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No kidding. Pain seared into her palm and her eyes flooded.

He stepped beside her, flung on the tap, grabbed her hand and held it under the icy running water. Tilly blinked rapidly and refused to look at him. Of course he had to catch her being incompetent.

‘Keep it under the water, I’ll be back in a second.’

‘I’m fine. You don’t need to—’

‘Stay,’ he growled and stalked out.

Of course she was going to keep her hand under the cold water. It hurt. But honestly, of greater concern was her hope that he’d throw on a tee while he was getting what he thought he needed. But when he strode back in two minutes later, he was as gloriously—devastatingly—bare-chested as before. He flicked off the tap, pulled out a stool and jerked his head towards it. Gritting her teeth, Tilly sat.

He set a First Aid box on the counter beside her and held out his hand. ‘Give.’

No. But constantly fighting him was exhausting. And now Tilly uncomfortably realised she needed to save her strength to resist him in another way. So she put her hand in his and tried to quell the completely different sizzle that immediately ignited deep within her body.

No. No. She was not affected by Alex. Not like this. Flushing hot, she didn’t know where to look. His shockingly defined bare chest was straight ahead. Down were his muscular thighs. She tried to focus on her mild burns, but was soon distracted by the gentleness of his dextrous fingers as he inspected first her palm and then each finger. When he reached for ointment she noticed a discolouration curving around his wrist. Tan mark from his customary wide watch strap? Except the mark was uneven and an odd colour. She blinked. Was it a scar? She glanced up and saw his gaze narrowing on hers.

‘Why didn’t you phone for Bianca if you wanted something to eat? She gave you her number, right?’ The gentleness of his touch was completely at odds with his tone.

‘It’s eleven o’clock at night,’ she mumbled. ‘I’m not going to drag her out of bed to wait on me.’

‘Unlike some in Domenico’s palace, my staff are paid. She likes her job and she’s good at it, so don’t deny her.’

‘I’m not asking her to do anything at nearly midnight.’

He daubed ointment on her hand. ‘You were fast asleep when I came to fetch you for dinner. You were so out of it, I thought you’d sleep right through till morning.’

He’d come to check on her? Seen her sleeping? More heat flooded her. There was a level of intimacy in this situation she wasn’t prepared for. She’d never imagined she’d be stuck this close to him. His frown deepened as he dressed the burn. By the time he’d finished he was the personification of a thunderstorm.

‘Didn’t it hurt when you did that?’ he growled.

She blinked. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘Then why not scream? Or swear? You didn’t make a sound.’

‘I didn’t want to wake anyone.’ She tried to pull her hand away but he held it tightly. She was sick of his constant sniping—if she was somehow always in the wrong. ‘Why are you always angry with me?’

‘Because you always suppress everything,’ he snarled. ‘It’s pathetic. You’re not honest about your feelings.’

As if she’d admit any feelings to him? But she’d been too close to the aggravatingly hot jerk for too long and her control snapped. ‘So I look “damned scared” and I’m too “silent”?’

The burn on her hand wasn’t all that bad, but his taunts seared all the way inside her. Who was he to judge? He had no idea what her life was like. ‘How can anyone be honest when it isn’t safe to be?’

‘What do you mean by that?’ he challenged. ‘Do you think if you’re honest there’ll be repercussions?’

‘There usually are.’

‘Well, not from me.’

She laughed—long and bitterly.

‘I mean it.’ He looked miffed. ‘You can stay here as long as you want. I’ll leave you alone and I’ll never throw you out. So there you go. You have your safety.’ He released her hand and folded his arms across his chest. ‘Now you can say whatever the hell you want to me.’

Tilly glared at him. That was almost a decent thing to say, but his delivery sucked. Worse, his defiant stance emphasised his glorious biceps and the strong breadth of his shoulders, and the intensity of his focus was…overwhelming. She slipped off the stool and marched towards a safe distance.

‘Typical.’

She heard his muffled husk of impatience just as she reached the door. He always pushed.