Free A Natural Act (Contradictions) by R. J. Sable Page A

I won’t let him hurt you again. You deserve so much better.”
    I disentangle my arms from the blanket and wrap them around him as best I can with my cast.
    “I think you might be my guardian angel,” I mumble into his solid chest.
    “ I’m no angel, lady,” he chuckles bitterly. “But I’ll be your guardian.”
    “ Why?” I ask because I need to understand. He must see more than a few cases of domestic abuse in his line of work. He may be a good person but I doubt he takes them all into his home.
    “ Why not,” he shrugs.
    “ Who is dodging the question now?” I prompt.
    “ Honestly?” He sighs.
    I nod eagerly but keep my head tucked into his chest so I can’t see the expression on his face and he can’t see mine. For some reason, I don’t want him to know how much his answer means to me. I’m not sure I fully understand it myself.
    “Don’t know,” he admits. “The moment I saw you in the hospital, I couldn’t just leave.”
    “ I don’t understand,” I frown.
    “ Me neither,” he admits. “But I’m not complaining.”
    “ I don’t want to be a burden.”
    “ You’ll never be a burden, Bella,” Craig insists, reaching down to cup my chin and force my face up to meet his.
    “ Never,” he insists, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
    “ But-” I begin but he silences me with a gentle finger over my lips.
    “ I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here, Bella,” he assures me. “Let me be here for you.”
    I just nod because, once again, I’m blown away by this man.
    He pulls me into him once more and his solid warmth is what I need. I can already feel my breathing easing and the tightness in my chest loosening.
    I’m not in the right place to be questioning his motives. I resolve myself to accept that he’s my guardian angel whether he’ll admit it or not. I might not be alive without him and living suddenly doesn’t seem so bad with Craig around.

Chapter 8
    Did he fall asleep with a cucumber in his pocket? I somehow doubt it.
    Which means that the rather solid force pushing into my lower back is exactly what I suspected.
    A gentleman’s sausage.
    A generously proportioned sausage by the feel of it. It’s not a sausage you’d say no to.
    I need to stop calling it a sausage.
    My back is to his front and I’m wrapped in his arms. He held me all night and my nightmares stayed away. I’ve never slept so well in my life.
    Now that I ’m awake though, I’m not quite sure what to do about the fact that Craig’s morning erection is massaging my lumbar.
    I don’t know what to do about the fact that I’d like to massage it back.
    “Morning,” he greets me sleepily.
    “ Morning,” I still lest he realise I’m aware of his morning situation.
    “ You sleep okay?” He asks, his breath caressing the tendrils of my hair.
    “ Like an angel,” I reply on a contented sigh.
    “ How apt,” he chuckles, tucking my hair behind my ear. “The first time I laid eyes on you, that was my first thought.”
    “ What?”
    “ That you looked like an angel. Bruised and broken from your fall from heaven.”
    “ I’m not angelic,” I frown.
    “ Sure you are,” he grins. “White blonde hair, beautiful blue-grey eyes, and a smile that could only be sent from above.”
    “ You’re crazy,” I shift my head so I can eye him sceptically.
    He just laughs and kisses the top of my head once more. The vibration of his laughter travels down my spine and causes his previous massaging to recommence.
    It takes him a few seconds to realise but I know when he does because he stops laughing and stills.
    “Was going to sleep on the sofa,” he mumbles, his arms still around me and my cocoon of duvet.
    “ Okay…”
    “ But you fell asleep and every time I tried to get up, you grabbed my arm and I didn’t want to wake you up.”
    “ It’s okay,” I try to reassure him. I’m not sure if he’s embarrassed or not.
    “ This is what happens when you wake up in bed with a beautiful girl,”