In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2)(39)

“I know, honey,” Beau said just as quietly. “I can’t even imagine the pain you must be in and how exhausted, worried and sick at heart you must be. But do this for me. Take care of you first, okay? Let Doctor Carey at least ease your physical pain. The emotional pain will be much harder to bear, but you’re strong, Ari. You have me. From this point forward, consider me your constant shadow. You will never be out of my eyesight unless I have men I absolutely trust surrounding you. You are not alone. And you will get through this.”

Tears burned her eyelids and she blinked rapidly even though the slightest movement sent a jolt of pain through her head, echoing and re-echoing through her fragmented mind. Overcome and unable to possibly put to words what was in her heart, she instead curled her fingers around his hands cradling her face and she pulled them against her chest so he could feel the thud of her heartbeat. So he’d know the effect his solemn vow had on her.

He surprised her by brushing his lips, like the soft tip of a feather, over her brow and then drew back in a swift, jerky motion as if pulling himself back into awareness and the reality of the moment. He frowned but then seemed to make a concerted effort to school his features, but Ari couldn’t help but feel as though he’d rejected her in some way.

She turned, as had he, so he couldn’t see the flash of hurt in her eyes that she was sure was evident. Her parents had forever told her that her eyes always reflected her every emotion, her every thought. They’d laughingly told her she was utterly transparent and that it was a good thing she was inherently honest, because it was impossible for her to tell a lie and not be caught out.

She sighed, the flutter of warmth in her chest turning to a dull ache as she leaned over on her uninjured side across the backseat of the SUV. Frowning, she lifted her head when the door by her head opened and then gentle hands carefully lifted her head and a pillow was slid underneath her neck so she wasn’t lying at an awkward angle.

Hot and cold. Beau Devereaux was a puzzle she couldn’t decipher, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. One minute he was exceedingly tender, protective, demanding when it came to her care and well-being. The next he was stiff, withdrawn and looked as if he regretted so much as touching her.

She was too mentally and physically exhausted and drained to figure out the riddle of Beau’s dual personality. She closed her eyes, reaching for something warm and comforting, anything to ward off the sharp pain and the dull roar in her ears and the constant fear and worry for her family.

It suddenly struck her, that without her parents, she was utterly alone in the world. Her parents had lost their parents at a relatively young age. Her mother had been working her way through college when she’d met Ari’s father. He was ten years older, had already amassed a fortune and he’d swept her mother off her feet in a whirlwind romance that had resulted in their marriage in a matter of months.

She had no grandparents. No aunts, uncles, cousins. There was simply no one but her and her mother and father. It was why they were so close. Her father had always said that their family was all he could ever ask for, more than he’d ever hoped for, and considered his wife and his daughter the two most precious gifts in his life.

Her eyes squeezed shut even tighter as sadness overwhelmed her. Then she immediately castigated herself for the feeling of loss that had fallen over her. She wouldn’t give up hope. Hope was all she had and when she gave that up, she was well and truly lost.

She clung tenaciously to the promise Beau had given her more than once. Her father had chosen him. To a man who trusted no one, it had to mean something that he would entrust his daughter’s safety to the Devereauxs.

Had he known of Ramie’s psychic powers? Had that been why he’d been certain that Ari would be well received by Beau or Caleb? But no, Ramie and Caleb hadn’t been together that long. And her father had exacted her promise three years earlier, when she’d graduated from college an entire year early.

A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth even though her eyes remained closed. What was her father’s connection to the Devereauxs? Beau didn’t appear to know her father and if Caleb did, he hadn’t acknowledged it in any way, nor had he looked at her with any sign of warmth, such as would surely be the case if her father was a friend or acquaintance of his. Unless Caleb had no liking for her father, but no, that couldn’t be right either, because her father would never trust this man with her safety if there was any discord between them.

She sighed, her head hurting more as she sorted through her chaotic thoughts. A warm trickle slid over her lips and she immediately lifted her hand to wipe the blood away in hopes that Beau wouldn’t see it. Her eyes fluttered open only to see, to her surprise, that Beau was in the passenger seat of the SUV and Doctor Carey was driving. And Beau was looking directly at her, a deep frown furrowing his forehead.

“What the hell are you torturing yourself with this time?” he demanded, though he kept his voice low, perhaps in deference to her headache.

“I was just trying to sort out everything,” she murmured, sliding the sleeve of the thin T-shirt she wore once more over her nose to remove the remainder of the blood smear.

So much for changing into clothing that wasn’t bloodied in an attempt not to draw attention to herself.

“That is for me to do,” he said in a firm voice, fitting his piercing gaze to her as if willing her to yield to his unspoken command to let it go.