I got into the car and he immediately reached out and took my hand. It made my entire body shiver. At that moment I wanted him to take me, to put his hands on me and make me feel out of control; the feeling was so strong that all I could do was turn away from it. I never expected that Nassir’s touching me with softness, with the need for comfort and care, would be what ruined me. That in the quiet and dark, his humanness would shine through and that would be what got to me. His violence and brutality had battered against the walls around my heart for years and only made a tiny bit of headway. But his vulnerability and weakness slipped right through like the barrier never even existed.

“How badly are you actually hurt?” I kept my voice low and his fingers twitched around mine, indicating he wasn’t doing so hot.

“I have a concussion and the cut on my scalp needs to be sewn shut. The seat belt jacked my shoulder up and I think I have glass in my face, but I’ll live. I’ve been through much worse.”

I had never wanted to know about where he had been before coming here. I couldn’t imagine any place uglier and more dangerous than this city, but Nassir never seemed to think the Point was that bad. I couldn’t imagine worse and knew I should fear and not love the man that was able to survive it.

“You want to tell me about the worse?”

He turned his head to look at me and the edges of his mouth pulled down. “No, but one day I will. Do you think that woman had anything to do with the rats? Seems highly coincidental that the rats and the accident happened on the same night.”

I drove into the hills and sighed when the ornate gate and the formidable guard came into view. He waved us in after giving Nassir a concerned once-over and I turned a little to answer my battered passenger. “I don’t know. I got the cop’s number, so I can call and ask him to question her about it, but that seems unlikely. Most women hate rodents and that was a lot of creepy-crawlies.”

“True. And if she wanted after me, all she had to do was wait until I left work. No need to shut the business down. Son of a bitch, how many people are trying to fuck with me?” He sounded frustrated and pissed off.

I parked in front of the house and reached out to brush the back of my fingers across his cheek. “No more than usual. They’ve just been better at it lately.”

He sighed and caught my wrist. “You’re right. I’ve been focused on something else, so my guard has been down.”

I realized he was talking about me, but he climbed out of the car with a groan before I could form a response. I scrambled after him and caught him as he got to the front door. He reached for the handle but the door opened before he made contact. Bayla stood on the other side and she gasped when she saw him.

He pushed past her without a word and headed right for the stairs that led up to his master suite. Her dark gaze landed on me, heavy and accusatory. “What happened to him?”

I had to physically move her out of my way to enter the house. She was a lot shorter than me but she was strong and she was sturdy. She grabbed my elbow and jerked me back around to face her once I crossed the threshold.

“I don’t know what his deal with you is, but you’re hurting him. He didn’t fight until you left, and now that you’re back, he’s coming home damaged and bloody. You’re ruining him.”

I shook her off and put my hands on my hips. If Nassir hadn’t been hurt and needing me, I would’ve thrown down with her. I wasn’t scared to make a point with a well-placed fist in the face, but I had more pressing matters than a jealous housekeeper to attend to.

“He was ruined long before I entered the picture, lady. In fact, I’m the only thing that’s ever had a shot at fixing him. Stay out of my way and mind your own business. When I decided to come home, it wasn’t just returning to a place, it was me coming back to him. He’s home to me, and that means I will destroy anyone or anything that messes with that.”

The other woman stiffened and tossed back her long fall of dark hair. She was gearing up for a fight but I didn’t give her the chance to start. I held up a hand and leaned closer so that we were almost nose to nose as I growled at her in a low tone, “If you want to keep your spot in his house, then learn your new place. The history between the two of us is heavy enough to crush anyone that gets under it. He made room for you in his house, but I’m the only one he’s ever made room for in his life. Understand?”

It was proprietary and possessive. It felt really good to say. I’d been so worried about being his I never stopped to consider how amazing it would feel for him to be mine.

She arched a winged black brow and her mouth pulled tight in a frown. “You’re saying if it comes down to me or you that he will pick you.”

“Damn straight. Now, excuse me, I have to go put him back together.”

She watched me walk toward the stairs that led to Nassir, and said something in a foreign language as she slipped out the front door. One of these days I was going to have to ask Nassir what he was saying and what language he was saying it in. When I got up to his room I wasn’t surprised to see that the entire space was decorated in black, and even in the wood-walled room it still managed to be modern and sleek. His bloody shirt was tossed carelessly on the bed next to his pants. I heard water running in the bathroom and followed the sound.

The room was steamy and I could see the golden silhouette of his powerful body behind the glass surround of the walk-in shower. I turned to look at myself in the mirror over the double sinks and cringed at the sight that greeted me. I looked like a wild woman. Streaks of dirt and blood ran across both my cheeks and my bright hair was standing up all over the place on the top of my head. Black eye makeup smeared under each eye made me look like a raccoon and I had twin splotches of hot pink on each cheek from adrenaline and stress. I looked like the Point had chewed on me and spit me out.

I turned around and propped myself against the chilly marble countertop of the vanity as the water shut off and Nassir stepped out. I never thought he could look more elegant than he did in one of his fancy suits, but totally naked, he was something to behold. The elegance was still there but it was buried under tawny skin stretched over hard muscle, and hidden behind various scars and marks. He looked powerful and strong even though he was obviously pale under his dark complexion.

He wrapped a black towel around his waist and nodded toward the shower. “You can clean up if you want. I need you to help me close this wound on my head.”