Page 26 of After The Storm

Kate followed him into the bathroom and stood back as he lifted his shirt over his head. Tossing it to the side, he saw the large red stain on it and knew when he looked at his side it wouldn’t be good.

Her gasp when he removed his shirt told him it may even be worse than he’d suspected.

“Oh, Roman, I didn’t…I mean, I didn’t think when I was hitting you,” she said quietly.

Looking into the mirror, he saw tears well in her eyes. Christ, this woman was a handful. If she wasn’t giving him grief about something he had no idea about as he took a shower or running away and then beating on his back when he was forced to carry her to the room, she was crying because she’d hurt him.

Roman didn’t want to see her cry, so he waved away her concern. “I’m fine. It’s just a little scratch.”

Her mouth dropped open at his understatement. “A little scratch? Have you seen it?”

He knew it wasn’t just a minor thing. That nail or screw or whatever it was in that bathroom window had torn into his side pretty well. He felt it when it happened and knew it would hurt more later. Now after having Kate use his body for a punching bag, it was much worse.

Turning toward the mirror, he examined his side, wincing as he poked his finger in the cut to see if it was deep enough that it would need stitches. The gash didn’t feel too deep, so he could probably get away without seeing a doctor to fix him up.

“Stop touching it,” she cried as she looked on in horror. “You’re making it worse!”

Frustrated and in pain, he shot her a look in the mirror. “What made it worse was someone hitting me because she was having a temper tantrum all the way down the hallway.”

Kate hung her head and quietly apologized. “I didn’t mean to, Roman. I’m sorry. You did throw me over your shoulder like a sack of flour. What was I supposed to do?”

He threw her another look, this one even angrier. “Come back to the room and not act like a crazy person?”

She opened her mouth but didn’t say anything. Finally, after a few seconds, she gave him a real apology. “I am sorry. I never wanted to physically harm you. Honestly, I didn’t do this on purpose.”

How was he supposed to stay mad at someone who said that with tears in her big blue eyes? He didn’t want to be angry with her. All he wanted to do was help her.

Why did she have to make that the hardest thing he’d ever tried to do?

“It’s fine. Just help me find something to stop the bleeding,” he said as a trickle of blood began sliding down toward his waist.

His apparent forgiveness made her spring into action, and she began scurrying around the bathroom looking for a clean washcloth as Roman stood there watching her and wondering if maybe she truly was crazy. One minute she was fighting him, and then the next minute she couldn’t help enough.

He had to admit, though, as much as he hated the way she fought him on everything, when she acted sweet and kind, he liked her a whole lot more.

Probably more than he should, in fact.

Chapter Nine

The more Katestared at that horrible gash in Roman’s side, the worse she felt. Physically, it made her want to throw up, but emotionally, the sight of it just proved once again that he’d tried to help her from the very moment they met. He’d not only suffered through her behavior but truly suffered because he’d been doing what he claimed the entire time.

Protecting her.

She cringed at how she’d punched him all the way down the hallway. She’d done this to him. Kate looked everywhere in the bathroom but found not a single clean washcloth. Between the two of them, they’d dirtied them all.

Tearing open the shower curtain, she saw the white washcloth he’d used. “I can’t find any clean ones. What about the one you used when you took a shower?”

“Yeah, fine. I just need something to press on the wound so my pants don’t fill up with blood.”

Still wet, the washcloth felt cool in her hands as she turned to hand it to him. She struggled to keep her gaze on his face because some kind of morbid curiosity kept taking over and forcing her eyes to settle on that horrible cut on his side.

For his part, Roman stayed as calm as he had for virtually the whole time he’d been around her. Except for when he had to clamp her mouth shut because she wouldn’t stop screaming and then when he had to carry her back to the room because she’d made it clear she planned to run as soon as she could, he’d been the rational one to her insanity.

All of which made her feel like shit.

Looking away toward the toilet, she again apologized. “I’m so sorry, Roman. I truly never meant for this to happen. I didn’t think my fingernails touched you.”

When he groaned in pain, she couldn’t help herself and turned around to see the washcloth already half-stained in red. His face writhed in agony, making her want to fix what she’d done.