Page 62 of Disavowed

“A player like you?” A hint of a smile graced her lips. “I figured you could handle her. You probably even liked it.”

Dom clenched his jaws and took a deep breath. Mrs. Abernathy hadn’t bothered him. He’d recognized it for what it was. An old woman feeling frisky and trying to recapture her youth and have a little fun. But the hidden meaning behind Daisy’s accusation bugged him, and he was stung with the need to explain why he’d done the things he’d done. Why he hopped from one woman’s bed to the next.

Why you’ve always been on my mind.

“That’s not who I am,” he said.

“No?” She kept slicing off thorns onto the counter, working even faster. “You could have fooled me. After all, isn’t that what you were doing with me in my office today? Playing?”

He grabbed her wrist, feeling her pulse skyrocket beneath his fingers. “I’ve never played you.”

“Bullshit.” She threw the knife onto the table and glared at him. “What do you call it when a man throws a woman up against the wall and grinds against her like a horny teenager?”

Dom gritted his teeth. He’d never felt the need to explain to any woman why he behaved the way he did, but he wanted Daisy to know. Correction, needed her to know. And he wanted her to trust him. No small task, given their past.

As he rounded the counter, she picked up the knife and began hacking off thorn after thorn, working even more swiftly than before.

“Look at me.” He kept his voice gentle, but she refused to meet his gaze. He rested his hand on her arm, but she shrugged from his touch.

“Don’t touch—” She gasped, and the knife fell from her hand. Blood dripped onto the counter, and she clasped her injured finger, holding it tightly to her chest. Her forehead wrinkled in pain.

“Oh, Jesus.” Dom urged her to the nearby sink to wash out the cut. “Let me look,” he said softly, adding, “please,” when she resisted.

Her eyes were tightly shut, but she extended her injured hand. Blood seeped from the cut on her left index finger, and he turned on the tap. She hissed as the water hit her finger, but kept it steady.

Dom pumped liquid soap from the dispenser and carefully cleansed the cut, holding her finger under the running water.

“I’m fine.” Her voice was shaky. “I can do that.”

“Let me.” His eyes met hers, and he was thankful the anger had vanished, although what he saw now was exhaustion. “It’s my fault you cut yourself. I distracted you.”

“Not really.” She shook her head. “I’ve had other things on my mind all day. I should know better than to take my eyes off what I’m doing.”

Fuck, but he still felt like shit. If he hadn’t insisted she look at him, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Somehow, everything he did wound up hurting her. One way or the other.

He grabbed a sheet of paper towel and began dabbing Daisy’s cut dry. A small amount of blood continued to ooze out, so he took another piece of paper towel and snugly wrapped her finger. He adjusted her hand so it was above her heart, but didn’t let go. He began massaging her tight lower back muscles in slow circles. “Keep it above your heart until it stops bleeding. I don’t think you need stitches.”

“Thank you.” She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. Tension lines appeared at her mouth, and he was surprised when she leaned into him and rested the side of her head against his chest.

He kept kneading her muscles until he felt the tension ease from her body. “It’s Saturday. Why aren’t you going out with Jack tonight?”

She stiffened. “I’m staying in tonight. Alone.”

Alone on her birthday? Something was definitely wrong.

He took her hand and unwrapped the paper towel from her finger to see if the bleeding had stopped. “Got a first-aid kit?”

She nodded. “In the bathroom.”

He retrieved the kit and set it next to the sink. He pulled out two large Band-Aids and applied them to her injured finger. Gently, he held her hand to his mouth and dropped a light kiss on her fingers. “Better?”

“What the hell’s going on here?” Jack looked from him to Daisy, his eyes blazing.

Sonofabitch has the worst timing.

And why hadn’t he heard the fucking truck? Damned thing was as loud as a freight train.

None too hurriedly, he lowered his hand from her back. He stepped to the side of the sink, honing in on Jack’s narrowed eyes and the firm set of his jaws. He’d obviously seen him snugged up against Daisy, massaging her back, and the guy was none too happy about it. And Dom didn’t give a shit.