Royally Not Ready(24)

“Oh, dear Jesus,” I hear Lara yell right before she’s at my side, slipping her hand under my head.

The stairs creak with the pounding of a thousand elephants careening down them.

Lights are flicked on.

Swear words are thrown into the formerly still night air, and the moment I open my eyes, not only do I see Lara with a scared look in her eyes, but I also spot Brimar and Keller, both of their chests heaving with what I can only imagine is a healthy dose of adrenaline.

“What the hell happened?” Keller asks, his hair mussed and his jaw coated in a five o’clock shadow.

“I heard a noise,” Lara says. “I came to investigate, and when the light turned on, I reacted. I had no idea it was Miss Campbell.”

“Let’s get her off the floor,” Brimar says.

I half expect them to all take a side and lift together, but I’m scooped up into a cradled position against a warm, bare chest.

Slightly dazed, I open my eyes to find Keller carrying me over to the living room, his arms holding me with what seems little effort as he gently lays me on the couch. He takes a seat on the coffee table across from me and leans forward.

A bit dizzy, a bit out of it, it takes me a second to notice the lack of shirt on Keller’s chest, but when I do, I can’t help myself, my eyes wander over his body shamelessly. Call it the knock on the head, call it pure curiosity, but my oh my what do we have here?

Let me break it down for you: an intricate tattoo spans his thick, muscular chest, connecting to a powerful set of shoulders that ripple with tension in the sexiest of ways. His arms are a work of sculpted art as they reach out to me, one of his large palms falling to my hand, easily eclipsing mine. And his torso is a feat of brawny density, the kind that makes it seem like he rips logs open for a living. Immense, dominant, and striking, he’s the model-like man you only see in magazines, very rarely on the streets.

“Lilly,” he says, “are you okay?”

I blink, startled, but it doesn’t stop my eyes from falling to the stack of abs that are still defined despite his seated, crouched-over position. Yup, he’s a beautiful, beautiful man.

“I . . . I think so,” I say, as I press my fingers to my hairline.

A warm, wet substance slides across my fingers, and when I bring my fingers into view, I hear Keller say, “She’s bleeding. Grab the first aid kit.”

Feet shuffle across the room while Keller scoots closer, his masculine scent still strong, even in the middle of the night. It’s a woodsy scent. Something only a man with a chest tattoo would wear.

“I’m going to tilt your head to the side,” he says, while gently placing his hands on my cheeks. “Tell me if there’s any pain.” When he makes the first attempt to move me, he asks, “That okay?”

“Yes,” I answer as he turns my head so now my eyes are in line with his crotch. His very large, very on-display crotch. Just sitting there, all . . . bulgy. Why is it so bulgy? Wait, is he wearing . . . is that . . . “Are you in your underwear?” I ask him.

Still gently turning my head, he answers, “I didn’t have time to dress.”

Lucky me, because there’s a whole lot of man-thigh in front of me and not a lot of coverage.

Thick, masculine legs carry his heavy torso. His briefs cut all the way up to his hips. Yup . . . his hips. Not sure I’ve ever seen a man in a pair of black briefs, I’ve only seen boxers, but there’s something about the way the thick waistband wraps around his narrowed hips that is holding my attention, compelling me to wet my lips and wonder what it would be like to slip my fingertips past the black elastic.

“Is it a big cut?” Lara asks, her voice shaky.

“No,” Keller says. “Just a butterfly stitch should be fine.”

They move around me as I keep my eyes fixed on the bulge between Keller’s legs.

It’s a great bulge. A large bulge for a large man. I can only imagine what it’s like when he stands. Probably hangs heavy. It’s the only way I can imagine it.

“I’m so sorry,” Lara says, her voice emotional, which of course snaps me out of my bulge-haze.

When I pull my eyes away from the Adonis in front of me and glance up at Lara, I’m gutted to find tears in her eyes.

“Hey, it’s fine,” I say, attempting to reach out, but quickly put my hand down when I feel a wave of dizziness wash over me. “You were doing your job, and might I add, a job well done. Not sure many people could have such accuracy with a broom.”

“I should’ve waited. I reacted first. I know better.”

Brimar puts his arm around her shoulder while Keller opens the first aid kit and gets to work. “I’m glad you were on alert,” Keller says while he presses some gauze to my forehead. “For all we know, it could’ve been an intruder.”

“Yes, but still, I should’ve waited. I know better.”

“Lara, it’s really fine,” I say. “I shouldn’t have been walking around at night.”

“I didn’t hear the stairs. That would’ve tipped me off that it was one of you.”

I smile despite myself. “I slid down the banister on my stomach.”

Keller pauses and levels with me. “Why would you do that?”

“I didn’t want to wake anyone.” I take in the three pairs of eyes all staring down at me. “Then again, looks like I woke up everyone anyway.”