“What the hell are you doing just barging into my house?” She tried to sound angry, but she was in to much pain.
“Your office window is broken,” he stated as if she didn’t already know. He looked down at her floors. “And you’re bleeding.”
Cora said calmly. "Someone threw a brick through the window which startled me, and I broke a plate and accidentally stepped on it. It’s deep in my foot. I’ll be fine though. I have a first aid kit and can take care of it myself.” Cora had always shown a tough girl exterior and didn’t like asking for help. Especially from an ex-boyfriend. The wound felt deep, and she would have a hell of a time pulling it out herself, but the thought of having to ask Liam for help or for him to touch her was something she would never ask.
“Let me help you. I don’t want you to further injure yourself.”
“I’m fine, just a little clumsy.” Hardly. She was never clumsy. Hopefully, Liam would forget about that.
“I don’t remember you being clumsy before.”
Cora sighed in anger. “Whether I am or not isn’t relevant now. I just need you to leave so I can clean up the mess, board the window and bandage my foot. So please, go away. We’ve already said all we need to say to one another.”
Chapter Five
Without a word, Liam picked Cora up in his arms and carried her towards the stairs. He knew she kept a first aid kit in her bathroom. As soon as he picked her up, Cora started fighting him.
"Liam put me down. I can walk."
"So, you can bleed all over your floor? It's fine. You need to keep pressure off your foot right now."
Doc, another of Liam’s teammates, was more equipped for field dressing, but he was here, and there wasn't a force on earth that could keep him from her anymore. Cora needed him. Liam tried to ignore how perfect Cora felt in his arms or how great she smelled, but it was impossible. She called to him like she always had. He wanted to claim her, though he no longer had a right to. Thoughts of asking her about Alejandro would have to wait. He had no doubt Alejandro’s men broke her window. Why, he didn’t know yet but he would soon enough.
Cora stayed quiet as Liam carried her into her bathroom. He sat her down on the counter between her double vanity and smiled when he saw only her things on the sink. It meant she didn’t have another man. This boded well for him. What was he thinking? He couldn't get back together with Cora no matter how badly he wanted to. She would insist on knowing where he was going when he had to sneak out. He hated lying to her in the past, and she wouldn't contemplate getting back together with him unless he told her. They were at an impasse.
Liam shook off his thoughts and focused on the task at hand. He dug around under her sink and pulled out her first aid kit.
"How did you know that was there?" Cora asked confused.
"I had to patch myself up once or twice when we...were together. I just assumed it was in the same place."
Cora seemed to accept his answer and remained silent as he pulled out gauze, bandages, and tweezers.
"This is going to hurt. I'm sorry." Liam blocked her out and the rest of the world as he placed a hand on her foot and set to work.
~
Cora watched Liam silently as he gently cleaned the excess blood away and gently probed her foot trying to pull the piece of plate out. It hurt like the devil, but she remained silent. She didn't want Liam to know how much it hurt and not just the shard in her foot. Seeing him again reopened old wounds she had hoped healed. This was the man she had once loved and thought one day might marry. She knew military marriages weren’t always successful, but she already knew the lifestyle and what to expect after being raised by two Marines. She had been blindsided when Liam told her he was a Delta Force operative. To be an Army wife was one thing. To be the wife of one of the most secretive groups was another. She knew what he did was dangerous, and he already explained he couldn't tell her much about what he did. It didn't, however, explain his other secrets. They were personal secrets. She didn't think he was cheating. It was something else. Something apparently, he didn’t think she could handle or was embarrassed by.
Either way, she was done with the secrets and left him. She made it a point to avoid him. She knew if he ever turned those baby blue eyes on her and gave her one of those panty melting smiles she would be a goner and run right back to him. Cora thought she had finally moved on and was over him until she saw him again when his commander attacked her. It was like a dam broke and all her old feelings came rushing back. Cora couldn't get away from him fast enough. Then he had to show up and ask her out as if the past few months’ separation had never happened.
While Liam was busy working on her foot, Cora took the distraction to study him. His hair had grown out. He normally kept it short and close to his scalp. Now it was several inches long, and curls had begun to form. Her fingers itched to touch them and see if they were as soft as they looked. His face looked harder like he hadn’t smiled in a long time. Or was that just wishful thinking on her part? She hadn’t had much to smile about since they broke up. She just buried herself in her work and let life go
