Billionaire Defiant Wife

Chapter 61: Favored Dog

She can feel a certain part of her body become excited, and she knows the wetness isn't just from her period. She wants to kick herself for responding so shamelessly to his touch. She wants to scream at him to make him stop, but someone is knocking on the door.

"Mr. Howel, the clothes are here," says Robert.

Evan picks up the clothes and hands them to her before leaving her alone in the small room. After a few minutes, the clerk returns carrying a paper bag. Your boyfriend said that you might have trouble getting dressed because of your injury and he asked me to help you. Also, I've brought you some supplies to deal with your period. Avery sighs.

"I can see that he cares about you," the clerk says.

"Can you?" Avery asks, surprised, "How can you tell?"

"He looked so scared when he carried you in here. We all thought that you'd been in some horrible accident from his expression," the clerk said, "We were afraid you were dying."

"He's always angry," Avery smiles and rolls her eyes, "Some people mistake that for fear at first."

"No, it wasn't anger," the clerk insists with a small smile, "I know how men look when they're angry, and he wasn't angry. He was scared he was going to lose you."

Avery can't believe what the clerk is saying, but she forces herself to try to remember what happened when he found her in the bathroom. His voice did sound strange, she admits. But she's not so sure it wasn't just anger or disgust at seeing the blood. She thinks about the way he took her in his arms and carried her to the car, the way he cradled against his body throughout the drive, and then the way he boldly ran into traffic to get her into the pharmacy.

She was too groggy with pain to pay attention to his expression, but she has to admit that maybe it didn't anger him. Maybe he was worried about her.

"It's the first time I've ever seen a man so nervous he couldn't tell if his girlfriend was bleeding out or on her period. He even mistook the lipstick on the towel for your blood," the clerk says with a small chuckle.

Avery presses her lips together. She doesn't know how to reply to the clerkshe doesn't even know how she feels. She doesn't want to know that Evan might be softening, that in some sick way, he might care for her. She can't afford any distractions and she definitely can't let any remnant of her old feelings get in the way of her escape plans.

The clerk looks at the clothing Avery is struggling to put on and gasps, "Wow, that's the latest Donna Karan. You're so lucky to have such a sweet boyfriend."

Avery remains silent. She somehow doesn't seem to realize who Evan is. If she knew, she wouldn't be shocked. One designer outfit is absolutely nothing to Evan.

"Um, anyway, he also brought you some extra long sanitary napkins," the clerk says.

Avery rolls her eyes. Evan must have asked Robert to buy those too. Robert is perpetually single and has no idea what to buy for women on their period. Though Avery doubts that Evan knows any better than his butler. She smiles dryly when she realizes that Evan may have specifically asked for the extra-long napkins because he was so overwrought by the sight of her blood.

"Can I help you stand up?" the clerk asks.

With the clerk's help, Avery finishes getting dressed. For some reason, she can't stop thinking about what the clerk said. Her intuition tells her that the clerk is right: Evan Howel has suddenly started caring for her. Avery shakes her head to clear her thoughts.

"I can't make the same mistake again," she thinks.

As soon as Avery finishes dressing, Evan insists on taking her to the hospital for x-rays and scans. The techs report that nothing is broken or torn and Evan cradles her in the backseat of his car on the way back to the manor.

Several servants stand at the gate of the manor, waiting for Evan and Avery. Lucky stands near them, but the servants all keep their distance from the enormous black dog.

"Mr. Howel, our apologies, but Lucky got out and we can't get him back inside," a servant says as Evan opens the car door.

Evan helps Avery out of the car and Lucky begins to bark at her.

"Lucky, go back to your kennel," Evan says seriously.

Avery shrinks into Evan's side, afraid that the dog might come for her. Lucky growls low in his throat and pads toward Evan. At the last minute, he dodges past Evan and bites Avery on the leg.

"Lucky!" Avery scolds.

Lucky wags his tail. The bite was a playful greeting, and he quickly follows it by licking her leg. Evan is surprised to see that Lucky is so affectionate with someone besides him.

Ten years ago, Evan took Lucky from the Summers' house. Lucky became incredibly attached to Evan and developed an aversion to everyone else. Eventually, he even began to hate the Summers girls.

"Let me go," Avery says, trying to escape Evan's embrace.

"Don't you care about your waist?" Evan asks.

"The doctors said it's fine," Avery says, "Now let me go. I can walk on my own."

Evan ignores her complaints and sweeps her off the ground.

"Go to your kennel," he commands again in a low voice.

The dog yelps and runs back to the house.

"Where are you taking me?" Avery asks, looking around. Instead of taking her to the main parlor, Evan is taking her to the back parlor where he keeps Lucky, "You told me not to come here anymore.

Evan gently places her on the sofa and Lucky immediately runs over and rests his head on her leg.

"Leave her alone," Evan commands and points at the other side of the room.

He pushes Lucky's head away from Avery, and the dog stands up and trots to the other side of the room. Robert watches in awe. He still can't believe that the dog likes Avery so much. He's been working for Evan for years, but the dog still tries to bite him every time it sees him.

Evan points at Lucky again, "Stay there or you can't have dinner tonight."

"Why won't you let him come here?" Avery asks, "Evan Howel, are you so low you'll even threaten a dog?"

"Did you hear that?" Evan says to the dog, "It seems like she likes you."

Avery wants to roll her eyes or scream. If anyone else said that it would be fine, but somehow Evan finds a way to sound jealous of a dog. She wants to ask Charles if he happens to know of any medicines to cure men of crazy, possessive desires.

She suddenly remembers the man from the night club whose leg Evan had skinned and she feels sick. She presses her face into the sofa cushion and closes her eyes. Seeing that Avery is resting and Lucky is behaving, Evan whispers something to one of the servants and then leaves with Robert.