Chapter 5
Seek
“Jamie!”
I groaned and rolled over in bed as my mom breezed into my room. It’d been a week since my last S&R mission and I’d come down with a cold yesterday. My head felt like it was going to fall off my shoulders and roll away like a bowling ball. Part of me hoped it did.
“I’m sick, Mom. You shouldn’t be here.”
She wandered over to the window and flung open the drapes, the window following after. The light pierced my sensitive eyes and I flipped the comforter over my head with a groan.
“It’s like a tomb in here,” she chided. “You need fresh air and sunshine to feel better.”
“I need to sleep,” I grumbled at her.
“Well, I’m going to go to the store. You have nothing in your pantry.”
The weight of her stare bored through the heavy blanket I was huddled under. “You don’t need to shop for me, Mom. I’m an adult.”
“You’re my child and you’re sick,” she responded. She flipped the blanket down and my eyes clamped shut.
I felt like death and I just wanted her to go away—as much as I loved her—so I could go back to sleep. “I was going to the store later today,” I told her.
“You don’t need to-”
“Mom,” I interrupted, “I love you, but I’ve got this.” It’d always been very important to me that I be independent. Mom had Jo to dote over and my sister was happy to be spoiled. As the baby of our family it was practically required.
Mom’s eyes narrowed into slits as she stared down at me. “Fine. I’m leaving, but when I come back tomorrow if you don’t have food in that refrigerator and medicine in your cabinet, so help me…”
“Got it,” I told her and pursed my lips in a kissy face. She returned the gesture then stomped out of my room and out the front door. Melinda Simmons was a force to be reckoned with on a good day, and today wasn’t a day I could handle her high energy.
Blessed silence fell over my home. I peeked over the side of my bed and Auron lifted his head from his paws.
Jecht was asleep upside down on his bed, feet in the air, oblivious to the world.
Both dogs were fine, so I rolled over, putting my back to the dreaded sunshine Mom had let into my comfy cave, and fell back asleep.
* * *
I sniffed loudly and burrowed further into my heavy sweatshirt as I waited in line with a hand held shopping basket full of canned chicken noodle soup and every cold medicine known to man.
The woman in front of me turned around and gave me a nasty look before edging a bit further away from me. I didn’t blame her, I was pretty sure I had a fever and looked like death warmed over.
“Hey, there.”
My body went still as the silky smooth drawl washed over me. My eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment as I wondered why the universe hated me. Pasting a smile on my face, I turned toward the gorgeous man I’d met a week ago and hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since.
Hush’s face flinched a little when he saw me and that was when I knew I looked as awful as I felt. This certainly wasn’t my finest moment.
“Hi,” I shoved my hood back off my head. It didn’t matter that it was a scorching one hundred and ten degrees outside, I was freezing. I had to clamp my jaw tight to keep my teeth from chattering.
“You look like hell,” he told me and gave me a slow, sexy grin that turned my insides to melted puddles of goo.
It wasn’t fair that I was out here looking like Rudolph while he looked like that.
“Thanks,” I replied. Even I could hear the snarkiness in my voice.
It was hard to be pleasant when your head was so congested it was ten pounds heavier than it should be.
Especially when he was standing there looking fresh, healthy, and delicious.
Hush crossed his arms over his chest, causing the muscles in his biceps to strain the cotton t-shirt he wore. My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. Thankfully, I’d already been reduced to being a mouth breather, so my jaw couldn’t drop any more than it already had to ensure I had oxygen.
What was it about an older man that was just inherently sexy? I clutched my basket to my chest, as though I could ward off the feelings of attraction that were bombarding me.
His eyes dropped as he perused my items. “Cold?”
“Was it the Nighttime Cold & Flu or the Alka-Seltzer Plus that tipped you off?” Okay, snarky didn’t describe that tone. I was being a witch. “I’m sorry-”
“Don’t be. Look, why don’t you go wait out in your truck and I’ll get this stuff. You don’t need to be standin’ here waitin’ in line.”
“Oh.” My brain stalled a little. He wore danger like another skin, though I didn’t fear him, but apparently he was a gentleman, too. I almost wished I wasn’t so independent. “That’s sweet, Hush, but I’m already-”
He broke off my rejection as he tugged the basket out of my hand, then turned me around, pointing toward the door. When I didn’t move fast enough, he smacked my ass to get me going.
He hadn’t smacked me hard, but I gasped and shot him a shocked look over my shoulder.
If my body wasn’t battling against some kind of contagion it would have turned me on—immensely.
Instead, my already heated skin flushed with embarrassment.
I couldn’t believe he’d done that in front of an entire line of strangers.
Not to mention he was a stranger, too. Had I thought he was a gentleman?
Internally, I scoffed at the descriptor.
“Go,” he ordered, then shuffled forward as the line inched up another spot.
Grumbling under my breath, I squeezed past people to get out of line. Up near the front a woman about my age met my gaze, her eyes wide.
“Wow,” she said, her eyes straying back to Hush. She licked her lips like he was a piece of candy she wanted to suck on. I wanted to cough on the bitch.
I had to fight against rolling my eyes, they ached too badly for that. It was clear he got this kind of reaction often. I wasn’t sure why it was making me as testy as a wolf with an aching tooth, but my mood grew dark.
Walking out to my truck, I climbed in and let the Arizona air bake me inside the vehicle. It felt marvelous. My skin was roasting, but I couldn’t stop the quaking shivers wracking my body. I needed to go home, down the meds I’d bought, and sleep for a week.
I groaned when I realized I hadn’t given Hush any money. He’d caught me completely unaware with the butt smack and it caused my already foggy brain to stall.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, but my truck door jerking open startled a yelp from my lips. It was pointless to be embarrassed anymore, it seemed like that—and being turned on—were the only two emotions I felt around him.
Hush loaded the groceries into the back portion of the cab where I had the dog crates. He opened the driver’s door and gave me a patient look. “Get in the passenger seat.”
I blinked at him slowly as his words processed in my jumbled mind. “What?”
“I’m drivin’ you home. Get in the passenger seat.
” He didn’t bother to wait for me to respond.
His huge hands went to my waist and before I knew it he’d lifted me out from behind the steering wheel and set me on the ground next to him.
Turning me again, he walked me around the truck and opened the door on the opposite side.
This time, I scrambled in by myself because I knew he’d put me in himself if I didn’t.
He’d just lifted me out of the truck like I weighed no more than a child’s baby doll.
I wasn’t a tiny woman. At five-ten, I weighed in at one hundred and eighty pounds.
A lot of it was muscle, well, most of it was muscle.
My job required I keep in shape. I wasn’t as light as a feather.
I almost wished I’d been prepared so I could have watched his biceps bunch when he did it.
Shaking those—and other—depraved thoughts from my mind, I watched him climb in.
My laugh snorted out, unbidden, because he was crammed in between the seat and the wheel.
He was still quite a bit taller than me—I’d guess six-three—and shot me an amused look while he reached down to adjust the seat back as far as it would go to accommodate his long legs.
“What about your bike?” I asked as he fiddled with the settings in my truck.
“I’ll come back for it.”
I opened my mouth to tell him he didn’t need to take me home, but shut it when he gave me another patient look.
“You saved my brother’s kid. The least I can do is drive you home when you’re not feeling well.
” His huge hand covered my forehead and I had to fight against the urge to rub myself against it like a cat.
The shivers had receded and now I was sweltering in the heat. I couldn’t seem to regulate my temperature and his hand was blissfully cool against my scorching skin.
“You’ve got a fever. You shouldn’t even be out of bed,” he scolded me.
“Had to get medicine,” I mumbled.
Hush shook his head and put the truck into drive while cranking up the AC at the same time. We started moving out toward the main road. “Where we headin’?”
That was when it occurred to me I’d have to give this man—who I barely knew—my address.
Nerves danced in my belly, but I wasn’t actually scared of him.
I didn’t think he was going to hurt me, so I gave it to him.
Plus, Arizona was an open carry state and I had my handgun in the glove compartment.
If he got frisky I’d scare him off with that. “97 West Heyburn Drive.”
He didn’t comment, just took a right hand turn and headed toward I-10. I studied his profile from the corner of my eye while he drove. He was calm, relaxed, and seemed completely in control.
“I’m sorry for taking time out of your day,” I told him.
His lips twitched. “You don’t ask for help often, do ya?”
“No,” I muttered, turning to stare out the window.
We rode the rest of the way in silence. I would’ve asked him questions if my eyelids hadn’t kept drooping closed. The truck coming to a stop woke me from the fitful doze I’d fallen into.
I wiped my hand over my face, grateful to realize I hadn’t drooled while sleeping next to him. He waited for the garage to finish opening before pulling my truck inside.
“It’s beautiful out here,” he commented as he shut off the engine.
The creak and whine of the door closing was loud in the space.
Marana wasn’t as built up as Tucson, though there were a lot of housing developments out here.
I liked being on the edge of the city and having a little bit of space.
My little acre plot wasn’t much, but it gave plenty of space for a backyard.
I had put in a pool back there and the dogs and I loved it during the hot summer months.
“It is,” I responded. Sliding out of the truck, I went around to the side he’d loaded the groceries on.
“Nope, go inside. I’ve got this.”
My lips twitched, unbidden, as I studied him. He looked stern and so calm and collected. I wondered if he ever smiled. Deciding to listen, I headed into the house and put both dogs in the backyard so they could use the bathroom before I laid down.
Hush came in behind me and began unloading the groceries. He moved so efficiently it was almost graceful. A man that big should be a lumbering oaf, but he was far from that.
“I can do that,” I told him. Walking up, I dug cash out of my pocket. I hadn’t bothered with my purse, just stuck cash and my driver’s license in my pocket for the quick trip to the store.
“No need,” he rumbled, not bothering to face me. “Are you hungry?”
My stomach pitched at the thought of food. “No thank you. Here.”
He turned and his eyes moved down to where I was holding out a wad of bills. When he met my eyes again, I couldn’t read the look in them. Ignoring the money I held, he turned around again and stacked the cans of soup in my pantry.
“You can’t buy my groceries for me,” I insisted and placed a hand on his bicep. It was hard as granite beneath my palm and he stilled when I touched him. Snatching my hand back, I wondered if maybe he had an issue being touched. He’d gone so still I worried I’d upset him.
“Leave it on the counter,” he said, his voice low.
Backing up, I set the money down and escaped to let the dogs back inside.
They immediately went to lay on their beds and I scratched their heads before shutting the doors.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I needed to go to bed.
I wanted to invite the sexy guy in my kitchen to join me.
That wasn’t a good idea for multiple reasons.
Finally, I walked back out and found him leaning against the counter staring at the floor with a broody look on his face. He hadn’t touched the money. He looked up as I walked in.
“How are you going to get back to the store?”
“I’ll have one of my brothers pick me up.”
“Oh. Okay, well, I really appreciate your help, Hush,” I said weakly. A little voice was rising up within me, begging me to not let him go.
His bright blue eyes were intense and I squirmed a little under his gaze. He was like forbidden fruit, and we all knew women would pick and eat that damn apple given any chance. Especially when it was wearing a leather vest and denim.
It was stupid of me to be so attracted to him. He was at least twenty years my senior. Only, he didn’t look like a frail old man. He was strong, protective, and sexy as sin. I doubted he felt the same way about me. Probably just thought I was some girl who needed saving.
“You should get to bed,” he finally said after the quiet had permeated the air around us.
I was beginning to realize he was quiet more often than not.
It hit me again how apt his name was for him.
It made me wonder what was running through his head.
“Okay, thanks again.” I started to walk toward the door to see him out when I realized it’d probably take his friends at least thirty minutes to drive out to my house.
“You can wait in here, if you want,” I offered.
“It’s too hot to wait outside.” I didn’t know where the words came from.
They just popped out of my mouth without permission.
Spending any more time with this guy than necessary was dangerous.
If I wasn’t so congested—and probably infectious—I’d chance kissing him to see what his reaction was.
That would either be humiliating, or lead down a convoluted path.
Kissing him right now would just be gross… Even though I want to, I wouldn’t do that to him. Snot wasn’t sexy.
“Thanks,” he said and walked over to the couch. Dropping onto it, he settled in like we were long-time friends.
I went over and made myself comfortable on the opposite side of it. Turning on the TV, I flicked through channels and finally settled on a true crime show I loved.
Next thing I knew, my body was airborne, startling me awake.
“Shhh, I got ya.” The deep voice soothed me and I snuggled into muscular arms, burrowing against his heat. I was vaguely aware of being carried off the couch to my bed.
Cool sheets replaced the warm chest I’d been cradled against and I fell back asleep.