Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Calla
Waking disorientated, I tightened my grip on the blanket, wrapping the heavy weight tighter around me. Where was Kimori? I whimpered when I couldn’t feel her near me. I needed her.
“Hey, sweet girl, you’re okay. You’re safe in the sensory room at Rawhide Ranch.
In case you don’t remember, my name is Eric and I’m a friend of Dr. Stringer.
You allowed me to bring you here after you arrived with your stepfather and mother in the middle of having a meltdown. You’ve been sleeping for—”
When he paused, I shuffled around until I could see him.
Memories sparked through my mind as I took in his handsome face, his beard and warm dark brown eyes that were currently focused on the watch on his left wrist. Eric Maestro, my knight in shining armor.
The strange warmth I’d felt when he’d held me earlier swirled through me again.
I still wasn’t sure what it was, or what it meant, but it was an enjoyable sensation.
“Three hours.” He lifted his head to focus on me, and my breath caught at the zing of pleasure that shot down my spine when our gazes caught for a moment before I quickly lowered mine.
Was that the feeling those romance novels had been talking about?
But Eric was a doctor like Dr. Stringer, a professional helping a patient.
My thoughts switched track when I noticed a covered tray sitting on the side table next to Eric’s couch.
I frowned and cocked my head. What was that lid hiding?
“In case you woke up hungry, I put an order in for a few different things. It’s nothing special, although Chef Connor can make the simplest of dishes into something amazing.
Since I wasn’t sure how long you’d be sleeping, I didn’t order anything that needed to be eaten while hot.
If you want something that is, I can order it for you.
It wouldn’t take long to be made and brought over. Would you like to look at the menu?”
I shook my head. Just the thought of having to choose from several options had goosebumps rising on my skin.
I was sure that whatever he had ordered would be fine.
Especially since he’d not ordered anything hot.
I’d never enjoyed food with a lot of heat, either the temperature or spice kind.
Raising my thumb to chew on the side of it, I tracked his movements as he stood, collected the tray then came toward me.
He really was tall. Much taller than Jack.
I shuffled over, rearranging the blanket to make room for the tray since there was no table near the armchair.
After he settled it next to me, he lifted the lid and my eyes widened in awe at what was revealed.
Several white ceramic square and rectangle containers sat nestled together, each one containing something different.
Tears pricked my eyes at how, while the tubs themselves touched, none of the various neatly cut vegetable strips in them did.
Even the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries were in three separate pots, not all mixed together. It was utterly perfect.
“Everything is raw and nothing has any sauce or dressing on it. I also requested your bottle of water to have its seal intact. No one at Rawhide would ever try to slip you drugs, but I understand you’re not going to be able to simply believe that, not after what your stepfather pulled.”
His words had me pausing and frowning up at him. How did he know?
Eric sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You didn’t know. Dammit. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Oh, I was fully aware that Jack liked to drug me whenever he felt the need.
I wasn’t sure how to communicate that to Eric, or the fact that I wanted to know how he knew.
Forcing myself to be brave, I reached out and tapped a finger against his thigh before pulling my hand back.
He looked down at me, his hand dropping away from his face.
He lowered slowly until he was kneeling on the floor in front of me.
“Did you know?”
I nodded, then tapped a finger lightly over his heart.
“You wanna know how I know?”
I nodded again.
“I had my suspicions as soon as he tried to demand that we use a tranq gun on you to get you from the car to inside. But he confirmed it in his meeting with Derek, the man who owns and runs Rawhide Ranch. While you were sleeping, I had a text chat with Derek. He told me the bastard had sounded proud of himself, bragging that he’d laced your juice in order to get you here.
Told Derek that he’d been sure he’d given you enough that you should have still been under its influence when you arrived. ”
He shook his head, muttering a curse under his breath before he reached out to take my hand between both of his. The tingles that ran up my arm and straight to my heart were a pleasant distraction from the memories that rose with Eric’s words.
“I’m a medical doctor, Calla. I used to work in the emergency department of a big hospital in L.A.
Drug use was a common sight. I know for you to have come out from under the drug’s influence faster than you should have means you’ve built up a tolerance to it.
That only happens through exposure. So yeah, I know he had to have done that to you before.
I don’t want to think about what that bastard’s done to you while you were drugged. I wish—”
His words cut off and risking a glance up, I stilled at the pained expression on his face, the way his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. His grip on my hand that was still sandwiched between both of his remained gentle, but every muscle in his body was tense.
Dr. Stringer had told me that Eric’s past meant he would understand my needs. I’d thought maybe he had known someone else who’d been AuDHD or was autistic. But now I was wondering if it wasn’t more to do with the abuse and neglect I’d been through.
Unable to stand him hurting because of me, I pulled my hand from between his and lifted it to rest against his cheek.
Hovering over his face, letting the hair of his beard tickle my palm for a moment before I forced myself to follow through and press my skin against his.
Trying to ignore how soft and warm he felt, I clenched my jaw and with a racing heart, looked directly into his now open eyes that were filled with questions, before I shook my head firmly, then lowered my gaze to his lips, unable to hold his intense stare any longer.
“No to what, sweet girl? To him having hurt you before?”
I winced. Hurt was a vague word, it covered too broad a range for me to answer with a yes or no.
“That was a stupid question. Sorry, Calla.” He blew out a breath. “Did he ever hurt you sexually? I only ask because we can arrange counseling for you. Well, we can also get him charged and sent to jail where the bastard belongs.”
My eyes widened with shock before I pulled my hand from his face so I could chew on the edge of my thumb while I tried to remember how I’d felt each time I’d become aware I’d lost time.
I’d never considered that Jack could have raped me.
I should have. Now that Eric mentioned it, it was easy to see that could have been Jack’s reasoning behind drugging me.
But I didn’t think he had. I couldn’t recall ever being sore between my legs, and since I was a virgin, together with the fact I know how rough Jack could get, I was sure I’d have been at least sore if he’d done that.
And from what I could recall, I either regained awareness just before or as he arrived back home.
Dropping my hand down, I looked back to Eric’s mouth and shook my head.
His shoulders lowered as he exhaled a deep breath.
“Good. That’s good.”
When he reached forward with both hands toward my face, I tensed.
Fear at what he was going to do churned my empty stomach.
When he lightly ran his fingertips over my cheeks before pushing the gathered hair behind my ears, I lifted my thumb again to chew on the edge, heat filling my face.
I was embarrassed that after all the kindness he’d shown me I’d still assumed he must want to hurt me.
Eric’s warm hand wrapping around my wrist snapped me from my thoughts before he gently lowered my arm down.
“You’ll make yourself bleed, sweet girl.
” He nodded to the tray. “Try to eat as much as you can, and don’t worry about anything you don’t end up eating going to waste.
We have plenty of animals on the Ranch that love scraps.
” He picked up the water bottle, cracking the lid and opening it before handing it to me.
“See if you can finish the whole bottle for me. With all your body and mind has been through today, keeping hydrated as you recover is important.”
After taking a few sips from the bottle, I lowered it and used my other hand to reach for a stick of cucumber, nibbling on it while my gaze followed Eric as he returned to the wall of cupboards.
He rummaged around for a while before he closed the door, turned and strode back to me.
He moved with a masculine grace that I was certain I could watch all day and not get tired of the sight.
Glancing down, I grabbed a strawberry next.
It was bright red and cut in half. Bringing it to my lips, I bit into it just as Eric came to stop in front of me.
He waited until I was looking at his closed fist before he opened it, revealing a necklace made up of a black cord with a cute purple heart-shaped pendant on it.
The surface of the heart looked soft, but solid.
Maybe a rubber of some kind. I’d never seen anything like it before and was curious what it was.
“Not sure if you’ve seen one of these before. It’s a chewable necklace, and this one is yours to keep. They’re designed to look like a normal necklace that you can wear all the time, so it’ll be close by whenever you feel the need to chew on something. Give your poor thumb a break.”