Redemption by Alla Kar Page B

to ask it. Something told me he wouldn’t tell me anyway . He was in his underwear—a different pair from the morning—but still my dad’s. “Do you need help?”
    A look of outrage crossed his face. “No, I can get up.” He grabbed the bed, and I watched as his muscles tightened as he pulled himself up and crawled into the bed.
    I stood awkwardly, biting my lip while I watched, not wanting to make him mad. “It’s okay to need help.”
    His gaze snapped to me, and I was pinned to my pathetic spot in front of him. “But I don’t need it.”
    I raised my hands in surrender. “Okay then. Do you need anything while I’m here?”
    His eyes swept me from head to toe, and he slowly shook his head. That I’m fucking you in my head look was on his face, and his parted lips made me want to give into my overly hungry hormones. “Not anything that’s morally right, you can’t.”
    What? Red heated my cheeks. Does that mean what I think it means? “Okay,” I whispered. “I’m going to bed.”
    “Where have you been?” he asked.
    I bit my bottom lip . “I went shopping with Aunt Shelly.”
    He nodded and glanced over me again, but this time I kept my eyes on him . “You wore that?” he pointed toward my tight jeans and shirt.
    “What’s wrong with this?” I asked.
    He growled and wiped his palm down his face. “Too many things to say,” he said. “Is that shirt low enough?”
    My mouth dropped opened. “That’s none of your business. If I wanted to go out naked it wouldn’t be your business.”
    His teeth gritted together, but he closed his eyes and took a breath. “You’re right. It’s not. No, I don’t need anything.”
    Whatever.
    I turned on my heel and marched angrily toward the house. Stupid domineering asshole.
    ***
    One week later
     
    I refused to go back into the stupid guest house although I’d been dying to see him. Dad had brought Declan his food and made sure he was content. I no longer cared if he was okay or if he was hungry. Well, not that much, anyway.  
    Lucy yawned at my feet, and I rolled around in the desk chair at the gym. The day had just started, and I felt like I’d been there for three hours already. At least my new yoga pants were cute.
    The phone rang, and I nearly jumped to answer it.
    “Joe’s Boxing Gym. How can I help ya?”
    “Neveah?”
    Oh shit . The words in my mouth put on their brakes. There was no denying that Heath was on the other end of the line. I gathered my thoughts and cleared my throat. “Wrong number.”
    “Please,” he choked out.
    “How did you get this number?”
    “I looked it up on Google. Please don’t hang up. I’ve been calling you for over a week. Nev you just up and left? What the fuck happened? You don’t want to talk about it? Neveah, you punched me in the mouth? My lip is busted.”
    Good.
    “Can we try to work this out? Do I mean nothing to you?”
    Oh, I’m going to beat this guy’s ass. “I’ll tell you what happened. You fucked another girl. Or were you not mentally present for our fight?” I yelled.
    A random kid walking by hurried when I gave him the death glare.
    “Baby,” he cooed. “I’m not going to deny that I messed up, but you can’t just leave? We’re engaged. We can at least try to work it out. Let me come see you.”
    Is he serious right now? I barked out a bitter laugh that I hope gave him the notion that it was never going to happen again because it wasn’t. “If you show up to this fucking place I will chop your balls off and feed them to Lucy.”
    Silence.
    A low laugh sent chills down my spine. I dropped the phone against the desk with a loud thud. I glanced up, Declan stood in the doorway. God. He was standing up, and he was tall—really tall. Holy shit he’s staring at me . “What are you doin’ here?” I asked.
    His tongue dampened his lower lip, and he titled his head upward which gave me the perfect view of his square jaw. “I’m better, and I’m here reporting for duty. Is that