Free Kidnapped by the Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden

the hell had she done? No, scratch that. It was completely obvious what she’d done. She’d tried to slit her wrists.
    A surge of some emotion he couldn’t immediately identify went through him, but he ignored it, going instantly into cold, calm crisis mode.
    He didn’t speak, moving quickly across the bathroom, pausing only to grab a hand towel from the rail. She turned her head, her face almost dead white, her eyes heavy lidded.
    â€œHey,” she said in a thick voice. “Was wondering when you’d get here.”
    Ignoring her, Elijah took his keys from his pocket and unlocked the cuffs around her wrists, getting rid of all her bracelets as well as the cuffs. There were marks on her skin, prompting another odd surge of that emotion he couldn’t quite figure out, but he ignored that too. Wrapping the hand towel around her cut wrist, he pulled it tight. She gave a small groan. Bending, he reached into the lukewarm water of the bath and scooped her out of it. Her clothes were dripping wet, bloody water everywhere, and she was starting to shiver.
    With ruthless efficiency and without hesitation, Elijah stripped her of her bloody, wet clothing, then wrapped her in one of the big black bath towels. She didn’t protest, just let him do what he wanted, her dreadlocks hanging wetly down her back, her skin so white her face looked like a Kabuki mask.
    Leaving her sitting on the side of the tub wrapped in the towel, he hunted for the medical kit and found it lying on the floor, all its contents strewn around. So that’s where she’d found the scissors. He’d forgotten they were there. Stupid.
    Gathering up the medical kit contents, he packed everything back in the box before going back over to Violet. Then he lifted her into his arms, grabbed the box with one hand, and carried both of them out into the lounge area.
    She was warm in his arms, resting against him limply, all the fight gone out of her.
    Sitting down on the couch with her in his lap, he put the medical kit down beside him, then carefully grabbed her cut wrist. The blood had clotted nicely, but he could see she’d cut quite a hole in it. No tendon damage from the looks of things and she’d also managed to miss the vein.
    Christ, she was lucky.
    â€œAre you going to take me to the hospital?” she asked, slurring a little.
    He glanced at her. Her eyes had half closed, turquoise blue framed by pale golden lashes, watching him.
    Ah. So that’s what she’d been trying to do.
    The odd emotion inside him shifted, making his chest tighten. Couldn’t be respect, surely. Why the hell would he respect a silly little girl who’d slit her wrists in an effort to get away from him?
    She’s a fighter, that’s why.
    â€œNo,” he said flatly, dismissing both the thought and the emotion.
    Instead he reached for the medical kit and got out some Vicodin. “Here, take these.” Pressing a couple of tablets into her good hand, he leaned forward and picked up the glass of water left over from her breakfast.
    She took the tablets without a protest and swallowed them down, watching him as he took out the other things he was going to need. A needle and some surgical thread.
    â€œOh,” she said.
    He really should wait until the drugs had kicked in, but he didn’t like the look of that wound and she couldn’t afford to lose any more blood otherwise he really would have to take her to the hospital.
    With a series of quick, precise movements, he cleaned the wound, ignoring her gasp of pain. Then he threaded the needle. “This might hurt,” he said and gripped her wrist hard.
    Violet took an audible breath, but said nothing.
    Elijah pushed the needle into her skin. Her wrist tensed, her muscles locking, another soft gasp escaping her. But after that she made no other sound.
    It didn’t take long to get the wound closed up, Violet silent throughout. Then he bandaged it quickly.