Isabella's POV
I watched him, stunned. His words raked through my mind like a mantra. I pulled away, my pulse high; I was furious and overwhelmed by his confrontation. He was stalking me. And the only reason he saved me was because he didn't want anyone else to touch me.
This man was dangerous.
"I...I'm not yours," I whispered, further stepping away from him.
"You keep saying that." He said so nonchalantly that it terrified me to my core.
"Because it's true," I whispered as his eyes were fixed on my bleeding forehead.
"Then why are you shaking, Isabella?" He rasped, and my heart almost jumped to my mouth when he prowled over to m,e and before I could step back. He gently placed a handkerchief on my forehead, making me wince.
"Hold it here. We will talk later. You need a doctor right now," he said.
Grabbing my hand, he walked to the door, pulling me along with him. Picking up my bag from the floor, he let go of my hand and told me to walk.
Cluelessly, I walked ahead of him until we stepped out of our department. "Come," he said, walking towards his car. By no,w it was almost evening, and barely any students were around.
"I'm fine, I'll get it treated at the clinic-" I said, but before I could leave, he blocked my way.
"The nurse must've already left. Look at the damn. And God sake, sit in the car. You're losing blood." He gritted as I sealed my lips and sat in his car quietly.
He put the car in drive. The headlights sliced through the dark, and every breath felt too loud. I noticed blood smeared across his knuckles; he hasn't wiped it clean.
"You shouldn't be walking alone." He said, his deep voice was dark and low.
"So it's my fault?" I was a little taken aback by his statement.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?" I countered. My heartbeat escalated.
"That I should've been there sooner," he said, and I averted my gaze, feeling heaviness settling in.
What if Mr. Volkov hasn't come on time? The thought alone made me shiver.
We reached the nearest hospital as he hurried me inside and got me treated quickly. They bandaged my forehead and applied pain relief ointment on the side of my face, and even my shoulder was hurting.
Once I was treated properly, he paid the bill despite my request not to do so, but he didn't listen.
"You're bleeding too. You should get it dressed," I said, looking at his knuckles.
"It's nothing," he rasped.
"Please, Mr. Volkov. You should get it treated," I insisted.
"You do it." He rasped.
I blinked at him, muddled. He didn't give me time to think as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to his car. He got the first aid kit from somewhere in his car and put it in my lap. "If you want to treat me, you do it." I blinked at him, stupefied. Like wow...
Arguing with him was a lost cause, so I simply began cleaning his wound by gently taking his hand. My hands were shivering as I tried to calm myself. I gently cleaned the wounds and applied ointment to t,hem andthen gently bandaged his hands one by one.
His scent was stronger in the car. All I could inhale was him. My eyes subtly glanced up, only to freeze when I found him staring at me with raw intensity in his gray eyes. His gaze was intense, so consuming that it made me forget how to breathe properly.
He raised his bandaged hand, and his fingers slid under my chin as he raised my face and examined my bruises with so much care and gentleness.
But then I noticed he was looking beyond my bruises, and he was also touching me, which made every nerve in my body hyper alert. We were too close. His hot breath was falling on my chin. His eyes were so intense and piercing through my soul at the same time.
"W...why are you looking at me like that?" I asked in a shaky whisper. My fingers were itching to gently push his hand away, but something deeper in me liked the touch. The feel. The softness and the safety.
"Because I'm making sure you're real." He breathed, his voice deep, which made my stomach quiver with unknown feelings as I came out of whatever trance we were in and pulled back.
He clenched his jaw slightly before sitting back in his seat properly.
As I slowly got my thoughts back to reality. I asked him the first thought that ran through my mind.
"You nearly killed him." My voice was shaky as I recalled that event, and it made goosebumps of fear rise on my skin.
"He deserved worse," Nikolai gritted through clenched teeth as he gripped the steering wheel tightly and put the car in drive.
"And if someone saw you like that? You could've lost your job. I hate to say this, but I'm thankful he's alive; otherwise, I don't know what could've happened."
"You're worried about your scholarship right now?" He said a little loudly and in anger, making me flinch back as tears threatened to brim in my eyes.
"That's all I have," I whispered, and his eyes darkened.
"No, little dove. You have me now." He said with such certainty that I blinked at him silently.
He pulled the car in front of my house, and I swallowed thickly. He still remembers where I live.
I grabbed my bag and stepped out of the car, only for him to block my way.
"Thank you for everything," I said, trying to step past him, but he blocked my way again.
My eyes met his as I matched his gaze calmly.
"Move."
He was such a huge man, built likea beast with that tall height and massive shoulders, that I felt small.
"You're shaking." He said the obvious.
"Because of you," I whispered.
"Because you don't know what to do with me." He rasped, stepping close,r causing my back to hit the car as he placed both of his hands on either side of me on the car, caging me in as I stared at him with wide eyes.