Excerpt from Theirs To Keep from Banks' Facebook Page:
Cade took over then, his expression one of utter gravity. “We only want to help you. You’re hurt. You need medical attention. Let us help you.”
She closed her eyes, and for a moment, Merrick thought she’d passed out. But then she opened them again, wide and troubled.
“Okay,” she whispered. “My hands hurt.”
Cade reached for one, being careful not to move too suddenly. He grimaced as he inspected the deep cuts. “I suppose they do.” He gingerly pulled a sliver of glass from one of her fingers and flung the shard away.
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As soon as Cade laid eyes on her, he knew he was an absolute goner. All of his earlier bluster left in the blink of an eye. Looking at her now, he could well understand Merrick’s fierceness when it came to her.
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She was curled onto her side, her injured shoulder wrapped and her arm lying limply over her hip. Her knees were drawn protectively to her chest and she was dressed in one of those skimpy hospital gowns that didn’t cover much of anything.
Both hands were bandaged where she’d cut them breaking the glass.
He’d never seen a more vulnerable looking female in his life and it hit him right where he lived. It was damn hard to breathe when his thoughts were doubly occupied with murdering the son of a bitch who’d abused her so terribly and also the overwhelming compulsion to surround her with support, tenderness and whatever the hell else she needed to get back on her feet.
Merrick looked back at him challengingly as if to say, what now? Cade only sighed and nodded his agreement. There was nothing else to do for it. She was going home with them.
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When she was perched on the edge of the couch, Merrick draped the blanket over her shoulders and Cade took her hands between his in a gesture that obviously surprised her.
He rubbed back and forth, infusing warmth into her fingers and then he looked at her with tenderness in his eyes that Merrick understood all too well.
“As soon as you eat, I’ll give you an antibiotic pill and something for pain as well. You’ll sleep well after that.”
She nodded her acceptance and reached for the spoon, fumbling clumsily at it as she tried to grip it with the bandages on her hand.
Finally Cade took the spoon and gently put her hands back into her lap.
“Let me,” he said quietly.
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“You guys aren’t real,” she whispered.
“The hell we aren’t,” Cade bit out. “I made you a promise, Elle. Merrick made you a promise. Neither one of us is going back on our word. We aren’t letting you go and we’re damn sure going to protect you.”
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“I have to know if the two of you feel, or rather reciprocate, any of what I feel for you,” she said in a rush. “I know it sounds absurd. Ridiculous. I’m absolutely crazy, right?”
Before she could say anything further or continue to babble her fool head off, Cade came off the couch. He moved so quickly and was standing in front of her before she could blink.
He grasped her chin with his fingers, his mouth hovering over hers.
“You’re not crazy,” he growled.
And then he kissed her, his mouth devouring hers in a forceful, possessive manner that left her breathless.
Oh boy...-who am I kidding, I am so going to read this-Monlat
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