Chapter 877 Iâve Seen It All Already-Including Some Pretty Private Places Deirdre shook herself out of her trance and nodded. âThey have recovered nicely.â âBut thatâs not what youâll say if the police come and ask the same question, okay? Tell them youâre hurting everywhere and remain in the hospital.â
Deirdre froze. âIs that even allowed?â âOf course, it is,â Brendan replied matter-of-factly. âYouâre at your safest when youâre staying here. Nobody can ruffle you while I get to be close to you till my heartâs content.â âClose to me?â
Ever since Brendan came clean about his true feelings, he had been acting way too candidly. Deirdre could not even tell what it was making her feel, so she pretended she did not hear that.
âAre the bruises still there?â he asked.
Deirdre snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. Hesitantly, she admitted, âI mean⦠at least I think theyâre gone.â âLet me have a look.â
Pink hues tinted her cheeks. âWhat?â âThe policeâs going to send someone to examine your injuries, right? Theyâll only let you stay here if those blue-black bruises remain obvious enough,â he explained matter-of-factly. âSince you donât know, then Iâll have to be the one to examine them.â
She heard no stray emotion from his voice and bit her lips in uncertainty. Maybe she was overthinking thingsâ¦
She put her spoon down. Steeling herself against her growing embarrassment, she showed him her arm. âA-Anything?â
Her skin was as gorgeous as porcelain. After a few days of rest, he could not catch a single flaw. His breath hitched.
Deirdre heard no answer and asked again, âA-Are they still there?â
Brendan finally snapped out of his trance. âUh, no.â
That made Deirdre anxious. âOh no! What now?â âWell, the injuries on your arms were the least serious ones. But the ones on your waist and around your ribcage were pretty bad if I remember correctly.â
The tip of Deirdreâs ears seemed to be burning. She wished a hole would crack open from the ground and swallow her whole. Why did they have to be there? She was not wearing her bra at the moment!
âI, uh, see. Then we should, uh, ask Shea to check-â âSheâs busy with errands right now,â Brendan answered immediately, his eyes fixed on her. âSheâs not here.â
Shea was standing by the door, ready to enter. She heard Brendanâs claim and wisely withdrew her hand from the doorknob. Maybe she should return after running three laps in the hospitalâs massive backyardâ¦
âSheâs busy? Sounds unlikely. You told her to leave us alone and nothing else,â Deirdre replied skeptically. No matter how often she tried to call out for her, Shea simply did not respond.
Brendan raised an eyebrow. âTold you. She left.â
Deirdre bit her lips. âThen we should ask a nurse to do it instead.â
Brendan suddenly leaned close, his finger tipping her chin upward. He studied the blushes on her cheeks and murmured under his breath, âDonât be shy, Deirdre. The nature of our relationship is such that Iâve seen everything already, including your more⦠private places. Itâs passed the time to be coy and awkward. Besides, Iâm only worried about your injuries.â
Deirdre wanted to refute him but found no counterargument. Brendan was right. He was only worried about the state of her injuries. Acting shyly at a moment like this was just⦠so inappropriate.
She steeled herself against her panic, mentally calmed herself, and pushed the bedtable away. Then, she lay down. Awkwardly, she tugged the edge of her shirt and slowly peeled it upward, exposing her slim waist. The almost alabaster-like color of her skin practically shone, and one could easily see it undulating from her breath.
She bit her lips and pulled it away from her ribcage.
âSo⦠Is this o-okay?â
At first, there was silence. And then the sound of a manâs breathing grew heavier and heavier.
Perplexed, Deirdre thought of pulling her shirt down again.
The manâs lips practically meshed into hers, robbing her of her breath. In fact, it felt as though he wanted to rob her of her soul.