Chapter Two
Camila had never felt this cold in her life. It went to the very core of her, and she wondered if she’d ever feel warm again.
She was so tired and had no interest in the building they were pulling up to. Malik got out, pulled her into his arms, raced into the house, and Aiden followed closely behind.
“No, baby, don’t go to sleep.”
“I’m so tired.”
Malik hugged her. “I know. We’ll take care of you. Just stay with us.”
Aiden started the shower. “We need to get her rinsed off before we start a bath for her.”
Malik nodded. “You get down to your skivvies while I undress her, and then I’ll hand her to you. I’ll get in behind her, so she has support, and one of us can wash her.”
Aiden stripped, stepped into the shower, and reached for her.
Camila felt boneless. She had no energy to help them or care what they did to her.
All her effort went into keeping her eyes open.
She felt gentle hands slide over her. A moan broke from her throat when a massive, excruciating shiver contorted her body.
One after the other hit her. The next one hurt a bit more than the last.
She didn’t realize she was sobbing from the pain caused by the heat of the water against her cold, frozen skin, and the men were trying to soothe her. The discomfort was unlike any she’d ever felt. It felt like a thousand tiny razor blades were slicing her skin to shreds.
“Easy, sweetheart,” Aiden murmured against the top of her head while Malik cleaned her back. “We know it hurts, we’ve been through it, but it’s a good sign that you’re shivering now. Try to relax as much as possible and remember it will pass soon.”
She thought she nodded but wasn’t sure and didn’t care when another tremor shook her body, making her teeth chatter.
After they washed her off, one of the men held her against his hot chest while the other started the bath.
She was a bit shocked when the one holding her sat down and arranged her back against his chest and his legs on either side of hers.
She could feel the extra heat from his body surround her while the hot water filled the tub.
She must have dozed because the next time she opened her eyes, the other man, Malik, was coaxing her to drink some sweet coffee.
“There she is. Come on, baby. We need you to drink all of it if you can.”
“That’s good,” they encouraged as she sipped until the liquid was gone.
She was amazed at how much warmer it made her feel. She was still shivering but not nearly as badly, and her skin was starting to pinken, and the prickly pain she’d felt was diminished. Her eyes fought to stay open.
“It’s okay, baby,” Aiden said. “You’re not in danger anymore. Go to sleep. We’ve got you.”
The thought of being at their mercy should have scared her, but instead, she felt safer than she could ever remember. She slipped in and out of consciousness as she was lifted, and towels surrounded her. One of the men was trying to towel-dry her thick hair.
“Let’s get her in front of the fireplace so her hair can dry.”
One of them kissed her temple. “Sorry, baby, we don’t have a hair dryer.”
She nodded and hummed, unconcerned. She just knew they would take care of her. All she had to do was rest.
The next thing she knew, she was lying on the sofa. They had pulled up closer to the fireplace, and Malik was putting Band-Aids on the cuts on her legs.
“Hey, baby. How are you feeling?”
She stared around the cabin. The fireplace was massive and made of stone.
The mantel was a thick piece of wood that matched the three beams overhead.
The fireplace area had dark wood paneling, and the other walls were painted a creamy color.
The furniture was oversized, dark brown leather.
There was a bookshelf on one wall packed with books she’d love to explore.
Her eyes came back to him. Both men were at least a foot taller than she and probably outweighed her by a hundred pounds or more each.
They were both in t-shirts that stretched over large, defined muscles.
Malik was the bigger of the two, but not by much, maybe an inch or so.
He had sandy-blond hair and dark brown eyes.
He had a day's worth of scruff on his face, but it just made him look sexier.
Shit, where did that come from? She’d never thought of men like that. The ones she knew were dangerous and didn’t care about women. In the world she came from, women were commodities, property, and nothing more.
“I’ve got some soup here, sweetheart. Let’s see if you can get some down.”
The other man came around the sofa, sat on the hearth, and set down the cup. He helped her sit and used a pillow to prop her up.
“Do you think you can hold this, or do you need me to?”
Camila nodded. “I’ll try. Thank you.” She held it in both hands and inhaled the delicious aroma of chicken and herbs. She used to love cooking, but it had been forbidden because she could not act like a common person.
“This is really good. Thank you.”
Her eyes scanned Aiden. His hair was dark, almost black, and his eyes were a deep chocolate. Her mouth watered. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had chocolate. She had been put on a strict diet, and candy or sweets of any kind were prohibited.
This one had dimples when he smiled, and it made him seem almost boyish until you looked in his eyes.
She guessed both men could be extremely dangerous when they needed to be, but for some reason, she knew in her heart they wouldn’t hurt her. She did know she was being delusional, but she didn’t have another choice at that moment.
She handed the cup back to Aiden. “Thank you. That was wonderful.”
“Would you like some more?”
“No. I’m full. Did you make that yourself?”
Aiden snorted. “No, Malik is the chef in this family, but I am an expert on cutting up vegetables.”
She laughed, then stopped abruptly, looking astonished.
“What’s wrong?” Malik asked.
“I can’t remember the last time I laughed.”
She regretted talking when she caught the looks in their eyes. They’d been curious before, but now there was a sharpness in their eyes.
“We need to talk, baby.”
She nodded at Malik.
Aiden reached out and smoothed her hair from her face. “Can you tell us your last name?”
She bit down on her lip and shook her head.
“All right. Can we talk about why you were on our mountain?” Malik asked.
“I ... I didn’t know it was yours.”
Malik stroked her leg over the blanket. “That’s not an issue. We found you about half dead. Where’s your car? Do you have luggage? Where were you headed, and what made you run into a forest?”
She grew tenser. “I-I can’t tell you.”
The men glanced at each other.
“Can you tell us where you were going?”
She looked back and forth. “I don’t know. I was just driving. I didn’t have a destination in mind.” She ignored their looks of concern. “I’m very tired. Can I go to sleep?”
The men nodded, settled her on the sofa, and made sure she was covered up.
Aiden tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Sleep, baby.”
She closed her eyes and was asleep a moment later.