He gave me an expectant look, and I forced myself to focus on what Kieran had said instead of how it felt to have his hands on me. “Uh-huh.”
His lips curved up just the tiniest bit, and I realized I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding how rattled I was by my attraction to him. I felt my cheeks heat and cursed my penchant for blushing. “Don’t move,” he ordered. “It won’t take me long to grab everything I need to take care of you.”
“Okay.” His smile widened at my one-word response, and I felt my blush deepen. When he brushed a kiss to my forehead after gently setting my foot back down, he foiled my plan to gather my scattered wits. Instead, I stared at his butt as he strode away and pressed my fingertips to the spot he’d kissed once I couldn’t see him anymore.
When he reappeared only a couple of minutes later, I dropped my hand onto my lap and tried not to look like I’d been mentally undressing him while he was gone. I wasn’t sure what was going on with me—I’d never reacted to anyone like this before. My libido picked a heck of a time to roar to life. I should be focused on what I was going to about my aunt promising my hand in marriage to a psychopath; not on the guy who’d rescued me from a bad situation.
“This might hurt a little,” Kieran warned as he placed a folded towel beneath my feet and opened a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Wrapping his fingers around my ankle, he lifted my foot and cleaned it with a damp washcloth before pouring the peroxide over my skin.
“Ouch.” I must have cut the bottom of my foot while running because I felt the sting of the peroxide.
Kieran’s eyes were full of regret. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I reassured him with a soft smile. “Even with your warning, I was surprised by the sting more than anything else. And you’re not the one responsible for me getting hurt in the first place. All you’ve done tonight is help me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t let me in your house.”
He gave me a jerky nod and was quiet while giving my other foot the same treatment. It wasn’t until he’d slathered my soles with ointment and slid a pair of socks over them that he asked, “What made you run barefoot in the night? Who is responsible for your pain and fear?”
Something about Kieran made me feel as though I could trust him with anything, even though we’d only met less than an hour ago. Going with my gut, I decided to confide in him. “Remember that aunt I mentioned when you asked me if I liked to cook? The one who uses my money to keep a chef on staff?” He nodded, reaching for my hands as I twisted them in my lap and giving me the courage to continue. “As the executor of my trust, she holds all the purse strings. I haven’t minded how she’s chosen to spend the monthly distribution; my parents left me more money than I’ll ever be able to spend in my lifetime. I’ve bided my time until I turn twenty-one, and she has no more control over me...until tonight.”
Kieran gave my hands a reassuring squeeze before moving to sit next to me. “What happened?”
His gentleness and caring were my undoing. Tears welled in my eyes and streamed down my cheeks as I remembered the betrayal I felt when Jonathan had told me what my aunt had done and the fear that followed. Kieran wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, and I felt every inch of where our bodies touched each other. Taking strength from his embrace, I pulled myself together and lifted my hand to show him the ring Jonathan had surprised me with. “What I thought was supposed to be a birthday celebration turned out to be a dinner in honor of my engagement to a psychopath I’d never even met before tonight.”
Kieran tugged the diamond solitaire off my finger and tucked it into his pocket. “Consider the engagement broken off. I’ll return the ring for you.”
I shook my head frantically at the thought of how Jonathan would react and what could happen to Kieran during the confrontation. The rest of the story spilled out, and as bizarre as it all sounded, Kieran seemed to have no doubts I was telling the truth. He was such a good guy, and I hated that he was an innocent bystander to the mess my aunt had created. “I shouldn’t have gotten you involved. I’d never be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to you because of me.”
“The last thing you have to worry about is me,” he insisted before brushing his lips over mine.
It was the briefest of kisses, but it was my first and had one heck of a punch. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy the special moment between us, but the seriousness of my situation forced me to focus on the matter at hand. “This is so bad. I live with my aunt. All of my things are there. She only gives me a small allowance each month. I can’t pay for a hotel or food for more than a couple of days at best. She’s my only family left in the world. I have nowhere to go and nobody to help me. What am I going to do?”
“You’ll never have to worry about not having anywhere to go ever again. You’ll stay with me,” Kieran announced as though it was the most obvious solution to my problem.
I wanted to accept his offer—which had to prove that I wasn’t thinking clearly, since we’d only just met—but I was starting to second-guess everything that had happened tonight. “What if I overreacted? My aunt will never forgive me for
