Chapter 8 #2
“She’s safe here for now,” Trigger said quietly.
“You’ll make sure she gets better, then you can find out the answers to all your questions.
Just don’t forget that you aren’t a one-man band here.
You’ve got your team waiting to help. And Gillian.
You heard for yourself, she really likes Kinley.
I don’t know what it is about your woman that makes people want to bend over backward to help her, but there it is. ”
“She’s not my woman,” Lefty protested, the words tasting like ash on his tongue.
“Isn’t she?” Trigger asked, but he didn’t give him time to answer. “I’ll let myself out. See you later.”
Lefty watched his friend turn and leave his room. He heard the front door shut behind him, and knew Trigger would’ve made sure the doorknob was locked on his way out. Making a mental note to go and secure the deadbolt and chain in a bit, Lefty looked back down at Kinley.
Her black hair was dirty and knotted. Her cheeks were flushed and her pulse beat heavily in her neck.
Taking a deep breath, he turned and headed for his bathroom to get a cool washcloth.
He needed to cool her down and break the fever that had taken hold, but he also wanted to clean her up.
She’d hate feeling or looking dirty when she woke, and he vowed to do whatever it took to make her as comfortable as possible.
Four hours later, Kinley’s fever still hadn’t broken. She thrashed and moaned on his bed and, even though she was burning up, clutched the covers to her as if she were lying naked in Alaska in the middle of winter.
“I need to get you cooled down,” Lefty murmured, more to himself than her. She hadn’t really said anything coherent in a while, and he was getting more concerned that he was going to have to break down and take her to the emergency room.
“Leave him alone!” she yelled out of the blue, scaring the shit out of Lefty. “He has nothing to do with this!”
“Kinley, you’re safe.”
“Gage?” she asked, clearly confused.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Her eyes popped open, and she stared up at him without the cloudy look of confusion she’d had for the last four hours. “Sparkly shoes,” she said urgently.
“What?”
“It was the shoes,” she muttered, closing her eyes.
Lefty sighed in frustration. She wasn’t making any sense.
He knew he had to act.
He left her on the bed, going into the bathroom.
He turned on the taps until the water was on the cool side.
He wasn’t heartless enough to dump her into a freezing-cold bath, but she still wasn’t going to like being forced into water just on the edge of being lukewarm.
To her overheated body, it would seem as if it was an ice bath.
He went back into his bedroom as the tub filled and steeled himself.
This was going to be harder on him than it was on her, but it had to be done.
Lefty had no idea if Kinley would hate him when she was more coherent, but he’d deal with that later.
He’d much rather have an embarrassed woman on his hands than a dead one.
He sat next to her and tried to assess her state of mind. “Kinley, we need to get your clothes off so we can get you in the tub.”
No response.
“Kins?”
She groaned.
Deciding that maybe it was better if she was completely out of it, Lefty pulled back the covers and ignored the moan that escaped Kinley’s mouth at losing the warmth of the blankets.
Working as quickly and clinically as possible, he stripped off her T-shirt and leggings.
He left her underwear and bra on, not quite able to make himself remove them.
It seemed a huge breech of her trust to disrobe her as much as he had, even if it was for her own good.
Lefty knew he could’ve called Gillian over to help, but he felt a deep-seated need to take care of Kinley himself. He had a feeling that she was somehow protecting him. From what or who, he had no idea, but from what little she’d said, it was clear she was scared to death and on the run.
He bent over and picked up a nearly naked Kinley, loving the feel of her in his arms. Her skin was too hot and she was too pale, but she fit him like a glove.
Her five-five frame was tiny compared to his six-foot-one, but she was curvy in all the right places.
He kept his gaze off her tits and concentrated on how smooth her skin was under his hands.
She buried her nose into his neck again, and Lefty knew he’d never get tired of how that felt.
Knowing there was no good way to get her in the water, and that he’d made a mistake in not taking his own jeans and shirt off before he’d picked her up, Lefty stepped over the rim of the tub, thankful he’d taken off his shoes and socks earlier.
The water immediately soaked into his jeans, but he barely even noticed.
“This is gonna suck,” he murmured to Kinley. “Hold on to me, Kins.”
She moaned, whether in agreement or dismay, he wasn’t sure. Being very careful, he slowly sat down in the water. He shivered at the temperature—but the second Kinley’s skin touched it, she shrieked and arched her back, trying to get away.
“I know,” Lefty commiserated, “but you need this. It’s important.”
“S-S-S-So cold!” she complained, and continued trying to sit up and get away from both him and the cool water.
Wishing the tub was deeper, Lefty shifted her in his grip until she was sitting on the bottom of the tub.
He kneeled over her and lay her back into the water as gently as he could.
It wasn’t easy, as she fought him every second of the way.
Water splashed all around them as she tried to kick and fight to get out of the tub.
Within a minute, she was too exhausted to do anything but lie in the water. Her breasts heaved up and down in her agitation, and Lefty knew if she wasn’t feeling as horrible as she did, he never would’ve been able to hold her still. For a woman of her height, she was amazingly strong.
“I know it’s cold, but your body’s too hot, Kins. I have to get you cooled off.”
“I’ll be good,” she said in a scarily flat, emotionless tone. “I won’t sneak into the kitchen for food again. I promise.”
Lefty’s body went rigid. What was she talking about?
“Please. Let me up and you won’t hear a peep from me again. I won’t bother you. Please.”
“Kinley, you’re with me, Gage. You’re safe. You’re sick, and I’m trying to get your body temperature down.”
“Don’t hold me under! I’ll be good. I’ll be good!” Now she was whimpering, begging.
Lefty felt sick at what he was hearing. He didn’t know who had punished her by holding her underwater, but there was no way he could continue to hold her down now. No way in hell.
He pulled her up on top of him and lay down in the water.
This wasn’t as conducive to getting her temperature down, as the water was only lapping at her sides instead of covering her entire body, but he didn’t want her reliving even a second of whatever torture she’d already lived through in her past.
“Shhhh, you’re safe, Kinley. I’ve got you, hang on to me. That’s it.”
She shoved her arms under his body and clung to his back as she lay on his chest and trembled.
Lefty scooped water up with his hands and did his best to cool her down.
He did that for about five minutes, then couldn’t stand the shaking any longer, and he simply wrapped his arms around her and held her against his body.
She was practically naked, and he was still fully dressed, but all he felt was gentle affection and worry for the woman in his arms.
“If I could trade places with you, I would,” he whispered.
To his surprise, she shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t wish my life on anyone.”
He forced himself to stay in the tub for another five minutes or so. When Kinley’s body finally stopped shivering, and she lay quietly on his chest, he took a deep breath, knowing he needed to move.
Getting out of the tub was harder than getting in.
Kinley was no help, she was practically comatose, but her skin felt cooler.
He gently placed her on the rug on the floor after he’d climbed out of the tub with her in his arms. He quickly stripped off his soaking-wet clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor.
Striding naked back into his room, he pulled on a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, and then grabbed one of his gray Army shirts from a drawer for Kinley.
He took the time to strip the bed and change the sheets. Now that she was a little cleaner than she’d been when he’d first brought her into his room, he wanted her to go back to sleep on freshly laundered sheets.
When he returned to the bathroom, Kinley hadn’t moved from where he’d left her, and the sight of her lying completely still wasn’t a good one.
He knelt next to her and felt for her pulse, relieved when he felt it, slow and strong.
He towel-dried her as best he could, then awkwardly got his shirt over her head.
He quickly removed her bra before it could soak the shirt he’d just gotten on her.
Knowing he needed to remove her wet underwear, he closed his eyes and gently tugged the cotton over her hips and thighs. In any other circumstance, it might’ve been sensual; when she was sick and hurting, it was anything but.
That done, he pulled his shirt down, covering her, then he knelt and picked Kinley up once more. She helped a little this time, putting her arms around his neck and holding on when he stood.
Lefty gently placed her on his bed and pulled the covers back up and over her. She sighed and turned onto her side, pulling her legs up into a fetal position.
How long Lefty sat on the side of the bed and watched her sleep, he had no idea. All he knew was that it felt right having her there. He hated that she was so sick, but he couldn’t deny that he liked having her in his bed.