Chapter Seven #2
He stumbled as he stepped forward, his body betraying the pain he was trying to hide.
Instinct kicked in before thought, her arm sliding around him to steady his weight.
She was acutely aware of the pull of his body heat and the hard arrangement of muscles lashing his abdomen where her hand curled against him.
He was breathing heavily and she knew he was hurting. But he wasn’t accepting her help.
“Lean on me, I won’t break,” she gently chastised.
Relief flickered through her when he finally let himself lean.
She guided him up the stairs and into her home. He was clearly in some form of shock as he sank heavily into the chair she pulled out for him.
She leaned over him, and her fingers trembled as she brushed aside his hair, praying she wouldn’t find a fracture.
“This might hurt. Just sit still,” she said as she pressed gently against his skull making sure it was intact and there was no debris in the wound. He flinched under her touch, but held still, jaw tightening with effort.
Then to her surprise, he managed a small smile at her.
“Smells good,” he muttered.
“You can eat as soon as I tend to your injury,” she instructed.
The faint curve of his mouth gave her the feeling he hadn’t meant the food.
She swallowed and tried hard not to notice how his hot breath fanned against her clothed breasts. Or that when she stared into his eyes to make sure his pupils were the same size, his steady gaze held hers, and she noticed a warmth flickered beneath the pain.
Hmm, yes, very nice blue eyes. Inadvertently or maybe not so inadvertently, her gaze dropped to the bulge pressing against the juncture of his jeans.
Oh dear. He had quite the package.
Heat fused through her and she felt her cheeks get way too hot. She needed to get moving or she just might faint again.
She averted her gaze and kept prodding around his scalp until she was satisfied this wasn’t as serious as she’d first feared.
“Okay, you’ll live.”
“Good to know,” he said. She detected playfulness in his voice.
Had he noticed that she’d been inspecting the area between his legs? Why had she looked down there anyways?
Suddenly she felt quite flustered. Heat crept up her neck, and she forced herself to focus on the task, not the man.
She moved away from him and located her clean dish towels. Quickly she folded a couple into a neat pad and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed, and she felt a jolt of protectiveness surge through her. Then she lifted his hand to press the pad over the area she had just inspected.
He grimaced.
“I know it hurts but put pressure onto this area. It will help stop the bleeding. Give me a sec while I get the first aid kit and some medication for your headache.”
“There’s no need. I can take care of myself.”
The edge of pride in his voice made her lift her chin in a quiet challenge.
“You’ll do as I say,” she said in a no argument voice.
She didn’t miss his eyebrows raise in surprise.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. The hint of amusement in his tone softened the tension.
Jenna walked quickly to the bathroom where she kept her first aid kit and a bottle of pain reliever pills.
Within a couple of minutes, she returned to find that he was still dutifully pressing the pad against his wound, just as she had instructed.
She was relieved to see that he was also eating, a positive sign given the circumstances.
“Okay, eating is a good sign,” Jenna said, setting the first aid kit onto the table. She then went to the sink, filled a glass with water, and carefully poured two pain pills out of the bottle. Then she returned to him.
“Any allergies to meds?” she asked, wanting to ensure his safety before proceeding.
He silently shook his head, then placed his fork down and extended his hand toward her.
Jenna placed the glass of water in front of him and put the two pills into his calloused palm.
As she did so, she nodded toward his hand. Those hands told a story. One that she suddenly wanted to understand.
“Looks like you’re a hard worker,” she commented, noticing the roughness and marks that spoke of a history of manual labour.
“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop, as one of my foster mothers used to say,” he replied with a wry smile.
Jenna paused, taking in the revelation. So he had been in foster care.
That suggested his childhood with his parents might not have been an easy one.
She wanted to ask him more about his past, but she held back, deciding that some things were best left for when she knew him better or when Cyn sent information on him. If she ever heard from her again.
She watched as he popped the pills into his mouth, then followed it up by draining the entire contents of the glass.
“Okay, if you don’t mind me tending to that wound now, I can heat up the food when I’m done,” she said, not wanting to be bossy like she had been moments earlier, but really needing to patch him up.
“Sure,” he pushed the plate with the half eaten contents away and stared at her as she pulled out a pair of gloves and lay them onto a clean towel.
“Are you allergic to latex?” she asked.
“I hope not,” he burst out with a guttural laugh.
She felt her insides flush again at his answer. She suspected he meant condoms.
Oh boy.
She could feel his gaze studying her as she moved to the kitchen sink with two clean washcloths she’d picked up in the bathroom. Rinsing both with warm water, she went further and soaped one of them.
Her thoughts turned to Axel, a knot tightening in her stomach at his absence. She prayed he wasn’t going to end up back in prison. He’d only been gone a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
Despite him showing up here unannounced, she wanted him to stay. Wanted both men to stay. She felt safe with them here, even after what had just happened to Nick.
“Did you get the licence plate of the truck by chance? The type? Or see the person?” she asked as she slipped on the latex gloves, grabbed the washcloths and a tube of antibiotic ointment from the first aid kit, and moved back toward him.
“Actually I got the licence plate, model and make, but I didn’t see the guy. I think there was just one, but I’m not sure.”
“Did you lose consciousness?”
“No. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye but before I could react he was on me with whatever he hit me with. I went down like a ton of bricks from the hit. I was just knocked senseless,” he said. A cold ripple of fear slid through her. Someone had been close, too close.
“Okay, I’ll give the cops a call with the information.”
His shoulders visibly stiffened at the mention of police, and she realized he still didn’t know about what had happened last night.
Her guilt bubbled to the surface, overwhelming her.
“This assault is all my fault,” she confessed, guilt pressing down on her like a weight as she wrapped her free hand around his wrist, the gesture indicating he could move the pad off his head.
He blinked, clearly taken aback.
“Excuse me? I don’t think so, Jenna. Unless you are the guy who hit me and you sure as hell don’t look like a guy,” he said that last sentence very softly.
“I should have told you this morning what happened here last night. I told Axel when you were gone and I thought you would be safe, so I didn’t think to come and tell you…”
“Tell me what?”
He grimaced as she began to gently wipe the wound on his head, relieved that the bleeding had stopped.
As she cleansed she explained about the events of the previous night. Her nighttime visitor, the smashed window and calling the police to investigate.
When she finished telling him what had happened his expression darkened, the easy humor draining from his eyes.
“This intruder is not a nice person,” he said. “And you have no idea who it might be?”
She gathered up the bloody dishcloths and washcloths and placed them into a plastic bag. She added the used latex gloves as well. She would toss everything into the garbage.
In the quiet of the room, his scent lingered in the air; a blend of masculinity mixed with a hint of perspiration. As she worked, she glanced at him and noticed the appealing stubble marking his chin and upper lip, the subtle shadow giving his features a rugged edge.
He was, she realized, quite handsome. The thought startled her, slipping in before she could stop it.
Then she remembered to answer his question.
“No idea. I’m afraid I’ve made too many enemies,” she answered.
“I don’t see how.”
The softness of his comment caught her off guard and got her heart picking up speed. His gaze was intense as he watched her every move. Why was he looking at her with such caring, like he knew her?
She didn’t say anything. Wondered when the last time was that he’d had sex.
Oh Jenna! Stop this train of thought immediately! She pressed her lips together, forcing her focus back to his injury.
She could feel a slight sheen of sweat forming on her forehead as she reached for a fresh pair of latex gloves.
His earlier comment about not being allergic to latex crossed her mind, making her feel all flustered.
She took the tube of first aid cream, opened it, and squeezed an ample amount onto her finger, then carefully dabbed the cream onto his wound.
She worked slowly, her touch instinctively gentle.
Thankfully, he didn’t wince this time.
“Okay, the wound is clean and the cream should start easing some of the pain. I think it’s best if we just leave it uncovered so the air can get to it. We might be able to get away without stitches,” she admitted.
He merely grunted and stared at his plate of food.
“How do you feel? Any nausea? Blurred or double vision? Confusion? We can definitely say you have balance issues.”
“Actually I was just faking the unsteadiness so I could feel your arm around my waist,” he said with a playful smile as he gazed at her.
Her tummy did a nice little flip. Wow, he was so adorable when he smiled. No wonder Axel liked him. And she wouldn’t go any further with this line of thinking.
Jenna shook her head, a reluctant laugh bubbling up easing some of her tension.
“Sorry, I’m not believing that.”
“Okay, okay. Just a bit tipsy and a doozey of a headache,” he said softly, holding her gaze.
Gosh, yes, he really was attractive. She had the urge to sit down beside him and lean closer to him. She wanted to touch her lips to his lips and see how he kissed.
Those naughty thoughts unsettled her. Everything felt too raw. Too close. She forced herself to get back to the business at hand. His injury.