Alexei (Her Russian Protector #8) by Roxie Rivera

harrowing moments inside that office when Lalo had tried to rape me. When I was finished, Alexei wrapped his powerful arms around me and pulled me into a comforting, secure embrace. I closed my eyes and found comfort in the strength surrounding me.
    “You’re all right now.” He rubbed my back with languid circles. “No one will ever touch you again, Shay. I swear it.”
    I didn’t know how he was going to pull off that promise but if anyone could do it? Alexei was that man.
    A long time later, Alexei finally unwound his arms. Wordlessly, he picked up the damp cloth and cleaned my face. He bundled up some ice and pressed the cold pack against my swollen cheek. “Hold this.”
    I held the ice pack in place while Alexei tugged the jacket he had given me back up around my shoulders. He pulled it tightly closed in front before crouching down to dig through his gym bag. He retrieved a folded shirt and put it on the counter next to me. The logo for Ivan Markovic’s acclaimed MMA fighting gym was emblazoned on the front.
    “You can wear this after your shower. It’s clean,” he added with a smile.
    “Thank you.”
    “Let’s check out your arms, okay? They had you tied up so tight.” Very gently, he grasped my right wrist and lifted my arm. He rotated my hand and checked my fingers before meticulously working his way to my shoulder. After I switched hands holding the ice pack, he repeated the process on my left arm. He asked me to take deep breaths and watched my face for any sign of pain. “How does your back feel?”
    “Fine.” Thinking of the old scars crisscrossing my back, I was glad there was no reason for him to investigate. If he had felt them earlier when he was hugging me, he hadn’t mentioned it. After talking about what Lalo had tried to do to me, I really didn’t want to unearth old, buried history from my childhood.
    “And here?” He touched my thighs. “Did you get kicked? Did you trip?”
    “No.” I tried to concentrate on my limbs instead of the unbelievable body heat that radiated from his larger frame or that incredible scent that followed him everywhere. “I might have bruised them a little when they made me kneel.”
    “I’ll put some antibiotic ointment in the bathroom. If you need it after your shower, use it.”
    “I will.”
    “Can you walk?”
    Even though the prospect of having him carry me again sent a bright frisson of excitement through my body, I nodded. “I can walk. Just point me in the right direction.”
    Alexei eased me off the kitchen island and gave me a short tour of the apartment. No longer dazed, I took in the sleek, modern furnishings and the art adorning the walls. The place was much bigger than I had realized with three bedrooms and two bathrooms plus a separate office and a generously sized balcony off the master suite.
    But as I walked through the rooms with Alexei at my side, I sensed that he spent very little time in this place. Though it was beautifully and professionally decorated, it wasn’t a home. Eyeing the massive bed and the sumptuous linens, I couldn’t help but wonder how many women had tumbled onto it with him.
    Jealousy and sadness dueled inside me. The type of women who would be comfortable in a place like this were women I couldn’t compete with in a million years. It was easy enough to imagine the richly dressed, ultra-classy women with perfect manners Alexei chose to play the role of his mistress. They were the types of women who moved easily in the social circles he inhabited. They were the types of women who were confident and sexy and knew how to please a man.
    And that isn’t you , I thought sadly.
    Alexei stepped ahead of me and switched on the lights to the master bathroom. After placing the gym shirt on the counter, he moved back outside the door and waved me inside. “There are towels and travel-sized toiletries in the cabinet. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”
    Grasping his jacket tightly to my nearly-naked body, I