“I’m fine,” she whispers, but we both know it’s not true. I put my finger under her chin so I can see her eyes. At the sight of her tears, I know it’s no longer me just worrying. I’ve fallen under this woman’s spell, hard. I sunk just as hard and just as fast as my brothers. “Motherfucking-son-of-a-whoremonger!”
“Did you just say, whoremonger?” her quiet voice whispers and she’s trying to smile, but I see the tightness in her face and she still has tears falling.
I hadn’t realized I said it out loud. “I have a habit of adding flair to my cursing. I like to think of myself like the Batman and Robin of cursing. It makes it more fun.”
“Cursing is fun?” she asks as I help her back on the bed. I drop to my knees and start unlacing her boots. She jerks her feet away from me, but I hold onto her foot, not letting her pull away.
“Yeah, like ‘Holy Anagram, Batman!’”
“You’re a strange man.”
“Be still and let me look at your foot.”
“It’s fine. It’s not really your concern.”
“It doesn’t look swollen.”
“Just let it go, Torch,” she says, and there’s her tell. I’m only just starting to discover this woman. I’m not afraid to say that fact excites me.
“Where did you get the scars on your body, Katie?” I ask, letting my fingers massage into the skin of her legs.
“Where do you get those God-awful t-shirts?”
“Always giving me crap. Okay, sweetness, hold tight.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to start a bath. You need to soak this leg. The ankle is puffy.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t bother answering. She’s taking a bath alright, but I’m getting in that fucker with her.
I take a chance to breathe and calm myself. Feeling Torch’s hands on my body is enough to totally wreck me. Feeling him bring my leg comfort does something else entirely. It makes me want to let my guard down. He seemed concerned. Other than Bethie, there has never been another person to give me that, which is bad. I mean nothing to Torch. He can’t mean anything to me. So what the fuck am I doing?
He leaves to fix the bathwater and I’m left staring at the door. I should make a run for it, but I’m hurting so bad, I’m not sure I could make it. He threw the keys to the jeep on the dresser. He seems so unconcerned. It’s like he’s trying to trust me. Maybe it’s the pain or the softness I’m feeling towards him, but I can’t bring myself to leave. I ignore the voice inside that says I don’t want to hurt him. That can’t be it… It can’t.
He returns to me. “Stand up, sweetness,” he says softly, and the tone of his voice makes something flutter to life inside of me. Torch helps me stand up, then his hands brush my hair on each side of my face before slowly moving down my neck. Torch’s thumbs pet the front of my throat, igniting flames of awareness in my blood.
“Hunter… I’m not sure we should be doing this,” I whisper, wetting my lips since my throat seems to have gone dry. Desire floods through my system and I can feel my heartbeat echo in my ears. For some reason, he smiles. It should be noted that when Torch smiles, those green eyes of his could melt the panties off of a nun. “Why are you smiling?” I ask, unable to stop looking at him. If you can get away with calling a man beautiful, Torch definitely is.
“I like it when you say my name, Katie,” he says as his hands travel over my arms and come to a rest on my hips. I have to force myself to take a breath as he moves to my waist and unbuttons my pants. My hands go to cover his as I halfheartedly try to stop him.
“Hunter…”
His lips come down and gently grazes mine, drinking from them in the softest kiss I’ve ever had in my life.
“Let me take care of you, Katie.”
“But—”
“Katie, I can’t explain what happened the night Beth had the baby, but I know that whatever happened, Skull wasn’t part of it. I’m asking you to trust me. Let me show you that my brothers are not the Big Bad here. That I’m not. Trust me, Katie,” he says, pushing my pants down off my hips.
His words hit me hard. I can’t trust him. I don’t think any woman with my history could ever trust a man. Torch makes me want to, though, and that’s more than I’ve ever felt. He doesn’t know that I’ve already called Beth. I arranged to meet her in Tennessee in one week. I used the trucker’s phone, then threw it over a guardrail when I abandoned the truck. Just talking to Beth allowed me to breathe and regroup.
It also gives me a few days to give in to what my body wants.
I’m not sure what’s changed between us, or when it did, but the softness he’s showing me is something I didn’t know I wanted, but it’s something I crave… apparently. I want more of it. I think I need it. I study him for a minute. Then, in answer, I pull my shirt off and wait.
“Jesus, fuck,” he whispers before crouching down to rid me of my pants.
“What?” I ask, nervous and worried I did something wrong.
“Just hoping I can hold it together long enough to let you soak in the tub,” he says.
“Well, that’s… disappointing.”
“Stop it, woman. You need to soak that leg.”
He pulls my body close to him, his hands grip my hips, and he places a kiss on my *. His body vibrates as he breathes in deeply.