Someone to Watch Over Me by TERESA HILL Page B

me.”
    There had been bruises, torn clothes, a nick here and there from the knife, but even the cut on her neck hadn’t required more than a dozen stitches. She’d been lucky, after all.
    Gwen looked up at Jax once again. “You think I’m a coward for not pressing on the attempted-rape charge?”
    “No. The prosecutor was right. Could have gone either way, and with the knife wound, aggravated assault was a lock.”
    “Yeah, I was lucky he cut my throat.” She tried not to sound so bitter. “The prosecutor said that. The guy pled guilty to the assault. We dropped the attempted-rape thing, and I never had to come face-to-face with him in court.”
    “That’s understandable.”
    “Well, some people didn’t understand.” They thought if it had really happened the way she said, the guy should have been convicted of attempted rape.
    “Some people are idiots. You didn’t do anything wrong, Gwen.”
    “I must have. Because if I didn’t…If this was just one of those things that happen, like a roll of the dice. My number just came up…. That’s crazy. What kind of world are we living in? Something just as lousy could be rightaround the next corner, and who wants to live in a world like that?”
    She paused long enough to take a breath, and felt more tears streaming down her face. Romeo made sympathetic sounds and nudged his nose against her shoulder, then her cheek, sniffing at her tears.
    “Romeo, stop it,” Jax said.
    “No, it’s okay. He’s sweet.” Gwen put her arm around the dog, buried her face in his warm neck and let more tears fall.
    Jax’s arm settled, warm and soothing, around her shoulder. His hand pressed against the side of her face, urging it down against his shoulder, and then she somehow found her face buried against his neck, tears falling unchecked onto that crazy shirt he wore.
    She curled her body into his, one hand slipping around his back and the other clutching his shirt. His hand stroked her hair, and the dog whined and tried to get closer, too.
    “Romeo, give it a break,” Jax said. “I’ve got her.”
    The dog obviously didn’t like that. He growled at Jax, and somehow Gwen started to laugh, surrounded by a big, warm, furry dog and a nice, broad-shouldered cop.
    Much too soon, she forced herself to ease away from him, but he caught her with his arms, stopping her when they were nearly nose-to-nose.
    When any man had gotten too close, something inside of her had curled up in fear. People had told her time would fix that, but she hadn’t believed that, either.
    Was it time?
    Or this man in particular?
    It couldn’t be him, Gwen thought. Not the completely self-assured, completely comfortable around women, completely charming and gorgeous Jackson Cassidy.
    He leaned in even closer, tilting his head to one side. His warm, soft lips settled ever so gently against her cheek, and one of his hands cupped her other cheek, brushing at the moisture there with his thumb.
    It was the sweetest kiss, the kindest touch.
    Part of her wanted to cry again, at feeling so alive. If she was the kind of woman who could be casually intimate with a man, he’d be great. But she wasn’t that kind of woman.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, backing away. “No one deserves to be treated like that, Gwen. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you did anything wrong. And I’m sorry I made you talk about the attack.”
    “No. It’s okay,” she insisted. “Maybe I need to. Not saying anything sure hasn’t done me any good. I think I’m still as much of a mess now as I was when it first happened.”
    Jax was still close. She thought that maybe—just maybe—curled up in his arms, she wouldn’t be afraid at all.
    What an amazing gift that would be.
    She’d come to a point where she tried to stay on alert at all times, watching and waiting and fighting off the panic that someone was going to hurt her again, and she didn’t know how much longer she could do that. It took too much out of her, and yet she