I frowned. Her mother was dead. She’d never told me that, but I knew it from my background check on her. But I couldn’t question her about it now. All I could do was rub her back and try to comfort her. “I’m so sorry, Lyra.”
She nodded. “She passed away when I was eighteen.”
I winced. “That’s rough.”
“Thanks. I just—I don’t know. I couldn’t just let him have it.” She glared toward the direction he’d run like she wanted to go after him and knee him in the nuts all over again.
I nodded. “It was a part of you. I’m just glad you’re not seriously hurt. Let’s get you home and call the police.”
She wobbled on her feet. “The police?”
Not my idea of fun either, love. But that was the thing normal people would do, and I had to maintain my cover above all else. I’d worry about Victus later. “We were mugged, Lyra. We need the police. They handle things like this.”
“Right, of course. Sorry, I just feel a little foggy.”
I wrapped an arm around her and led her out of the garden and back toward our apartment building. “Are you sure you’re not seriously hurt?”
“Nothing a little topical biotin won’t solve.” Even though her voice was steady, her brow was furrowed in concentration or pain. I wasn’t sure which.
I glanced down and saw that her knee was bloody with thick red rivulets running down her leg. “Jesus, Lyra.” I reached down, but she scooted away from me.
“Oh my God. I—I’m fine. I would do a lot worse falling off a treadmill.”
I frowned. After watching her run, I could never see her falling off of anything. “You strike me as quite graceful.”
“Oh yeah, what part of that fall was graceful?”
“You took down the assailant with a knee to the balls, which was well played, I have to say.”
“But did you see me falling in the process?”
“I’ll show you how to do that, so you don’t lose your balance.”
She lifted her brows. “You took a punch, too.”
I waved her off. “Stop it. I have a brother. I barely felt that.”
“I’d love to travel to London one day and meet your brother.”
Yes, travel was on her list of things she’d always wanted to do but never seemed to have time for. That phrasing always irritated me, because when people really wanted to do something, they somehow managed to find a way to do it. Not Lyra, though. “Well, I offer to be your tour guide.”
“That would be really fun. Guaranteed to be more fun than getting mugged on a date.”
When we reached our building, instead of walking her to her door, I led her to mine. The designers of the building had a quirky design aesthetic. None of the numbers were sequential. And none of the doors matched. Every single one was designed for uniqueness and individuality. “Let’s call the police from my place and we’ll get you cleaned up. Besides, he has your wallet, so I’d love to get the police at least watching your place before you go home.”
She hesitated.
All I wanted to do was get her behind the titanium plating of my door to protect her, but obviously she thought I wanted something else.
I wanted her, but now wasn’t the time. I didn’t want to scare her away though. I wasn’t going to give her a chance to entertain that thought now that I’d detected some actual spunk in her. Tonight she’d been on fire.
The things you find sexy are ridiculous.
“Come on. Let’s go in.”
Her eyes went wide. “Um, Marcus, I-I think you’re great. I just, uh—”
I spoke slowly. “I just want to take care of your knee. Eventually, I do want to continue that kiss, but you know… at some point when you aren’t bleeding all over yourself.”
She blinked rapidly. “Oh. It’s fine, honestly. I’m just going to clean it up and take a shower—”
“Right. But it’s a lot easier when someone else does it for you.”
“No, you don’t really need to—”
I pushed open the door and waited for her to enter before following.
She sighed. “Okay, then. I appreciate the knight-in-shining-armor duty, I do, but this is completely unnecessary.”
“Let me decide what’s unnecessary, would you?” I led her down the hall to my loo. I knew my loft was a mirror image of hers. “Come on in here. It will be easier to clean up, and you won’t get blood anywhere.”
“I’m not bleeding that bad.”
With every step, she left a few drops of blood. I hoped she didn’t need stiches. “Yes, you are.”
She glanced down at her knee and winced. “Ugh. No more skirts for a while then.”
“Don’t worry, with a little vitamin E oil, your legs will still look amazing.”
Her gaze flickered up to meet mine. “Oh, you think my legs look amazing?”
I grinned then. “Your legs are amazing, but you know that already.”
“Do I?”
I cocked my head up. “You’ve never struck me as one who needs flattery.”
“I am still a woman.”
I chuckled. “I had noted.”
Her whole demeanor had changed. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were a little wide. She looked energized. Invigorated. Sexy.
“Hop up here.” I patted the counter, and she frowned.
“You know I can do this myself.”
“Yes, but I can also do it for you. And wouldn’t that be nice?”
She blinked up at me and then gave me a nod. “Okay, bossy.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that.”
“No? Are you always this bossy, and why haven’t I ever noticed it before?”
“I never had an occasion to boss you around before. But if you like to be bossed around, I can manage that.”
Her nose scrunched, and I wanted to press a kiss to the gently wrinkled skin. “I don’t usually like it.”
I cocked my head and stared at her. “Well, if you ever need someone bossy, I’m open for hire.”
She laughed. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”
It struck me how easily I could be this person. Flirt with her.
