Chapter 55. Bella POV

I hit the floor with a thud as my breath left my chest. I barely even registered landing on the ground before I was scooped up into his strong arms and carried into a darkened side corridor. He was dressed entirely in black, I could only just make out his eyes, the sparks of gold glinting. His huge shoulders cast a long shadow down the gloomy, torch-lit corridor as he looked me over.

"Bella who did this to you?"

His rough hands roamed up and down my arms, appraising my bruises. The sensation of his tender touch against my battered skin made me close my eyes as butterflies stormed my stomach. Up and down his hands roamed, every single bruise noted and tenderly examined by him with concern knotted across his brow.

"We need to get out of here, but I'll tell you everything," I whispered, my eyes still shut as his hands desperately explored my arms, shoulders, and neck. 

I sighed deeply at the crackling sensation his hands left on my skin as if his ve