by Debra Cowan
The only thing that kept her from exploding into hysteria was the fact that Linc Garrett was nearby. Damn Deke Ramsey anyway. He had again managed to push her into a corner of dependency. Just when she’d finally gotten her life back on track.
She ignored the little voice in her head that whispered she still hadn’t hurdled the obstacle of establishing a relationship with a man. So what? Every woman didn’t need a man.
So what if sometimes her body ached for physical intimacy? So what if sometimes her heart twisted out of sheer loneliness?
She’d tried the intimacy thing and it had been a bust. Deke Ramsey had ruined her for sex, that was for sure. But she had a job she loved, parents and a sister she adored and a best friend who never let her down. She had nothing to complain about.
Even so she couldn’t halt the flash through her mind of linc Garrett’s smoky gray eyes and a cocky half smile. Her lips twisted. Dr. Garrett was as gun-shy about relationships as she was.
Still, he had completely reassured her parents about her staying with him. And he’d brushed aside their gratitude as if it made him uncomfortable, even embarrassed. He had also checked on her last night. He had let the dogs keep her company as if he knew how alone she felt in the middle of that unfamiliar bed. Linc was perceptive and had been kind to her, an image that didn’t fit with his detached, emotionless doctor persona.
Of course, away from the hospital he didn’t much look like a doctor. He wore faded jeans that gloved his lean muscular legs and snakeskin boots that were scuffed enough to belong to a rodeo rider. A couple of days’ growth of stubble darkened his jaw, giving his lean face a hawkish, ruthless edge.
Something stirred inside Jenna, a glimmer of feminine appreciation she hadn’t felt in years. She didn’t welcome it now. Nor did she welcome the memory of how his gray eyes had warmed with kindness when he’d seen her in the middle of that ridiculously sensual bed.
All in all, though, he had remained detached since she’d been brought into the hospital last night. Well, he wouldn’t need to worry about her developing a case of hero worship.
She had every intention of keeping her distance. And making certain that he kept his.
If she had to live with him, so be it. But it didn’t mean she had to set up house with him.
Frustration plowed through her and she awkwardly shifted the brush to her left hand. She dragged it through her shoulder-length hair, grimacing at her reflection in the sparkling bathroom mirror. Even with the soft daylight showering through the skylight, the cut above her eye looked raw.
Her arm still twinged, and was starting to itch beneath the plaster cast. Her back and thighs and the entire front of her body was splotched with bruises turning from gray-green to dark purple. And the distinct imprint of Ramsey’s hands glared against the pale skin of her throat.
Her stomach lurched. Damn Deke Ramsey for getting out of prison! Damn him for coming after her. He hadn’t wasted a minute doing it, Jenna knew now. Terror dried her throat. Detective Garrett had told her Ramsey had only been released from the penitentiary in McAlester two weeks before he’d attacked her. And killed Wilbur.
Wilbur. Pain shafted through her and Jenna closed her eyes, pressing her lips together.
Tears trickled down her cheeks. That dear man had lost his life because of her. A heavy sense of responsibility, crested by rage, threatened to overwhelm her. This same relentless rage had stalked her constantly after the rape. As well as this same incapacitating sense of helplessness. She struggled to rein it in.
A heavy sigh eased out of her. She was tired and sore and she didn’t know if she could fight Deke Ramsey again.
But she had to. This time the stakes were too high. A chill rippled up her spine. He’d sworn to kill her and she believed him. Otherwise, she certainly wouldn’t be here with Dr. Linc Garrett.
She slammed the hairbrush down on the tiled countertop and walked into the bedroom. She shrugged out of her buttonfront shirt and painstakingly managed to pull on a pair of denim shorts, zip them, and finally slip the lone metal button through the hole. By the time she finished, her muscles ached and Jenna stared in frustration at her clean shirt.
How in the world was she supposed to put that on? She’d slept last night in the one she’d worn from the hospital, but now she wanted to change. Mom, bless her heart, had packed only pullovers.
Jenna figured she could get them over her head, but she wasn’t sure how to get her arm into the short sleeve. She wasn’t even going to mess with her stupid bra. She stood at the foot of the bed, holding the red plaid polo her mother had sent, staring at it as if she’d never seen a shirt in her life.
Frustration crowded through her, at Deke Ramsey, at her broken arm, at the stupid shirt. She pulled the shirt over her head, trying to decide how to get the cast through the ribbed sleeve.
“Hello—oh.” Linc Garrett’s deep voice was surprised, then flustered. “Hell.”
Jenna looked over her shoulder and her skin prickled at the weight of his gaze on her injured back. “What are you doing?”
“I knocked, but when you didn’t answer—hey, I’m sorry. No harm meant.”
She heard the door start to close. “Wait.” She paused, fighting pride and resentment and a wariness that now seemed inborn. “I think I need some help here.”
He was a doctor, right? He’d seen naked bodies before.
He’d definitely seen naked women. So why did a shiver stroke her insides?
Because he hadn’t seen her naked body. But if she was going to get in this shirt, she had to have some help.
“I can’t get this on by myself.” Her voice was hoarse with embarrassment and she refused to look at him.
He was quiet for so long that she finally burst out, “Well?”
“Just a minute.”
She heard his boots thud down the hall, away from her and she glanced over her shoulder. What was he doing?
Her brow furrowed and she brushed away the panic that nudged at her. She was fine. Ramsey was nowhere around.
But when Linc returned, she couldn’t halt a sigh of relief. Determined not to show him how uneasy she was, she looked down, feeling a tingle in her nipples that were bare and brushed by air that suddenly seemed cool on her sensitive skin.
“I thought maybe one of my shirts might be easier for you to...get into.”
Amazed, she glanced over her shoulder before she even thought about it. He stood in the doorway, holding a buttonfront shirt that looked about three sizes too big for her.
Her gaze flickered to his. “What a great idea.”
He stepped toward her, his gaze sliding across her shoulders and lingering on her bare back. Anger tightened his features then disappeared. His smoky eyes were cool, unreadable.
She stiffened, her gaze moving to the bed in front of her. Being alone with a man, even the man who’d helped her, was not Jenna’s idea of smart right now, but she needed him. Thoughts of Ramsey ticked against her nerves like a bomb timer.
“You take off that one first and—”
“All right.” She yanked the shirt over her head. With her good hand, she pressed the fabric to her breasts.
Tension laced through her and she tightened her grip on the fabric until it burned her palm. She certainly didn’t need Linc Garrett to tell her to cover herself, especially from his intense gaze.
“Okay.” His voice was quiet and he walked up behind her slowly, letting her know he was coming.
Nerves jangling, she braced herself to feel his fingers on her skin, but instead she felt only the heat of his body as he stopped directly behind her. At first she was surprised that he didn’t simply take charge as he had at the hospital, but then she realized he probably knew to approach her cautiously because of her rape.
She glanced over her shoulder, freezing at the dispassionate look on his face. She thought she saw a muscle flex in his jaw, but she must have been mistaken. Nothing seemed to get to Dr. Linc Garrett, to penetrate that inscrutable facade.
She closed her eyes. “It’s all right. Go ahead.”
How she hated depending on someone for something as basic as dressing! Damn Deke Ramsey for putting her at someone else’s mercy—again. The details of the attack flashed through her mind and cold sweat slicked her palms.
Linc eased closer and the movement filled her nostrils with his warm-body scent, an intriguing blend of woods and spice and minty toothpaste. His heat caressed her spine, her shoulder blades.
He smelled dark and blatantly male. Jenna’s throat closed up. He’s not going to hurt you. He’s not.
Still she held her breath, bracing herself for his touch.
It didn’t come. Instead of those warm strong fingers, she felt the smooth glide of fabric across her skin, over her shoulders. She automatically lifted her left arm, sliding it into the sleeve.
He carefully pulled the fabric into place and shifted behind her. She could feel the hard length of him, not touching but caressing just the same. A calm deliberation emanated from him, yet she was about to crawl out of her skin. She swallowed hard, fighting panic and a tantalizing sensation low in her belly.
His warmth teased her and for a split second, she wondered what it would feel like to lean back against that hard, broad chest. To let him wrap those strong arms around her and shelter her.
Shoving away the thought, she lifted her right arm, too quickly and a twinge of pain reminded her why she was here, why he was here.
The cast caught on the light fabric and she couldn’t get her fist through the armhole. She sighed in frustrated resignation, clutching the red plaid tighter to her breasts as if it were a steel shield and hid her completely from Linc’s sight.
In a flat voice, he asked, “Do you need my help?”
“Yes,” she snapped, sounding ungracious and petty and not caring at the moment Anything was better than revealing the stark fear that knotted her belly.
With measured movements, he gently lifted her upper arm with his left hand. His strong fingers were a fraction of an inch away from the curve of her breast.
Jenna didn’t breathe, probably couldn’t have if she’d tried.
With his right hand, Linc pulled the sleeve over her cast and up to her shoulder. “There.”
He released her instantly, but her skin tingled from his touch. As she buttoned the shirt, she was amazed to discover that she wasn’t repulsed in the least. In fact a slow burn in her belly made her want more, just a tiny bit more.
The thought shot apprehension through her with the punch of speed. And in that moment, frustration, resentment and anger crashed in upon her. Angry tears stung her eyes, but she refused to cry.
She moved away from him, away from the remoteness in his gray eyes, the warmth of his body, the memory of his touch. “I said you wouldn’t have to baby-sit me, but I guess I was wrong.”
“I don’t mind.” His voice was even and controlled, just like his movements.
He was so detached, so self-contained. Jenna wondered if he regretted offering her a place to stay.
She pulled herself up short and turned away. “Thanks for your help. I hope I don’t have to bother you again.”
“It was no problem. You can borrow my shirts as long as you need to.”
His voice held no warmth, no teasing seduction, yet she didn’t like the intimacy his statement implied. She could smell the richness of him, the faint tang of his aftershave, and the whole idea of her body being covered by something that had covered him sent strange ripples of sensation through her.
She’d survived just fine without that part of life and would continue to.
He turned for the door. “I’ll be in the kitchen making breakfast. Come on in when you’re ready.”
His indifferent invitation made her uncomfortably aware that they were practically strangers. If not for Ramsey’s attack on her, she and Linc would still be staying well away from each other. “I don’t want you going to any trouble on my account.”
“Hey, we have to eat.”
Despite his impassive voice, she sensed a restless energy pumping through him. He was probably ready for his houseguest to leave.
“I’m sure I won’t have to take advantage of your hospitality much longer,” she said stiffly. “The cops will find Ramsey soon.”
Linc stopped in the hallway, staring over his shoulder at her. Resentment burned in his gray eyes, the first emotion she’d seen since he’d walked in on her. “You can stay here as long as you like. I thought I made that clear.”
“I don’t want to put you out any longer than necessary.”
Something flickered across his face—impatience? Irritation? “Why is it so hard for you to let people help? Or is it just me you don’t want help from?”
She started to deny it out of politeness, but the lie wouldn’t come. He did unnerve her, but Jenna wasn’t exactly sure why.
She shrugged. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
“I wasn’t fishing for compliments.”
“I know.” She offered a tiny smile, which he did not return. Her smile faded and irritation flickered. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Fine.” He turned away and started down the hall.
What was with Dr. Distant? Did anything ever get to him? The man rarely showed emotion. Maybe that was why his wife had left him.
Not fair, Jenna chided herself. She’d asked him to stay out of her way. So why was she peeved that he was doing exactly that?
She didn’t understand the spark of heat that passed from him to her whenever they touched. She didn’t understand why her muscles, deep inside, clenched when he moved near. Her skin tingled hot, then cold.
Her nerves felt as if they’d been laid bare by a scalpel. And the reason for her unease stood six foot three of brawny male with the sharpest, most probing gray eyes she’d ever seen.
For the first time in eight years, she was acutely, physically aware of a man. Apprehension pealed through her. It would lead nowhere. She knew that. A few years after the rape, she’d tried sex with a wonderful, caring man whom she adored and it had been a total disaster.
For some reason, she responded to Linc Garrett on a physical and an emotional level, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t, be seduced by that.
Jenna tucked her hair behind her ear and slid her feet into a pair of deck shoes. A few days at the most. That’s all it would take for the police to find Ramsey and put him back in prison. She just had to hold herself together.
Taking a deep breath, she started for the kitchen. Once Ramsey was caught, Jenna would leave Linc’s house and go back to her life. Unexpectedly, the thought held no comfort, only a strange emptiness.
She brushed it aside. They had a deal. He was holding up his end by staying out of her way. She would do the same.
Linc wanted to kill the bastard! Wanted to put his hands around Ramsey’s neck and squeeze the life out of him, watch Ramsey’s eyes turn to agony, just as he’d done to Jenna.
Rage boiled through Linc—sharp, vicious, obliterating his reason. He had never, never, felt such fury. Not when Michelle left. Not even when he’d learned about the baby.
Linc strode for the kitchen, breathing hard against the razor-sharp anger that churned inside him. Raw fear had dilated Jenna’s eyes, startling Linc until he’d realized he wasn’t the reason for it. Ramsey was.
And then Linc had glimpsed again the evidence of Ramsey’s hatred for the woman who’d put him in prison. Linc hadn’t wanted Jenna to see him like that, hadn’t wanted to subject her to the savagery that had risen up inside him upon seeing her back, her throat.
Her beautiful skin marred, her flesh bruised and tom and bloodied. Linc clenched his fists, his long strides covering the living room floor. Damn Ramsey for what he’d done to her!
Linc stopped cold in the kitchen doorway. Mace sat at the breakfast table. “What are you doing here?”
His brother calmly lifted one of Linc’s oversize black mugs and sipped. “Came by to see how Jenna is doing.”
“Well, how do you think she’s doing?” Linc snapped, marching over to the stove and yanking open the cabinet beneath. Only now did Linc smell the aroma of fresh coffee. He grabbed two skillets from below the oven and slammed them on top of the stove burner. “She looks like somebody beat the hell out of her!”
“Emotionally, is she—”
“She’s starting to heal physically, but she’s frustrated that she can’t do everything on her own.” He recalled the wariness in her beautiful eyes as he’d helped her dress. “She’s putting up a good front, but she’s afraid. I don’t know how safe she feels here.” With me.
“This is the best place for her at the moment.” Mace dismissed his comments brusquely. “You haven’t done anything to make her doubt that, have you?”
“Like what?” Linc jerked open the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of eggs.
In the last day and a half, he’d doctored her and contemplated committing murder for her. Not a very good way to honor her request to stay away.
Mace shrugged. “If you’re stomping around like this in front of her—”
“I’m not stomping around.” Linc cracked an egg on the cabinet edge and spilled it into a bowl, feeling a slight release at breaking something. “I think she’s coming along, but don’t push. She’s strung pretty tight.”
“Who wouldn’t be?”
“You got that right,” Linc muttered, peeling off strips of bacon and slapping them in another skillet.
He didn’t understand how Jenna West got to him so fast and in ways no one else ever had. He had to keep his distance. He didn’t want to get that involved with her.
