Do Me Right (De Toi à Moi #1)

Twenty Seven

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ryder asked after a few moments of sitting on the floor in silence. I was wrapped in his arms, my head on his shoulder while he soothingly rubbed his hand up and down my back. With his other hand, he twisted the dolphin ring around where it was wrapped around my finger.

“Yes,” I answered, nodding my head as I squeezed him a little tighter.

“Let’s take the afternoon off,” he suggested, kissing my forehead softly. “I don’t wanna go back to work.”

“You have a ton of meetings scheduled.” Lifting my head off his shoulder, I stared at him. “And I still have to prepare tomorrow’s meeting with the finance department. We both have a lot of work to do. We can’t take the afternoon off. Besides, what will your dad think if we both stay home? He already suspects something.”

“Dad never works on Monday afternoon. Besides, even if he were there, he hardly ever leaves his office and he doesn’t need to know. I have to call Stephanie in HR to let her know I’m taking a sick day, not Dad.”

I nodded again. I didn’t feel like going back to work either. Not after what had just happened. It would’ve been a welcome distraction, but I just wanted to take a shower and relax. “Will Dana come in today?”

He shook his head, running a hand through my hair. “She’ll be back tomorrow.” A sigh fell from his lips as he stared into my eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said again. I watched his eyes grow sad again, his face contorted in pain.

Placing a hand on either side of his face, I silenced him with a kiss. “I love you,” I breathed against his lips before pulling away and smiling softly at him. “I wanna take a shower though.”

He smiled. “I’ll go call Stephanie.” He leaned in for another kiss and then pulled us both up from the floor. Before he let me go to the bathroom, he squeezed my arm and smiled at me again, his expression still filled with pain and regret.

Before I made my way to the bathroom, I headed into Ryder’s bedroom to get a change of clothes. I stripped out of my skirt and top and put them back in the closet. I scanned my items, trying to find something to wear, but none of the outfits were casual enough for a day at home. Turning around, I started to browse through Ryder’s own clothes. I pulled a light blue soft cotton shirt off its hanger and carried it into the bathroom with me.

When I turned around after turning on the shower, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The bruise I already had on my side was the same dark purple it had been since yesterday, though it had started to fade. A new bruise was right on the other side, probably from when I slammed into the kitchen counter. It was smaller and didn’t hurt as much as the other did in the beginning, but I winced in pain when I pressed my finger to it.

Your boyfriend did that, a voice screamed inside my head. Swallowing hard, I dropped my hand from the bruise.

The bruise on my side wasn’t the only new one though. The skin on my shoulder had turned bright red as well. Slowly, I lifted my hand to touch the skin. It didn’t hurt when I touched it, so I knew it would fade soon. I sighed and rested my hands by my side. This if your own fault, a different voice said. If you hadn’t gone to lunch with Wayne, this wouldn’t have happened. My body shook lightly as I squeezed my eyes shut, tears spilling from them again.

The reality of what had just happened hit me like a ton of bricks. I still loved Ryder, I did. I knew it was entirely my fault. But maybe I had been too easy on him. After what he’d done, I should’ve run right out of this place. Anyone would’ve run. But a part of me knew that if I did leave, it might have made things worse. I could drive him to his breaking point, but I was also the one who could calm him down. I was his anchor.