My Protector | His Angel

Chapter 28: Los Coronados

Loren's POV

I gulped down the last sip of my drink once I heard the hair dryer shut off.

Killian stepped out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist, his hair already styled. I stared at the empty glass that I had in my hand, trying my hardest not to look up at his chiseled body. Why couldn't I have sat down facing the other way?

He didn't say a word as he pulled out a pair of black slacks and a black dress shirt and laid it on the bed. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he pulled a pair of boxers from his bag and quickly focused my eyes back on the glass once he, for the second time in thirty minutes, shamelessly dropped his towel.

I stood to walk out onto the balcony that faced the shores of Coronado Beach but stopped when Killian spoke.

"Do you talk to every man the way that you did to me in there?"

"Um, what do you mean" I thought out loud, not sure how to respond.

"Talking back to me like that, not taking any of my shit" His tone was simple and non confrontational.

"What?" I turned around as he was pulling his pants up.

"Because if you don't, you should." He ignored my confusion.

"Should what"  I asked again, annoyed this time.

"Stand up for yourself, take control. It's something I haven't seen in you before. Granted, I haven't seen you in ten years so of course things have changed and I shouldn't be surprised.. but it's nice and I'm proud of you. Though I can't say that I like it much when you use it towards me, I sure hope you do elsewhere. Especially in your job."

His words processed in my mind as I stood there taken back. I was sure that he would have been beyond pissed at how I spoke to him but here he stood, telling me that he was proud of me.

It's a point of view I wasn't used to. Working in healthcare, especially in a specialty dominated by the male gender, it was hard to be taken seriously. By colleagues and patients alike. I was always asked if I was really the doctor and when the real doctor would be coming it. I was always doubted or challenged by my colleagues, having to prove myself twice as much as the men. And then at the end of the day, being offered insultingly low salaries compared to the men. I learned to stand up for myself and speak back which similar to Killian tonight, surprised them all. I'm not even sure why it was a surprise but it was.

Whats truly shocking in this scenario is that if I hadn't spoken up, these men, Killian included would continue to take advantage and ridicule me for nothing else but being a woman.

It was a problem and I had worked so hard to avoid it.

"I do." I finally responded, my lips pressed into a flat line.

"As you should" he nodded, tucking his shirt into his pants.

I eyeballed him, skeptical of the way that he had just responded to my outburst.

"What?"

"Nothing" I shook my head and pursed my lips."Just that I could've sworn that ten years ago you would've come out here and spanked me or something" I joked "Or actually, I wouldn't have even been given the chance to walk out of that bathroom in the first place!"

"I mean, I can if you want me to" Killian winked "But like I said, its been ten years. We've both changed."

"We have" I nodded.

"I do have to say one thing though. I'm flattered that you are concerned about me, but please stop. I don't need to be babied, nor do I want want to be."