shield the unsure girl and give her a mask to hide behind.

No point in changing her clothes, though. She’d be filthy later.

“Shit.”

She looked up at Dimitri’s shocked utterance. His eyes were wide, the lust all bright and shiny. At least she affected him. There was that much to salvage her ego.

“What?” She cocked one hip. “Never seen a girl wear makeup?”

“Fuck, I don’t know if I want to take you over there with all those damn models or not.” His expression turned possessive, and he cracked his knuckles. “Fuckers better fuck off.”

“I’m Facebook friends with most of those models.

Trust me, I’ll be the last thing on their minds.

” She moved around him to answer the door and let in the guy who came to collect the boxes.

She moved as far against the wall as she could when he passed.

Her nerves were raw, and anyone she didn’t know could set off another attack. It wouldn’t take much.

“Trust me, sweetheart, you’re going to be the one thing they all see.” Dimitri stalked over to her, completely ignoring the teenager loading boxes, and placed his hands on either side of her head, trapping her against the wall. “But you don’t belong to any of them. Got that?”

Becca nodded, unsure what the hell he was playing at.

“Good girl.” He leaned in and kissed her hard, his mouth reinforcing his earlier statement. When he moved away, the bellboy cleared his throat.

“Uh…Mr. Kincaid, sir…”

“My Jeep is being brought around,” Dimitri said, but his eyes never left Becca. “Load it up, and we’ll be down shortly.”

“Of course, but you need to move so I can get this out the door, sir.”

The look Dimitri shot him could have curdled milk, but he moved, allowing Becca to do so as well.

She gladly put distance between them, not understanding what game Dimitri was playing.

He knew how she felt; she knew how he felt.

There was no getting around it. The man needed to stop messing with her.

Dimitri watched her from beneath his lashes.

She was clearly trying to suss out his intentions.

Hell, he still had some reservations about this, and he needed to explain himself, but the thought of all those models coming anywhere near her sent him into caveman mode.

He couldn’t help it. She’d thrown him when she’d come out, the makeup only enhancing her natural beauty.

He’d wanted to lock her in the bathroom and demand she stay there the entire weekend if it meant keeping men away from her.

And there would be men. She was gorgeous, even if she didn’t realize it.

“You ready?”

He laughed at the nervous quirk in her voice. At least she was as nervous as he was.

“Yeah, babe. Let’s get this show on the road.

” He waited for her to get her purse then snatched her around the waist when she tried to walk by.

She wiggled, but he only held her tighter.

“Stop fidgeting, Becca. I need help walking.” Lies, but if it kept her by his side, it was a white lie he could be forgiven for.

As expected, she immediately shifted into concerned friend mode and let him lean on her. “How are your legs? You left before you did any exercises.”

“I did them in the park. They weren’t hard to manage. It was just the massage I needed help with.” He steered them in the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor.

“Somehow, I think you had an ulterior motive there.”

He laughed outright at the snarky reply. “Who, me?”

“Yes, you!” She jabbed him in the ribs, which only caused him to laugh more.

This was what she loved, this easy banter they had even when they were upset with each other. This was the laidback man she’d fallen in love with.