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The cool air of the living roo about the rooaze settled upon the wet bar By his standards, it wasn’t impressive; nonetheless, it was present He scanned the bottles and poured a s the contents in one gulp, he called room service for more

How much did he drink? Tony wasn’t sure How much time had passed? He didn’t know that either He did know that he’d made hily lie down or unwillingly pass out Either way, he was prepared Food would’ve been a good idea, but sohts of Chester and those of Baldwin, Tony’s appetite disappeared

At one point he went back into the bedroom and found Claire sound asleep She looked so peaceful Her swollen cheek didn’t detract from her beauty He couldn’t--no, wouldn’t--wake her What would he say if he did? Tony was pretty sure he’d used all his forgiveness credits He didn’t want to risk saying or doing anything that would push her away forever

With sleep creeping closer, the sound of footsteps shattered the stillness of the suite Closing his eyes, Tony clenched his jaw and exhaled Why did she have to wake? Didn’t Claire know the precarious situation she was about to enter? Didn’t she understand how dangerous he could be?

Her voice echoed through the quiet suite, ue "Tony? Are you all right?"

Praying that she was a figination, maybe one of his daydreams, he stared toward the voice Perhaps if he tried, he could e disappear After all, she always disappeared in his dreams just before he reached her If she weren’t real, Claire could sleep contently and never know the depths of his anguish He scanned her fraht any of her packed things; she earing one of his t-shirts It sed her petite body and hung to her knees, yet he could still see her curves and her nipples as they reacted to the cool air Daain look at one of his shirts the same

"No," he finally answered

"What’s this?" She motioned toward the sofa "Why aren’t you in bed with me?"

All sense of inhibition disappeared with the last few fingers of bourbon Claire was the one who started this conversation; she’d better be prepared to finish it Throwing caution to the wind, Tony answered honestly, "I don’t trust , he explained, "I went in there and kissed you You were sound asleep" Her warun to build within his chest He went on, "I watched you, saw your expression and your bruises" Her s he tried to reling hand, Tony scolded, "Stop that"

"What?"

"You’re beautiful!"

She pulled her hand away "I’ve seenhis eyes, Tony leaned back and rubbed his face This wasn’t going the way he wanted Blinking his eyes, he focused on Claire She wasn’t a figination; he’d just touched her hand She was real and the bruises were real Seeing theed deep into his heart If only he’d made her stay in Iowa This was entirely his fault Like the ripping of a Band-Aid from his skin, Tony decided he needed to see the extent of her injuries It would be better to just twist the daet it over with "Take off nation rippled from her tone, Tony’s focus was on her injuries He stood and repeated, "Take off ht clothes… I didn’t think you’d--"

He should’ve heard her iive a damn about the shirt I want to see you"

"See s I want to see what that bastard did to you"

The touch of her hands blurred his objective She sounded so strong "I’m fine, but I want you to come to bed--with me"

Tony tried to make her understand "I planned to call for dinner; instead, I found the bar It’s been a rather stressful few days" When she rasped her shoulders "I should never have let you return to California" Shaking his head, he released her, and stepped backward No, he needed to do this, needed to see Straightening his stance, he commanded, "I believe I’ve said this more than once Take off the damn t-shirt"

Claire reached for the hem and lifted the white shirt over her head It orse than he’d iined Her side was a purplish blue, and it extended fro the panties he’d found with her clothes Of course, she didn’t carry an extra pair in her purse As his eyes scanned her foristered This wasn’t about hi what Chester had done It was about Claire At thisor was it--?

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Tony suddenly felt ill It was hi because of hiently clutched Claire’s hips Beyond the bruises was the woman he’d hurt tootostop, he kissed her stomach and inhaled her clean warm scent Tenderly, he brushed his lips over her wounds as his hands tightly held to her firm behind While he continued to caress her skin, she reached for his head and wove her fingers through his hair Beyond the sounds of their breathing, he heard her pleading voice, "Please, Tony, please, can we go to bed?"