4. Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Finn
I closed the guest room door behind me, leaving her to wash away the events of the afternoon.
Goddamn, she was beautiful. Even with the cut on her forehead and the swelling I could see around her nose, she was stunning.
My cock thickened as I recalled the soft lines of her face and the way her curves filled out my thermal. Seeing her in my clothes unlocked something primal inside me, something I hadn’t known existed until I saw her standing there looking at me with uncertainty in her eyes.
The rational part of my brain understood her fear of the situation, but the idea she feared me broke something within I hadn’t known still existed.
My mind replayed the moment when she almost fell for the second time. I knew she was afraid, but my instincts kicked in, and my hands latched onto hers. A shiver raced down my spine thinking about the bolt of electricity that raced across my skin at our contact. As much as I tried to deny it, something inside whispered that life as I knew it when I left the house this afternoon was over.
Leaning against the closed door of her room, I heard the shower turn on. I reasoned I was staying close by in case she became dizzy and needed help, but as my mind conjured visions of water cascading over her creamy skin and her hands running through her dark locks, I knew that was only part of the reason. Unsure what came over me, I spun on my heel and headed for the kitchen.
I poured the leftover soup into a bowl before popping it into the microwave. Grabbing a knife, I sliced a couple pieces of bread from the loaf I baked the previous day before placing it and the soup on the kitchen table.
Quicker than I would have expected, soft feet padded down the hallway. She peeked around the corner before entering the kitchen and providing me with a view sexier than any lingerie ad I’d ever seen. Her long brown curls framed her face, damp from her shower. Soft curves swam in the worn cotton of my shirt, the hem falling mid-thigh. Fabric bunched at her ankles, her admittedly long legs not long enough to fill out the sweatpants I lent her. Goddamn, she looked good in my clothes . My cock took notice again, and I reminded him she was a traumatized woman who needed our help. The bastard clearly didn’t care and continued to harden when her gaze met mine.
Sensing she needed some type of reassurance I wasn’t a threat, I pulled out the chair in front of the food before settling into the seat across from it. She crossed the space between us until she stood directly next to the chair I pulled out for her.
She rung her hands together in front of her, the same way she had upon waking.
Her eyes bounced around the room before she spoke. “The shower was amazing.” She paused and shuffled her feet. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” she added.
She still seemed reluctant to meet my eyes, and I wondered if that was because she was scared of me and the situation she was in, or if there was more to it.
“You’re welcome. Please feel free to sit down and eat. The soup’s hot, and I baked the bread yesterday. There’s fresh butter and jam in the fridge as well if you want it,” I told her.
For the briefest moment, her eyes flicked up to mine, and I felt something tremble in the space my heart used to occupy. Without thinking, I raised my hand to my chest and rubbed at the strange sensation.
She said nothing, but sat down. I watched her expression carefully while she brought the first spoonful of soup to her lips. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my god. This is incredible,” she exclaimed as she quickly went back for more.
“Thank you. It’s my mother’s specialty. She’ll be thrilled to know you enjoyed it. Although honestly, she’ll probably be more interested in the fact a woman was in my home in the first place,” I chuckled.
Her cheeks blushed at the comment, and she averted her eyes once again.
She consumed her food with gusto, and as she finished off the last of her bread, I wondered when she ate last. Surely it must have been a while before the accident for her to eat with such enthusiasm.
Once finished, she moved to put her dish in the sink, but I held up my hand to stop her.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” I said before I picked up her dishes and silverware. “Would you like more?”
She looked up and shook her head, only to grasp her forehead to stall the movement, reminding us both about her injuries.
I returned to my spot at the table after placing her used dishes in the sink.
“I’m sure you’re exhausted and could use a good night’s sleep, but I’d like to do a quick neurological check if you don’t mind.”
She looked up with brightly shining eyes. Little specks of mahogany shimmered in a sea of chestnut brown before fading into a faint rim of coal. The hint of fear behind them made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Seeing her tense at the mention of an exam, I rushed to reassure her. “It doesn’t involve any physical contact. And honestly, if you have anything more than a concussion, we’re stuck here until the storm breaks regardless. But you were unconscious for a while, and I’d feel better verifying you’re only suffering from a concussion and a little altitude sickness and not something more serious.”
She maintained eye contact with me for the first real length of time before nodding. I grabbed the pen light I left out of my medical kit from the counter, deliberately slowing my gait when I approached her. She tensed but held her ground as I knelt beside her chair.
“I’m going to shine this light in both of your eyes, one at a time. It probably won’t feel very pleasant with a concussion, but you don’t need to do anything other than try to keep your eyes open.”
She nodded, and I brought the light up to her face, only for her to slam her eyes shut in pain. However, she managed to hold them open just long enough for me to breathe easier. A slow smile spread across my lips when both pupils reacted instantly to the light. Some of the tension I hadn’t realized I held released. After she reopened her eyes, I had her track my finger while I moved it around the room.
Satisfied her responses were normal, I moved back to my side of the table and sat down, watching her relax when I moved away. “Everything looks normal. You likely have a mild concussion, but there’s nothing you can do to treat it other than pain management and rest.” My gaze skimmed over the bruises spanning across her nose and cheeks, noting how much darker they appeared in the brightly lit kitchen. “I can give you some ibuprofen and an ice pack for your face, but the only thing that’s really going to help you is sleep.” I paused, knowing I needed to tread carefully with my next line of questioning.
“How did you end up out in the middle of nowhere?” I asked, my eyes narrowing when hers darted around the room. “There’s not much back here,” I continued. “It can be dangerous for an all-wheel drive vehicle in good conditions and treacherous on days like today. Your tiny sedan was definitely not made to drive in this weather.”
I let the question hang between us and waited for her response. Silence filled the air. Just when I was convinced she would refuse to answer, she spoke.
“I honestly don’t know,” she confessed. “The best I can figure, I took a wrong turn, or more likely, several wrong turns when I got off the highway trying to find someplace to stay for the night.” Movement at the edge of the table caught my attention as she returned to wringing her hands. “The snow was coming down so hard I couldn’t even see the asphalt anymore. I’m honestly kind of amazed I stayed on the road as long as I did.” She laughed lightly to herself.
Her laugh was soft and melodic. Goddamnit, there was that sensation in my chest again. Was I having a heart attack? Surely, I was too young for that kind of thing.
“Where were you coming from?” I asked. Her stare widened, and she ran her index finger along a groove in the table before once again averting her gaze.
Realizing I struck a nerve, I reassured, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
She mulled it over. “It’s okay. I don’t mind answering. If it weren’t for you, I’d likely be frozen to death in my car by now, so giving you some answers seems like the least I can do.”
Something in my chest contracted again, and I rubbed my sternum at the idea she would have died if I hadn’t found her. It seemed ridiculous, but something in me rebelled at the idea of never having met this woman.
She cleared her throat. “I’m from Los Angeles.”
“That’s quite a drive. I imagine you’d be exhausted even without the events of the last several hours.”
She looked at me before turning away, but it wasn’t fast enough for me to miss the tears forming. Deciding that we’d both had enough for one night, I walked to the sink and rinsed her dishes before turning around and leaning against the counter. “The cut on your forehead was pretty deep, but I think I was able to get it cleaned out well enough that it won’t get infected. I’ll take you into town once the storm clears and get you formally checked out by a doctor. They’ll likely give you some antibiotics just in case. I wasn’t able to do much about your nose though, other than cleaning up the blood. It’ll just take time for the bruising to heal.”
Staring at the floor, she once again proceeded to look everywhere but at me. For the first time since our conversation in the living room, she mustered the courage to ask a question.
“How did I get to your house?”
I crossed my arms. “I found your car when I was out checking the hunting traps I have set around my property. You were pretty out of it when I found you and kept mumbling about someone coming after you. It was obvious you couldn’t walk and hit your head in the crash, so I carried you back here.”
Her eyes snapped to mine.
“You carried me?” she asked as she looked down at herself.
I nodded warily, unable to comprehend why she appeared so appalled at the concept. “The storm was getting stronger, so I grabbed your purse and headed back.” My gaze went to the window sill, noting how much snow had fallen in the few hours since we arrived. “Damn, we’re going to have a hell of a time finding your car once the snow stops.”
The color drained from her face at my last statement. I spent the last several years sequestering myself away in this cabin as much as humanly possible, but I still knew the look of unadulterated terror on someone’s face when I saw it.
She opened her mouth, swallowing several times as she struggled to say what was on her mind. “I need that car,” she choked out, her voice breaking on the last word. I studied the woman before me, waiting while she worked up the courage to say whatever she needed to get off her chest. “The truth is,” she paused, “the gash happened when I crashed my car and hit my head on the steering wheel. But my nose…that was…”
Trailing off, she stared down at her lap. A sense of foreboding began to unfurl in my gut, and my hands clenched when I remembered her plea when I found her.
“What happened to your nose, Tessa?” I asked hoarsely.
Several long moments passed before she whispered, “That was my ex.”
My insides twisted as what she was saying hit me. “You’re running away from your ex? That’s why you’re here?”
She nodded so subtly I would have missed it had I not been studying her so intently.
Something dark within me rattled its cage. There was a reason I was so successful in the military. My ability to compartmentalize, along with unwavering protective instincts, served me well in the Navy. With her silent confirmation, I vowed that so long as I drew breath, no one would ever touch her against her will again.