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He curled her against his chest and kissed her forehead "Please, take a deep breath This isn’t good for you"

Finally, she ed to breathe deeply; then she sed back tears "I found blood"

Oh, Jesus Christ His stoency rooain, she shook her head "I was afraid we’d have to wait too long I called reed to meet me at her office before hours, so Tyler took me there, waited while the doctor examined me"

And he’d missed all of this Luc stroked her shoulder, pressed another kiss to her forehead Not only had he missed it; he’d heaped more shit on her

Why the fuck hadn’t he listened instead of letting his jealousy do the talking?

"Are you okay?" Luc was almost afraid to ask the question "What did she say?"

"That it’s not uncommon to spot if you’re on your feet too much or under too much stress"

Without a doubt, Alyssa suffered from both

"The baby is okay But she told me to rest Sleep I couldn’t come here, and Tyler wanted me somewhere he could protect ot there, I was too keyed up and couldn’t sleep I didn’t want to worry you You were so far away I was too shaken to realize youanyone care"

"Sugar, anywhere, anytirowl the words at her She was so darated her to even ask Tyler for help, much less call someone halfway across the country

"Anyway, Tyler called the doctor again, asked if there was anything she could give nant, she prescribed ue"

"And you fell asleep" In Tyler’s bed

She nodded "I know I should have called Everything happened so fast"

Of course she’d beenhis jangled nerves It wasn’t her fault he was a jealous, distrusting bastard

"I’h all of that without me That someone broke in the house That you spotted That I scared you" He held her close

The water began to cool, and Luc reached out to turn it off Leaning out of the tub, he grabbed her towel off the bar and wrapped it around her s thestrands of her hair inside its folds

She stood docile, al It wasn’t like her, and he worried until it was a bleeding hole in his chest

Quickly, he threw off his wet clothes and left them in the bottom of the shower, then reached for his towel He didn’t bother drying, and his hair dripped thick streams of water down his back and shoulders Instead, he wrapped the towel around his waist and helped her out of the shower

Alyssa didn’t say a word as he steadied her over to the bed On the way, he grabbed their robes fro it for her as if she were a child, then shrugged into his own In silence, he toweled more moisture from her hair and studied her face He still didn’t like her expression Somewhere past shock, it was almost blank

Luc sed down his frustration Whatever was going on with her wasinto the house, h to tie her to the bed And he had to get her to open up, let it go, if he could

He pulled her into his lap, gratified that she went trustingly, resting her head on his shoulder "Alyssa, sugar Tell me why I scared you"

Her head jerked, jolted, until it finally beca"

"Please" He grabbed her tighter, then forced hiain "Someone hurt you"

She closed her eyes A tear ran down her cheek

It nearly killed hi to reo Just forget it I have"

Luc barely heard her whisper, but he kneas a lie She wasn’t over it, and hearing the chocked ader"

For a long ht Finally, she h to drive Barely irl, and soainst her will? Rape was one of the ugliest of cri, Luc hesitated He had to keep asking questions that would allow her to reveal the ordeal a bit at a time She wasn’t ready to just spill her entire secret in one breath

"Were you on a date?"

Her whole body tensed "No" Then she gave a hysterical sob "I wasn’t allowed to date My ot married"

He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear this, truly But he had to Without this knowledge, Luc sensed that he couldn’t truly understand his wife

"And you were a virgin when this?" He tensed, sed, so like hell she’d say no

But she nodded

Luc had never been nauseous and angry at once He wanted to smash this bastard’s head, make him feel every bit of the pain Alyssa had clearly felt But he kept it to hi fists Instead, he softly stroked her hair