chapter 2
When he awoke, he could see daylight through the shades. He guessed, correctly, that it was around eleven in the morning. He looked down and was surprised to find her awake and staring at him with wide eyes. She blushed slightly when he caught her. “Good morning,” he whispered, “Feeling a little better?”
She smiled slightly, “A little. But I’m starving. And I would love to be able to clean up a little, is that possible?”
He nodded, “But of course. We will have to be careful with those stitches. Don’t rub them at all when you’re bathing. And we’ll have to carefully dry them thoroughly. I don’t want you to get an infection.”
“A bath? I’m not big on baths. Couldn’t I take a shower?” she grumbled.
He smiled at her. It was beautiful, dazzling, and it took her breath away. She hadn’t noticed until now how handsome he truly was. “You haven’t noticed the ankle yet, have you?” he said.
She clasped the sheet to her chest as she sat up. “The ankle? What’s wrong with the ankle? Owwww,” she said as she flexed her feet.
“Exactly. You’ve got a pretty bad sprain at a minimum, could be worse than that. And unfortunately I don’t have any crutches. So unless I held you up in it, I’m afraid a shower would be pretty difficult,” he said as a playful smile spread across his face.
She was surprised as she found herself wanting to take him up on his offer. What the hell was she thinking? She didn’t know this man. Hell, she didn’t even know herself.
“A bath it is then,” he said as he stood up from the bed. He smiled and blushed slightly as he caught the double-take she did when he stood. He never wore a shirt to bed, ever. When she turned to thank him for the bath, her mouth dropped as she took in the specter of his torso – the smooth plains of his chest reaching down to join with the chiseled six-pack, no, make that eight-pack, abs. She couldn’t stop gaping at him as he crossed the room. The face, his face was beautiful. His body, well that was something that was just begging to be ravished. Holy criminy, was he for real? To have somebody like that close enough to touch. It was all she could do to keep from drooling onto the bed. It didn’t get any better after he passed her either, because then she caught a glimpse of the round ass hiding under the pajama bottoms. Holy shit, did his beauty ever end? Was there anything about him that wasn’t perfect? She shivered slightly as she thought about what was dangling on the front side of that beautiful ass. I’m sure that’s perfect, too, she thought.
She heard the water as it began flowing into the tub. After a few minutes, he emerged from the bathroom and walked to the edge of the bed. He kind of appeared confused, unsure of what he was going to do next. He quickly made his decision though, “Wrap the sheet around you. I’ll carry you into the bathroom,” he said.
“Carry me? Why? Can’t I hobble into the bathroom?” she said.
“We can try, but I don’t think that ankle is going to support any weight at all.”
She wrapped the sheet around and made her way to the edge of the bed on her knees, flinching every time she moved her left leg. She held her hand out to him, which he grabbed with one of his. He moved to wrap his other arm around her waist, pulling her tight to him. They both felt the heat that ignited between the two of them, but both struggled to ignore it. She brought her right leg to the floor and slowly stood. The second her left foot made contact with the floor though, she knew. She hadn’t put any weight on it at all and still the pain shot through her body enough to make her groan and try to fall back on the bed. Before she could though, he moved swiftly, sliding his arm beneath her knees and scooping her into his arms. “I thought so,” he said as he smiled at the surprised look on her face. How was he lifting her so effortlessly? I mean, she definitely wasn’t overweight, but it’s not like she weighed nothing at all. Yet he carried her like she was light as a feather. She could feel the biceps on his arms bulging as they enveloped her. And those abs, oh my God those abs. The abs that she had admired from across the room were pressing into her side. Her breast was pressing into his chest as his pecs flexed when he held her. Thank God there was the sheet between them, she thought. She could only guess what this would feel like without it – and that made her heart race. His eyes danced at her and a smirk ran across his face, almost like he was thinking the same thing.
He carried her into the bathroom and she gasped as she looked around. He grinned back at her, “Pretty nice, isn’t it? It’s my favorite room in the house, well, after my bedroom that is,” he said playfully. The blush spread from her head to her toes. Suddenly it dawned on her, the situation they were in. “Ummm, how are we going to do this?” she said as she tried to think things through.
“Well,” he began as he sat on the edge of the tub with her on his lap, “First of all, we’re going to unwrap that ankle. My supplies out here are a little limited, I don’t want the bandage to get wet. Besides, I want to exam the ankle again after you’re finished in here.”
“And then?” she said.
He winked at her, “And then I have a plan.”
“You have a plan? Is this plan going to work? Is this plan going to keep me from embarrassing myself? Well, embarrassing myself even more than I already am?” she said.
“I sure hope so,” he said, smiling. “Now, can you unwrap the ankle and hand me the bandage? I’d try to do it myself, but with you on my lap, I’d pretty much have to bend you in half to reach your foot.”
She blushed slightly as she reached for her ankle while thinking about another way that she wouldn’t mind it if he bent her in half – if her ankles were up around his ears as he pounded her. God, what the hell was wrong with her. She unrolled the bandage and handed it to him. He tossed it to the bathroom counter on the far side of the room. “Now, loosen the sheet from behind you. As I set you into the bubbles, lift the sheet off and hand it to me.”
She stared at him for a moment. “That’s your plan?” she said as she tried not to blush at the thought of his bare arm around her back side with no sheet between them.
“That’s my plan. Do you have a better one?” he said.
She thought for a moment then shook her head, “No, I guess not.”
As she began to loosen the sheet from her backside and he felt her bare flesh wiggle around in his lap with nothing but his flimsy silk pajama bottoms between them, he started to re-think his plan. And as he felt the twinge of his cock starting to wake up again, he really started to re-think his plan. His arm quickly slid underneath her and he lifted her off of his lap, taking off some of the pressure. But doing that didn’t alleviate the fire that was burning as her flesh made contact with his. The entire side of her body, including the side of her breast and ass, were in full contact with his uncovered torso. He took a deep breath to try to calm himself. It took a few seconds but he finally managed to feel the twitching in his cock, that was threatening to bring it to full attention and embarrass himself, dissipate. He started to think that maybe his plan might work as he moved to lower her into the water. There was a slight splash that he felt on his torso and legs but that was okay, or so he thought. She made sure the thick bubbles were covering her body then she handed him the wet sheet. He crossed the room and put it into the hamper. But when he turned around, that’s when he heard her gasp. He saw her mouth drop and he followed her gaze. His water-soaked pants were clinging to his front side, leaving little to the imagination of what hung between his legs. And what was hanging there was oh so impressive, she thought. She couldn’t tear her gaze away. He quickly reached for the nearest towel and wrapped it around his midsection, “Apologies, miss. I didn’t realize….” He stammered.
“It’s, it’s okay,” she said then with a grin she added, “I guess now we’re even.”
He couldn’t help but laugh, “Yes, I suppose we are.”
“Do you have any shampoo?” she said, trying to change the subject, “I want to try to get this crap out of my hair.”
“Of course,” he said as he reached into the shower and grabbed both shampoo and conditioner, “If you’ll allow me – I want to make sure we don’t damage those stitches.”
“You want to wash my hair?” she said as her heart started hammering in her chest again.
He licked his lips slightly –that combination of nervousness and sexual excitement that she was feeling - that was the kind of reaction that made the blood taste oh so sweet and his fangs ached to come down. He blinked a few times to try to clear his head. “May I?”
She nodded her head and pulled her knees up to her chest. She tilted her head back and watched him. He grabbed a cup from the edge of the tub, scooped it into the water then brought it up and gently poured it over her head, careful to not let it get into her eyes. It took several minutes but he managed to get all of the dirt and blood loosened up and out of her hair. Then he grabbed the shampoo, squeezed some onto the top of her head and began gently began massaging her head, carefully avoiding the stitched up cut. She closed her eyes and couldn’t help but moan. “That feels really nice,” she whispered. He smiled at the look of complete contentment that was on her face. He liked that look. That look was beautiful. And the fact that he had put it there made it even better. He silently rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and then worked some of the tangles out with conditioner. As he rinsed that out he was surprised as he found himself dreading the end of their time in here. He was enjoying this. He was enjoying this very much. Her movements brought him out of his peaceful reverie. The bubbles were completely gone and she was fidgeting as she tried to cover herself. She was looking around for the drain to drain the bath, “How do I, ummm, how do I?” she mumbled as she searched around in the water.
“Here, allow me,” he said as he plunged his arm into the tub right next to her. His fingers brushed the side of her butt on their way to the hidden drain that lay in the bottom of the tub. She glanced at him when they did. He was avoiding eye contact, but she didn’t miss the small smile that was on his mouth and she couldn’t suppress the smile that sprang to her face as well.
She was just trying to figure out how she was going to possibly get out of the tub when he said, “Sit on the edge and carefully swing your legs around. I will keep my eyes closed and hand you a towel. You let me know when it’s wrapped around you and then I’ll carry you to the bed.”
She latched on to one key sentence, “You’ll keep your eyes closed?”
He grinned and held up two fingers, “Scouts honor.”
She smiled and nodded at him. As he turned away to grab a towel, she tried to force herself up onto the edge of the tub. It was a very deep bathtub and it was draining quickly so she was losing her buoyancy. It only took her a few seconds to realize what was happening. “Ummmm, I think I may have a problem,” she said.
Suddenly his left hand was right in front of her. “Here,” he said.
She looked up and smiled as she saw that he was covering his eyes with the towel that was held in his right hand. She grasped onto his hand and forearm with both of her hands and easily hoisted herself up onto the side of the tub. God, his arm didn’t even waiver. She couldn’t help but be impressed by his strength once again. She very slowly and gingerly helped her injured ankle over the side, then pulled her other leg out and swung around. “Okay, towel,” she said. Their fingertips brushed together as he handed her the towel, sending a jolt that coursed through her body and made her nipples stand up and take notice.
She wrapped the towel around her body as tightly as she could and tried to get it as far under her butt as possible, but as he reached for her after she said, “Okay, I’m ready,” she inhaled sharply as she felt the skin of his arm against the bare skin on the backs of her thighs.
He carried her and gently set her on the edge of the bed then he quickly straightened up and walked over to the dresser. After rummaging through the drawers, he settled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for her. As he walked over and handed them to her he said, “Sorry, this is all I’ve got. I don’t have many female visitors these days,” then he returned to the dresser, pulled out a pair of tight boxers for himself, then a dark shirt and a pair of khakis from the closet. As he walked towards the bathroom he smiled at her and said, “This will take me a minute or so. You should be safe to get dressed while I’m in here.”
He glanced at her once more as he closed the bathroom door. Only after the door was safely closed did he allow himself a moment of weakness. He started mumbling to himself as he pulled on his clothes, “Holy crap, Colton. What the hell have you gotten yourself into? Did you get a look at her now that she’s cleaned up? She’s gorgeous. And did you feel what it felt like to touch her skin? This is insane. I can’t be doing this. Nothing good can come out of this, nothing good at all.” He tossed his towel and wet pajama pants into the hamper, dabbed some deodorant under his arms and ran his fingers through his hair as he checked himself in the mirror once more. Then he grabbed the bandage off of the counter and started to open the door. Before he stuck his head out he said, “Ready?”
“Ready,” she said in response.
“Okay, let’s get that ankle checked and re-wrapped,” he said as he stepped out, trying to appear entirely in “doctor” mode. He didn’t fool either one of them. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched him step out – hair tousled, t-shirt tight against his muscles, pants bulging in all the right places. He was just as nervous and affected by this as she was and she knew it.
She pulled the pant leg up, revealing the purple ankle that was currently about the size of a grapefruit. He examined it as gently as he could but she winced a few times. As he began to wrap it again he said, “I think I should take you down to the basement to take a few x-rays, just to be safe.”
“You have an office here in your house?” she said.
He smiled, “What’s left of an office. I retired several years ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to part with my equipment so I brought it here. I thought it might be a good idea to have it around in case of an emergency. Looks like I was right.”
“Do you think it might be broken?”
“No. I think it’s just a bad sprain. But only an x-ray will tell us for certain.”
“How could I have walked here on a sprained ankle, or even a broken one for that matter?” she whispered.
“Adrenaline, my dear. It’s a powerful chemical. Now, what would you like to eat? I’m sure Hansen would be happy to whip up anything for you,” he said.
“Hansen? Who’s Hansen?” she whispered as she looked around.
“He’s my trusty, faithful and incredibly nosey servant who has been listening to us through my door for the past, oh, fifteen minutes or so, wouldn’t you say, Hansen?” he said, winking at her.
His door slowly opened and a man dressed like a butler stood stone-faced at his door. “How can I be of service, Sir?” he said through clenched teeth.
“Miss, umm, Miss,” he turned and looked at her, “have you had any luck remembering your name yet?” he softly said.
She shook her head, “No,” she whispered.
He placed a gentle hand on top of hers and whispered, “It’s okay. It’ll come when you’re ready. What do you feel like eating, Miss?”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother. Some cereal or a piece of toast would be fine.”
“Nonsense. This is a rare treat for Hansen. We don’t get many visitors around here. He’s excited about being able to cook for somebody for a change, aren’t you Hansen?”
Hansen’s jaw clenched, “Absolutely, Sir,” he hissed.
“You mean cook for somebody besides you, right? He does cook for you doesn’t he?”
Colton’s head whipped around. How could he have made such a stupid mistake? “Oh, of course he does, but cooking for me is boring. I’m allergic to just about everything and on a very restrictive diet,” he said, trying to cover his tracks.
“Well, if you’re certain it’s not a hassle, I could really go for some pancakes, and syrup, oooh, and bacon too, if you have some.”
Colton laughed the sweetest laugh, “And how about some orange juice too?”
Her eyes lit up as she smiled, “And coffee?”
“And coffee too,” he said then he stood up and walked to her side. Her arms willingly went around his neck as he scooped her up off the bed. “Now, Hansen. I’m going to take her downstairs for a few x-rays. Will you please change the bedding up here while I do? And then you can go downstairs and make the lovely lady here some pancakes with maple syrup, bacon, orange juice and coffee. Sound good?”
“Sounds excellent, Sir,” Hansen mumbled as the daggers shot from his eyes.
She and Colton chuckled as they walked out the door. As he walked down the hall and descended the stairs, she rested her head on his chest. Her hair was still wet and making his shirt damp, but he didn’t care. She felt nice in his arms.
He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He stopped in front of the door to the basement, “Would you mind?” he said. She reached out and opened the door. He began to descend the stairs in the dark. “Ummm, wouldn’t you like me to turn on the light? She said.
His foot hesitated on the step. This was the second time in the last ten minutes that he’d made a faux paux like this – first with the eating slip up and now wandering around in the pitch black. “There’s a switch at the bottom of the stairs.”
“I’d be falling down the stairs onto my face if I did this,” she mumbled, making him laugh again.
He stopped at the bottom step and turned her to the side, “It’s on the wall on your left.”
Her hand reached out and found the wall. As she felt around he said, “A little more to the left, no, just a little higher, there you go.” And then the room was flooded with light. He looked down at her and saw that she was just staring at him. “How could you tell where my hand was? I couldn’t even see where my hand was.”
Damn it, another slip. “I’ve always had really good night vision,” he said as he moved forward. He set her on the exam table then he quickly began moving around the room, gathering the equipment he needed and trying to ignore her staring eyes. “I don’t think Hansen is really happy that I’m here,” she said.
“Him? Oh he’ll get over it. He’s just not much of a people person. Don’t let him bother you.”
She was silent as he bent down to plug in his x-ray machine and started up the computer. It would take a few minutes for it to be ready. As he watched it¸ he heard her sniffle. He turned around and was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. She looked like she wanted to say something, so he didn’t make a sound. He just waited. Finally, she stared at her palm as she spoke, “Doctor Renner,” she began.
“Please, call me Colton,” he whispered.
She looked at him for a second then went back to staring at her palm, “Colton. Why am I sore, you know, down there?”
“I’m not exactly sure, Miss. We don’t know what happened to you out there. You could have fallen or something. We just don’t know,” he whispered. He hated lying to her, but this was something that she needed to figure out on her own.
Her voice was barely a whisper, “I was raped, wasn’t I?”
He crossed the room and took her chin in his hand, forcing her eyes to meet his, “I think maybe you were.”
She tried to push his hand away, “Nobody will ever want to touch me again,” she sobbed.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight to his chest. “You’re wrong. You’re so very wrong. Any man would be lucky to have you by his side, he’d be proud to share your love and he’d be honored to share your bed.”
“I feel so weak for letting this happen.”
Colton released his grip on her and again put his hand under her chin, “There is absolutely nothing weak about what happened to you. If anything, you’re strong because you’re a survivor. This was done to you and you fought and you screamed and you broke free. You broke free and you ran to me. That makes you one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. The only one weak here is the wretch who did this to you. He’s a coward and a weakling for forcing himself upon a woman. He’s a cancer and he will pay for what he’s done to you. I will find him and he will pay. I promise you that.”
Before he knew what was happening, her arms reached up and clasped behind his neck. He knew he should turn away, but to do so now would just fuel her fears that she was no longer desired by someone. And she had to know that she was worthy of this. It was just as important to him as it was to her. And for some reason it was important to him that he was the one to show her. So he allowed her to pull his face down to hers for just one kiss, he told himself. Just one kiss to let her know that she was still wanted. She needed this and he would give her just this one kiss. But as her lips met his, as her tongue moved in and swirled around his, a fire ignited in him that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Something that had lain dormant in him had been awakened. He knew without a doubt then that he was in deep, deep trouble.