Page 53 of The Encounter
He quickly stepped over to Maddie and dropped to his knees in front of her. Hooking a finger under her chin, he tipped her face up to his.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she whispered, giving him a small smile.
But he knew it wasn’t nothing. Her trembling lips gave her away.
“You can talk to me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, and a tear slid down her cheek.
“Doll…” He reached a hand up and cupped her face, using his thumb to swipe the tear away.
As if a dam had broken, the tears fell faster. A sob escaped before she covered her face with her hands.
He stood up and went into the bathroom, shutting off the faucet, before returning to the bedroom and picking her up off the bed. He carried her to the living room, where he sat on the couch and settled her on his lap. She shifted and straddled him, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, pressing kisses to the side of her face.
After several minutes passed, her tears had subsided, but she hadn’t moved. He lessened his hold on her and put his hands on her waist, gently easing her back so he could see her face.
“Talk to me,” he whispered.
Her tear-streaked face was red and splotchy. Between the lack of sleep and crying, her eyes were bloodshot, and it broke his heart.
“Everything is just catching up to me.”
He nodded. “You’ve been through a lot in the last twelve hours.” He rubbed his hands up and down her sides, doing his best to soothe her. “What can I do?”
“You’re doing it.”
“Would you like to talk about it?”
She met his eyes with hers and then shifted them away. “Not yet.”
“Okay. I’m here when you’re ready.”
When she met his eyes again, they filled with tears once more. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Would you still like to take a bath?”
She nodded.
He cupped her cheek and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he touched his forehead to hers and held her for a minute longer before picking her up once again and carrying her back to the bedroom.
She giggled this time. “I can walk.”
“Not a chance. I’ve got you.”
17
After Jace filled the tub, he got Maddie settled and then took Roxy outside to go to the bathroom. While he was gone, Maddie leaned back in the tub and sighed. She didn’t know what came over her. Everything she had gone through in the last twelve hours was scary, but those guys never got what they wanted. So why was she so upset?
She chalked it up to the lack of sleep, but she knew that wasn’t all it. Her imagination had been running wild on her and the thought of those men getting what they wanted scared the crap out of her. And she couldn’t stop kicking herself for not realizing they had slipped something into her drink. She hadn’t even let it out of her sight, yet they still managed to do it.
The whole situation terrified her. She had lost all control in a matter of minutes and had no idea. If those men hadn’t spilled their drinks on them, Maddie and Kayla likely wouldn’t have gone to the bathroom to clean up. She shuddered, thinking about what would have happened if Jace hadn’t sent them to the secluded restroom.
When Jace had given Maddie a few minutes to gather her things before going to his place, she had pulled up the articles written about the night. The other women those guys had tried to take made it all the way to the alley before Jace and Reggie showed up. Knowing that she and Kayla were the intended victims made her sick.
Jace’s footsteps came down the hall as he called out that he was back. Roxy’s claws clicked on the hardwood floors as she ran back to her bed in the living room. He immediately stripped his clothes off and came into the bathroom.
