He sat upright and swiped the hair from his face. “Are you okay? What—” She crawled across the bed and straight onto his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she trembled as she held on to him tightly. Breaths quick and ragged, she pressed her wet face to his neck. He held himself as stiff as a mannequin. What the hell did he do? He had a crying woman latched on to him like an octopus. He couldn’t help recalling that the blue-ringed octopus was one of the most venomous animals in existence. Don’t upset the octopus. After clearing his throat, he asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
