Mac laughed, fully. Could I handle hearing them go at it like rabbits? Ugh. Probably not.
That left me in a quandary.
“You can’t rein in your vocal pleasure for me?”
Perching on the edge of my bed, she patted my hand. “I can, but Dec, I’m not so sure. When he releases…it’s like…”
Before she could give me all the sordid details, I stopped her. “Don’t! Normally I’d love hearing all the dirty details, but I’m not feeling it today. I want out of here, but I don’t want to go home.”
Mac’s face grimaced as she mulled over my dilemma. “You know what? Screw Dec. Excuse the pun, but you’re my best friend. You come first. He can either quiet the hell down during sex or move in with Viper!” Leaning over me in a quick hug, she said, “I’m so sorry for not putting you first.”
And then my own guilt hit. Did I really expect my friend to give up the one thing she’d finally found? She was happy in spite of her own recent drama. She’d had enough to deal with and she and Dec were helping each other overcome all their hurdles. I couldn’t be selfish and expect her to take me in and give up her happiness to babysit me because I was too chicken to face my apartment and be alone.
No. I wouldn’t do that to her. I needed to do the one thing I knew I’d regret.
“Actually, don’t apologize. I’m the one who should be doing that to you.” Through gritted teeth and with muscles in my neck wound so tightly they caused pain, I stuttered, “I’ll move in with Viper, only until I can stand to be on my own.”
Her expression became one of concerned horror. “But what about before? You balking at me even suggesting the idea?”
Sinking back into the pillow, I glanced away. “I don’t like it. I don’t. But I also don’t want you kicking Dec out because of me. You’ve only just found your Prince Charming. I mean it. I’ll be fine. After a week I’ll be working again, and I’ll only have to see him at night. It won’t be that bad, right?”
If she saw through my lie, she didn’t say anything. A grin formed on her face and her eyes twinkled. “I’ll come visit often too, I promise. Viper will protect you, don’t worry. You’ll be safe with him.”
I might be safe physically, but mentally could be a whole other story.
“Does Viper even know of your absurd plan?”
“I kind of ran it by him and Dec before coming here.”
Of course she did. She had it all figured out. “And? I bet he wasn’t too happy.”
Reaching for the glass of water off the side table, she handed it to me without thinking. Her nurse instincts were never far from the surface. Taking the glass, I sipped, enjoying the liquid on my dry lips. ‘
“Let’s just say, he agreed.”
Right. After much arguing. I’d bet a week’s wages on it.
“I don’t know about this, Mac. I hardly know the guy.”
“You’ll be fine. He’s sweet when you get to know him.”
That may all be well and good, but the guy hated me, and while hate was a very strong word, he wasn’t high on my friend’s list. What had I done?
“Give it a few days. If you still decide you don’t want to be there, I’ll pick you up and take you to my place like I suggested.”
Taking a deep grounding breath, I nodded, happy to have an out if I needed one.
I placed the glass back. “Thanks for staying the night, Mac. You really should have gone home. That chair over there does not look comfortable.”
“And leave you scared and vulnerable? I couldn’t do that to you. I’m here for you, no matter what.”
I knew she meant it. She’d proved it many times. I was so grateful to have her in my life.
“Thank you. It means a lot.”
***
After Mac left to go to my apartment and pack some things for me, I had my scan and got the all clear to leave, thankfully. Mac returned with my overnight bag and keys. With pain meds in hand, we made our way to Mac’s Mustang. My head still pounded, but it was to be expected after the blow I took. I felt naked without my purse and cell. I’d need to cancel my credit cards. The assholes who assaulted me had probably already run up a huge bill. Plus, I’d need to get a new phone. Luckily it was always kept locked, so the thugs couldn’t access anything.
Nerves stirred in my belly at the notion of seeing Viper again, let alone living with him short-term. We’d tear each other’s heads off. In which case, I’d be moving in with Mac and Dec and ignoring whatever sounds came from their bedroom. I could do that, right? Ugh. Couldn’t they just abstain while I was there? I knew Dec had a high sex drive from my friend’s colorful descriptions, but I mean, come on.
“You okay?” Mac asked, stealing my vision.
Pulling in to a modestly kept suburban home, shivers dotted my arms and legs. My gut roiled further. Handing the driver the twenty Mac had left for me, I exited.
Before my door had shut, the automatic garage door began rising, revealing Viper’s truck.
My heart ratcheted up a notch, and suddenly I felt as if it was my first day in foster care.
The next thing I spotted was a pair of bare feet, denim-clad legs, followed by the overwhelming sight of a bare torso, twisting as Viper threw on a tee. Damn. I didn’t want to look or like his worked abs of corrugated iron. Or the black tattoo which almost resembled a tribal emblem that drove upward from his groin to someplace north.
His heavy strides broke my haze as he thundered forward to embrace Mac fully. “Hey you, yourself! Good to see you. How’s the douchebag?”
Perhaps I wasn’t the only one he was a dick to. Perhaps that was just his normal way with people. He sure seemed to like calling his best friend names.
On guard, I watched silently as they greeted each other before Mac turned to me and then back to Viper. He hadn’t given me an ounce of his time so far but finally acknowledged my presence.
“Red.”
That was it?
Already my blood heated. Turning on my heels, I pulled open the driver’s door of the Mustang and released the trunk lever, slamming the door and moving to grab my bags.
Attempting to drag it out, I struggled, wondering what Mac had put in it.
A second later, I was knocked aside as large arms came into focus beside me, easily lifting the suitcase out as if it weighed no more than an ounce.
“I could have grabbed it.” I huffed, steadying myself again.
“You’ve just come from the hospital. I got it.” Closing the trunk, he began walking inside, leaving Mac and me with no option but to follow.
The interior of his house surprised me. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but neatness and order hadn’t been it for a male living on his own. Then again, he was a soldier, so I guess he’d had it drummed into him since joining the military. Impressed, I moved further into the living room, not sure what to do next.
Viper strolled down the hallway with my case, calling out, “You coming to see where your room is?”
Siding a peek at Mac, I could have punched the smile off her face. Smugness didn’t become her. Huffing as I walked past her, I followed Viper’s voice down the end of the hallway to a small room on the right.
With a double bed sitting against the middle of the right wall, the space lessened considerably. A timber wardrobe sat just inside the door to the left with clothing drawers opposite the bed. Apart from that, the beige colored room held no feeling of comfort. Reminding myself I would only be occupying it a short time, I held my place in the doorway with Mac at my heels.
Viper placed my suitcase on the edge of the bed. He appeared as unsettled as I was.
Seeking my gaze before settling on the carpet he mumbled, “Towels are in the hall cupboard. Bathroom is the first door on the right.”
It was the nicest thing I had heard from him, even if it had felt forced.
“Thanks,” I grumbled back, moving aside to let him out the door when he began moving toward me.
“Okay. That’s settled then. Will you be okay,
Char? Is there anything you need before I leave?”
A knot formed in my throat, disabling my ability to speak, so I simply shook my head.
When she padded away, I moved with her, wishing she could stay a while longer.
Fatigue had me needing a nap, but first I had to take some more meds to help ease the vise squeezing my head.
When I found the kitchen, I began searching the cupboards for a glass. I heard Mac speaking quietly to Viper before she came in and hugged me.
In a quiet voice, she said, “Call me if you need me.”
“Okay.” Squeezing her for a moment too long, I let her go and swigged some water with three pills, hoping they’d knock me out for a week so I could leave and go to Mac’s.
When the click of the front door sounded, the quietness settled in. A hulk of a body appeared, seemingly out of his depth.
“Um, do you need anything? Are you hungry?”
Was I? Considering every time ‘said’ male came within three feet of me, causing my insides to knot up, I’d say no. But I’d only eaten the hospital breakfast and knew I needed to keep my strength up. That’s what I’d have told any of my patients on returning home after an injury.
“Yeah, actually, that would be nice.”
Were we actually having a conversation without tearing into each other? I’d never have thought it possible. Maybe he was trying now that he had no choice.
Easing around the kitchen fluidly, I watched as he opened the freezer and pulled out some chicken, and then squatted to the chiller section in the bottom of the fridge and loaded up his arms with fresh vegetables.
Wow. Impressive. A man who knew his way around a kitchen and who appeared to be able to cook.
“Chicken stir-fry okay?” His arms bulged as he placed the veggies down on the bench beside the cutting board.
“Sounds good. I…uh…didn’t know you could cook.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Red. I’ve been on my own a while. It’s a case of having to. Wine?”
Catching me off guard by his sudden politeness, I stammered, “Y…yes.” Who was this man? Had I judged him too soon?
His eyes lifted to mine at my faltering, but he remained silent, lifting a bottle of red wine from the fridge while getting two glasses out of another cupboard with one hand. Placing mine down on the counter, he ordered, “Sit.”
His head nodded to the chair at the small wooden kitchen table, so I complied, still in a daze, and surprised that I felt mildly comfortable.
Knowing wine and pain meds weren’t a good combination, but needing something to distract me from the multi-faceted male pouring my drink, I took a large swig when he’d finished, loving the taste.
Viper sipped at his own drink while he set about preparing an early dinner. My watch read four thirty p.m. Early for me, considering I normally didn’t eat until around seven thirty, depending on when I got home from work.
Viper turned from the stove as I tried to cover a big yawn. “Am I keeping you up?”
He could keep me up anytime, my damn brain silently said to me.
“I won’t lie. I’m beat. I’ll probably just eat, shower, and go to bed.”
“Whatever you need to get better.”
Spinning back to the pan, my eyes traced the curve of his shoulders and back, down further to his molded ass. He filled out a pair of jeans like a man should. The denim clung to his cheeks perfectly, and by God, I almost choked on a swallow. The proportions of the man had been crafted by the Chief Upstairs himself, without a doubt. My naughty mind, spurred on by another giant swig of wine and the painkillers, had me imagining that ass above me, all clenched and sweaty.
“Staring is rude, you know!” came his bark, causing me to jump. He still hadn’t turned around, so I decided to act dumb.
“What? I’m not even looking your way.”
“Uh huh! Lie all you want. I could feel your eyes burning a hole in my back.”
Holy shit! Was he psychic too? Psycho, definitely.
The arm holding the wooden stirring spoon flexed as he gripped the handle tightly.
The air thickened and I suddenly needed to escape.
“I’m just gonna go take that shower. Leave my dinner on the table.”
Getting up and practically running down the hallway to my room, I pulled a tank and some sleep shorts from my bag and quickly locked myself in the bathroom, breathing way too heavily for someone who hated the male in the kitchen.
Stripping, I stared at my reflection, the woman peering back changed. I’d never be the same again after having a gun at my head. The realization of how quickly everything could be taken away at the hands of strangers made tears well. I felt wrung out. On a giant sob, I stripped and stepped into the shower, turning on the faucets and feeling the sting of the cold water stab at my skin like daggers, but not caring because the pain inside cut me worse.
A wail left me as my back slid down the tiles until I sat on the shower floor, knees bent. The warmth from the hot tap came through, but it may as well have remained cold because all I could feel was the barrel of a gun, probably loaded, ready to blow my brains out. One flinch or itchy finger could have ended it all for me. I’d now be lying in a morgue.
Closing my eyes, I sobbed, feeling detached and alien. Where had I gone? I suddenly didn’t resemble Char anymore. She’d been carefree and relatively happy. This new version had lost something during the robbery. I couldn’t pinpoint what that something was though. I just knew it was missing. Trust? Peace? Ignorance? Perhaps all three.
I knew I could talk to Mac, but here in Viper’s bathroom, enclosed within the four walls, an incredible sense of loneliness gripped me.
It tore me open from the inside out like a giant crevasse. Moments ago I’d been sitting ogling an arrogant, confusing, yet hot male, and now I couldn’t even pick myself up from the bottom of the shower stall. Despair and hopelessness carried me away. I sunk into the nightmare playing over and over in my mind. Tormenting me. Attempting to break my will.
I let go completely, shaking and inconsolable.
I didn’t feel my body being lifted because when I came to I was moving, crushed up against steel coated in velvet. My face pressed against skin, a tempo beating underneath it.
Blinking and focusing more, I realized vaguely Viper must have broken the bathroom door down and picked me up. Carefully I was placed down on a soft bed. Deep murmurings echoed closely as I felt the bed dip beside me.
Blanketed by warmth akin to a furnace, I settled, letting it seep into my pores. A strong arm came under me and pulled me in closer.
“I got you. Sleep now, Red.”
Darkness washed over me.
***
Disoriented and stiff, I attempted to roll over, but I had been pinned down on my back. Opening my eyes, a heaviness draped over me. My skin burned and beads of sweat slithered down my brow.
Realizing Viper had attached himself to me like jellyfish tentacles, my breath caught. Every part of him was pressed into and across me. Only half of my body remained visible. He’d kept his jeans on, but his upper body was naked. Oh, my! His head was pressed into my neck so that his deep breathing blew wisps of hot air onto my skin. One leg crossed over both of mine, and his torso, which weighed a ton, had my right breast mashed underneath.
I desperately needed to pee but didn’t know how to go about waking him. I was pretty sure when he realized how close we were he would go all psycho again, and to be honest, I’d enjoyed his more placid side before I’d had my meltdown.
Holding off for a moment, I simply basked in the feel of him. It had been way too long since I’d woken in bed with a man. And never had I awoken with a soldier whose muscles were chiseled to perfection. I could still smell remnants of shampoo in his hair and flickers of aftershave accented the aroma. Hell. I was in fiery, sizzling glorious hell.
My bladder threatened to explode, so I had no choice but to move. Pushing out from under him, he stirred and I froze, wondering what his
reaction would be.
“Hmmm,” he mumbled, rolling onto his back and flinging an arm over his face. Light had begun seeping in at the corners of the closed blinds. Checking him out some more, I gasped at the bulge in his groin. Crap! Had I done that? Or was it simply a case of male morning wood?
Inching off the bed, I furtively kept watch. Just as I thought I was home free with just my knee on the mattress, arresting hazel eyes pinned me in place.
I felt mortified. Like I’d done something wrong. His bleary eyes blinked a couple of times and then cleared. The moment recognition set in, he sat up ramrod straight. He scanned me from head to knee, where I still perched like I’d turned to stone. He paused at my bare legs and then found my chest, which I was afraid to look at because the tingling washing over me led me to believe my nipples had betrayed me and hardened.
His jaw tightened. “Uh, I need to go. You okay to get breakfast? There’s food in the cupboard.” He turned from me, rose, and walked into the bathroom connected to his room without a glance back.
I whispered a “yes,” which I doubt he even heard as the door slammed shut.
Just as I’d suspected, except without a verbal lashing.
It wasn’t my fault. He could have left me in the shower. He hadn’t needed to carry me to bed, strip his shirt off, and crawl in beside me.
I got you. I got you. I got you. The words rang in my head like some damn melody. Why had he said those words last night and this morning he couldn’t escape me quick enough? Gah! Frustrating didn’t cover the man. Then again, wouldn’t anyone have said the same words to another person on the verge of a breakdown?
The shower switched on, so I headed to the second bathroom to pee before moving to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast, not knowing what I was supposed to do all day. Not one to sit idly, I checked the freezer and found some bacon, then found the eggs sitting in a bowl on a counter beside the cooktop.
Searching the cupboards, I grabbed a pan and set about making breakfast, needing to keep busy or my mind would unravel back to my ordeal. Waking next to Viper had helped push things aside temporarily, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last without me succumbing to a panic attack or worse.
The Lost and Found Series Page 39
