Chapter 3 #2
Chaos waited eagerly for whatever she was going to say. He wanted to know everything about her.
“I’ve got the worst luck.”
He chuckled.
“No, I’m serious. If something bad can happen to me, it will.
Growing up, kids called me Kara the Terror, because stuff always seemed to happen to me.
Swings broke while I was on them. Fuses blew when I used electronics.
Teams lost anytime I was picked. So, yeah, I’m kind of surprised these rocks didn’t collapse on top of us last night.
Or another river didn’t form from the water, leading right where we were sleeping.
Or a bear didn’t find us in the middle of the night and become mad that we’d stolen his den. ”
She sounded completely serious, and thinking about this woman being teased and bullied when she was a kid made him both angry and sad at the same time.
“Maybe I’m your good luck charm,” he said, as lightly as he could.
Instead of laughing, she just studied him for a long moment. Then she said, “Or maybe my bad luck will stick to you, and you’ll regret meeting me for the rest of your life.”
“Not a chance in hell.” The words were said with all the certainty Chaos had in his body that he was right where he needed to be, at the exact right time, to spot her in that tree. “Looks like the storm has moved on. Exactly like the forecasters predicted.”
She stared at him with wide eyes. With every minute that passed, he could make out more details that he’d missed last night in the dark.
Her hair was damp, but when dry, he guessed it would be a dark blonde.
She had the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen on someone.
And a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks.
Her lips were full, and the lower one was split, but he had no idea if that was because of their harrowing experience in the water or because someone had punched her.
The T-shirt she wore was filthy and torn in places.
At the moment, it was hanging off one shoulder, and he didn’t see any kind of bra strap.
He hated that he had no extra clothing to give her, to make her feel more secure.
He could take off his flight suit and give her that, but then he’d be left in a T-shirt and boxers, which he didn’t think would reduce her anxiety any.
But it was an interesting thought that his clothes would probably fit her pretty well, as they were close to the same height. In fact, she was actually a little taller than him, which made him smile.
They’d been lying there staring at each other, so when he smiled, she asked, “What’s funny?”
“Sorry, my brain tends to go off on tangents. I was thinking that you have amazing eyes. Your lashes are so long. Then I was thinking about your clothes, and I hated that you were probably cold, and I wished I had something extra to give to you to wear. And then I realized that since we’re the same size, you could probably fit into my flight suit with no issues.
And that made me smile, because I don’t meet a ton of women who are actually taller than I am.
Men? Sure. But women? Not as much. I like it. ”
“Like it?” she questioned. “Women are supposed to be small and petite. That’s what men like.”
“Who says? Women are women. They come in all shapes and sizes. One isn’t better than another for physical reasons, as far as I’m concerned. But as preferences go, I happen to be attracted to strong women who I can look in the eye without having to crouch.”
She stared at him for another beat—then, to his amazement, her cheeks pinkened and her gaze dropped.
Mentally smacking himself on the head for making her feel uncomfortable and embarrassed, even though it was crazy that this woman didn’t feel she was beautiful, Chaos cleared his throat.
“What do you say we get up and try to get our bearings? See if we can find any sign of civilization? We need to get to a more open spot so my team can find us.”
“I think we’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere,” Kara told him.
Chaos wanted to ask where she’d been before she’d found herself in the water. If she’d had neighbors. How close she’d been to a road. If there would be people looking for her. But first, he needed to get up, pee, and get whatever was in his shoulder out.
“First things first. I don’t know about you, but I need to use the head…er…restroom.”
He wanted to laugh when she blushed again.
There was something about this woman that was…
a little na?ve and definitely adorable. Bodily functions were a normal part of life.
That didn’t mean he was going to go around farting in front of people, but in a survival situation like this, he had no issues talking about peeing.
“I’ll scoot out first, hang on,” he told her.
Chaos proceeded to inch his way out of where they’d wedged themselves between the rocks, being careful not to move his arm any more than necessary. He still felt pain shoot down his back with the movement.
His muscles screamed as he stood, stiff and sore from the night before and his impromptu swim in a river that hadn’t been there a few days earlier.
He felt the same as he had the day after Casper had gotten it into his head that they should do a more challenging PT session.
They’d swum a mile in the ocean, did a hundred beach sprints, a hundred burpees, then had run a half marathon.
It was days before he and the rest of the team were able to walk normally again.
The only thing that made it slightly better was the fact that Casper had been just as sore.
He’d admitted that maybe the extreme workout wasn’t the best idea, in hindsight.
When Kara crawled out of their hidey-hole, she was moving just as awkwardly. And now that she was upright, Chaos could see the extent of her injuries. His aches and pains faded into the background.
Without thought, he went to his knees in front of her, reaching toward the scrapes and bruises he could see on her legs.
Kara took several abrupt steps backward, almost falling on her ass in her frantic attempt to escape.
Chaos swore at the fear in her eyes, and quickly got to his feet and backed away, hands up, putting at least ten feet between them.
“I’m sorry!” he told her urgently. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re hurt.”
“I’m okay,” she said quickly.
She wasn’t. Not even close. But it wasn’t as if Chaos could do a damn thing about it right now.
Not out here in the middle of nowhere. He needed his team to find them.
Now. So he could get this woman to a hospital.
The shorts she wore showed a lot of thigh, and the finger marks clearly visible high up on her legs were almost as obscene as the ones on her neck.
He wanted to fucking kill whoever had touched her.
Some of the bruises were dark and fresh, while others were yellow and obviously older.
Her abuser hadn’t just hurt her once, but several times.
His heart ached for this woman. But he was also incredibly proud of her.
She hadn’t given up in that river. Had been brave enough to save his life when he’d been at the end of his strength after that truck hit him.
And then she’d found the strength to lie next to him all night in a very intimate position.
Society might think men were the stronger gender, but they were wrong. The shit women went through on a daily basis made them far superior in his eyes.
The T-shirt she was wearing was thin and still hanging off one shoulder. He could see her hard nipples against the fabric, but he wasn’t even the smallest bit turned on. All he could think was that she was obviously very cold, and feeling extremely vulnerable.
“I’m gonna go over there and piss,” he said, gesturing toward a large tree off to his right. “You know, if you want to find a place to go yourself.”
She nodded.
Chaos turned, then quickly spun back around. “Please don’t run off. I’m not going to hurt you. I swear.”
She stared at him for a beat, then nodded again.
Knowing the possibility of her running was still high, Chaos had no choice but to give her the benefit of the doubt, turning away to go behind the tree to do his business.
It wasn’t as if she was a prisoner. She likely knew this area better than he did.
She was an adult and could leave if she wished.
He simply didn’t want her to go. He wanted to get to know her better.
Prove to her that she could trust him. That he wouldn’t hurt her.
That he’d hunt down and make whoever had hurt her pay.
But trust took time. She wouldn’t believe that he meant her no harm simply because he said the words. He’d have to prove it by his actions.