“Why can’t I open my eyes? What’s going on?” Her body felt absolutely leaden. At least she wasn’t alone.
“Do you remember getting home this afternoon?”
Her brow creased. Flashes filtered through the fog. Steven. The flowers. His anger. The pain. She shrank down into the softness beneath her instinctively. “I remember.” Her voice shrank too, sounding small and wounded, something she’d never believed herself to be.
“You’re at the hospital for a thorough check.” The wave of words was soothing in the lowered timbre.
“Why?” She tipped upward, searching for where she thought he was. The tender brush of his finger against her uninjured cheek proved her right.
“When he hit you, he did some damage to your eye. They applied a numbing agent to ease the worst of pain because the damage was pretty deep. It’s covered and will heal, but for the moment, you’re bandaged.”
Well that explained why half her face felt frozen. “Why are you here?”
“I heard the call on my scanner. I wasn’t that far away.” The comforting wisp of his lips on her forehead took her by surprise. “Rest for a few minutes. I’ll go get the doctor and let her know you’re awake.”
“Okay,” she murmured. The sound of the door swooshing open then closed told her she was alone. She purposely flexed her fingers, legs and arms, cringing when she tried to find out just how extensive the damage was. Then she moved her jaw in a circle. That was a mistake; the agony was brutal. More aware, she could feel the swollen damage to her lip, the taut ache to her jaw. He’d belted her a good one. Half her face felt mauled. She probably looked it too.
Asshole.
“Hello, Miss Noelles.” A cheerful, feminine voice filled the room. “How’re you doing?”
“Feel like shit.” A rough laugh made her tense. “Ah, hell. You’re not alone, are you?”
A low, breathy chuckle told her what she couldn’t see. Rush had come back with the doctor. “There goes my princess image.” It was at worst, a mild complaint.
A chair was dragged to the other side of the bed. Warm fingers curved through hers. She completed the hold automatically, without thought. She knew who it was. The question was why, but she didn’t want to ask that with a witness. She was simply grateful to have somebody there, wondering why Stacee hadn’t come yet.
She let the doctor do the routine vitals before asking, “When do I get out of here?”
There was a pause and she felt Rush try to stand. “No. He can stay. He’s a friend,” she quickly assured the doctor. Don’t leave me alone, she silently whimpered.
“In a couple of hours, at the most,” she answered. “We’ve done an x-ray on your jaw and there’s no permanent damage.”
“There’s a problem though,” Rush stated. She focused on his voice, feeling the tender sweep of his thumb running over the back of her hand. It was warm and intense at the same time. “You’re blind for the next week, or until you heal.”
“What about my other eye?”
“Can’t use it for forty-eight hours. It’s only a precaution, to keep the injured eye from doing something negative in reaction with your working sight because of the trauma.” That was the doctor again, crisp and direct.
“Well, crap,” Kay muttered.
“You’re doing fine, Miss Noelles.” The sharp click of a pen seemed unnaturally loud in the room. “A few prescriptions to help with the swelling and pain and you’ll be home by this evening.”
“Thank you.” She listened for more, then heard the repeat of the door opening and closing.
“There’s something else.” Rush’s steeled tone made her tilt on her pillow toward him. “You said Steven had broken up with you a while back. How long ago?”
“About three months, I guess. He called and ended it over the phone, said he had personal problems.”
“Honey,” Rush said, making her tummy flutter at the sweet sound of the one word on his lips. “He broke up with you because he was in jail.”
“Oh, shit,” she breathed, not caring how tarnished her crown became.
Chapter Four
Kay nodded, albeit slowly, and no doubt with pain, physical and emotional. Rush watched her face and body for any sign of strain. The bruising on her jaw was darkening and there was little anyone could do about the finger-sized necklace of blue around her neck. Just looking at it created the need to pound Steven into something concrete, and Rush typically didn’t have a violent bone in his body.
“How did you find out?” The lowered note of her voice was considerably clear, considering the shock that her latest boyfriend appeared to be a criminal.
“When they ran his background,” Rush explained. “He has a rap sheet that’s several years in the making. A long list of petty stuff, but in the last three years, he’s gotten into some bigger things.”
“How big?” Kay asked. Her fingers tightened on his, and he wondered if it was a conscious reaction. He rubbed her hand between his with a slow back and forth motion, wanting to warm her, to tell her she wasn’t alone.
“Drugs.”
She shuddered, drawing a slow breath. “That explains the erratic behavior.”
“But it doesn’t explain his attacks on you,” Rush stated. “It doesn’t explain much of anything.” Rush was positive there was something more going on with Steven and Kay. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. Being late in that realization had put Kay in the hospital. If he’d done his job better instead of watching the way her lips moved, or the sway of her hips, he might have been able to stop this from happening.
Her head tilted on the pillow, as though searching. “Where is Stacee? I know I told them to call her.”
He cradled her hand closer. “She’s at her mother’s.”
“Crap,” Kay muttered, her body going slack with disappointment. “That was this weekend?”
“I talked to her while you rested. She made me swear to have you call as soon as you get settled, so she knows where to come when she gets back to town.”
“Where am I going to go?” Her fingers clenched, tension stiffening her frame. “If I can’t see…”
“Don’t worry. I already have Sheridan cleaning out the cobwebs in our spare, if you don’t have any other family you want me to call.” He’d asked Stacee, but she’d been evasive about answering.
“You’re kidding?”
The huskiness in her voice made her surprise sound throaty, and sexy, which it shouldn’t, considering how much her injuries hurt her. It didn’t seem to matter to his libido; everything about her made his body hum.
“I can’t. You don’t even know me.”
He could see the thoughts as they flew through her mind. From coffee to sharing a roof, being in his care, was a leap for her. It didn’t frighten her, but he could see she was uneasy about it.
“No, you don’t know me either, but you need someone to help for a day or two. Is there someone else you can call?” he inquired, silently hoping there wasn’t, but knowing if she did then he had to let her go. Sheridan thought he was insane as it was, bringing her home, a total stranger. An outsider who had no knowledge of his life, the one that revolved around his pack. Regardless of what she knew or didn’t, he should have been there to help her, to protect her. He kept telling himself it was his job driving him, refusing to acknowledge that the reasoning could be something deeper. He couldn’t deal with it yet.
With a slow motion, she rocked on the pillow. “No, no one.”
Rush dropped his chin, the weight of the guilt of seeing her in the ambulance crushing him where he sat. Unconsciously, he ran her knuckles against his skin. He knew better than to let her go with a mad ex somewhere out there. Complacency had done this. His.
“Kay, let me do this for you.”
“This isn’t your fault,” she murmured, her fingers firming over his in emphasis.
He didn’t argue it with her; he knew they wouldn’t agree. He’d been swept up, shocked at finding her, then running scared when h
e’d watched her drive away, practically leaving skid marks in the parking lot to go in the other direction to get home. If there was one thing Rush wouldn’t do it was run from his duty. He could keep this impersonal.
Rush hadn’t made up his mind over what the woman before him was supposed to mean to him. He’d been off balance since the first touch, the first sweet sound of her voice. It was telling that he hadn’t been able to leave her side since he’d arrived at her apartment discovering her injuries for himself, but he refused to bow to it. Knowing who she was to him maybe gave him a foot up on dealing with it all, but it didn’t ease his confusion any. If anything, the claw of confusion dug deeper because this woman was exactly the person he’d been avoiding finding most of his life. Watching his mother die after his father’s accident had done more than scar him. The tragedy of watching her die before his eyes had molded his adult life.
When he should be running from Kay and everything she meant for him, he couldn’t. That single admittance terrified him.
* * * *
“I can walk, you know!”
“But this is fun,” he joked. It sounded to Rush like Kay was about to choke on something, or maybe she was just imagining choking him. He didn’t try to restrain the grin, knowing she couldn’t see it.
“Has anyone ever told you, you’re a nut?”
“Probably,” he said, laughing at her disgruntled humor. It was late, almost eleven by the time he pulled into his driveway, but he’d never felt more awake. With Kay scooped into his arms, he easily carried her from the truck to the front door where the porch light was on. Sunshine enveloped his senses where he buried his nose in her hair, the first time he’d been able to really find out for sure. He wasn’t disappointed in the least, the scent filling his bloodstream. The front door opened before he hit the steps, killing his rising euphoria. Sheridan was frowning, ignoring the woman in his arms. Rush wasn’t surprised.
His sister turned on a stiff heel and left without saying a word, her silence speaking volumes to him. Her bedroom door closed quietly a moment later. He let out a slow breath. Kay wouldn’t be staying long, and then everything would be back to normal. He hoped. That’s what he continued to tell himself. Now, if he could only believe it.
He set Kay on her feet, closing the door behind them. Now that he had her there, he wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn’t typical for him to bring home women, for any reason.
“Is there anything I can do for you? Anything you need?” he asked, hesitant to make the next move.
“A change of clothes, if I could borrow something,” she said. “I can get something from home tomorrow, if you don’t mind taking me.”
He mentally smacked his head, noticing what she’d changed into when they’d released her from the hospital. Damn it. She was in the clothes she’d been attacked in. Glancing down the hall, his first thought was asking Sheridan, but like any other intelligent male, he skipped that idea immediately. That was one fight he didn’t want to have.
Linking his hand with hers, he pulled gently. “Come with me.” He sat her down on his bed and pulled out drawers. “This should work.” He turned to face her. And swallowed. Blood pooled below his zipper at the images bombarding him at an alarming rate. Pert breasts, strong, lean legs, gentle curves from her waist to her hips, in his shirt and nothing else. Lifting his gaze, all he could think was small mercies for her being blind. Clearing his throat, he stepped up. “Do you need help?” Part of him desperately wanted her to say yes, but he knew he needed to hear a no.
“What is it?”
“One of my shirts. It’s long enough to cover you. I’ll dig out my sweats tomorrow. They’ll be long on you, but it’s better than nothing. And yes, I’ll take you home and you can get anything you need.”
A small hand lifted, grasping the offering. “I can do that, I think.” She tilted her chin as though looking up at him. “Why are you doing this, Rush?”
The rawness of her voice cut at him, but she seemed able to work around it. He kneeled on one leg in front of her, letting her know he’d changed positions by sliding his fingers into her hair. Damn the consequences, he needed to touch her.
“Do you know why I asked you to look at my mom’s jewelry?”
“To get its value?” Her cute eyebrows crossed.
“It’s a good thing you can’t see my face,” he told her, knowing he was grinning like an idiot. “I wanted to see you again.”
“Really?” she asked with a breathless quality to her voice that hit him like a sledgehammer.
“Guilty.” He massaged her scalp gently. “I am sorry though that this was how I got to do it. And whether you see it my way or not, I feel responsible for this happening to you. All I did was chase off the mean dog. I didn’t make sure you were safe.”
“Rush,” she whispered, drawing out his name in slow frustration.
“Shh,” he breathed, then leaned in and brushed a gentle kiss to the side of her mouth. Lightning electrified him at the merest touch. He jerked away before the wildness clawing through him demanded he take more. She was in no condition, and she should have been safe from everything in his home, himself included.
Taking a steadying breath, he stood. His intention had been to let her sleep in the spare, but if he waited another minute, or saw her in just that shirt, he was going to lose it. He reached for her hand. “Here, let me give you the lay of the land.”
Explaining what she was feeling, he walked her around the room, letting her map the dresser, the bed and the location for the door to the bathroom. “You can tell this is the door out to the house by the wood.” He let her hand run down the rough half plank that framed the doorway.
“Is this a cabin?”
“No, but I liked the accents when I had it built.”
She smiled. “I do too. I bet they’re lovely.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I think so. Is there anything I can break?”
He glanced around the room. “Hardly.” There wasn’t much of anything in it at all. The alarm clock was indestructible, and beyond that, there just wasn’t much lying around loose. Looking down at her, he realized she only came to his chest, making him feel like a skyscraper next to her. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or not about it. Rush had never hit the six-feet mark. It didn’t bother him, but she made him feel huge. Aw hell. He did like it. He swallowed his groan, something he’d been doing a lot since meeting her. “Go change,” he told her in a gentle order, hoping the husky need in his voice wasn’t as obvious to her as it was to him. “I’ll get you water and your medications.”
“Okay.” She lifted her palm to cover her mouth, and a yawn cut short when her jaw refused to work. “I hope I don’t look as bad as I feel,” she muttered.
“Worse,” he said, cutting through the ball of need with a teasing rejoinder, chuckling when she stuck her tongue out at him. The last thing he needed was her knowing he’d been standing with her for the last twenty minutes with a hard-on as thick as the trees outside, bruises be damned. He knew what she looked like without them, the sparkle of her gray eyes, the rich thickness of her hair. And her lips.
Shaking his head, he deliberately took a step back. “I’m shutting the door so you can change. Climb into bed and just say yes or no if you’re not ready when I get back.”
He was almost sweating at the possibility of finding her half-dressed, or worse, naked. Rush swore silently. He had this wanting problem bad.
He watched her turn and find the bed with easy steps. She must have counted or had an impeccable memory.
“I’ll be done.”
Leaving out the door, he dawdled in the kitchen, reading the prescription instructions no less than three times to ensure he had it right. She had been given the ones that needed to be taken with food at the hospital to monitor her reactions, so all she had to do was come home and go to bed. In his bed. Her scent was going to be all over his sheets, his pillow. Unable to hold in the groan of wanting any longer, a gusted brea
th eased the tension in his shoulders.
Bracing his hands on the counter, he bent at the waist, letting his body unravel for a few unrestrained minutes.
No one had ever told him finding his mate would make him feel like this. Rush wasn’t stupid for being on his own with Sheridan for so long. He knew who Kay was to him. There just wasn’t a handbook he could grab on the subject, and that sucked. He was a far cry from being a virgin. He knew what sex was and had enjoyed it when he could, though life in general hadn’t made him a playboy. He knew the risks and refused to play the odds, but God have mercy, Kay was sinking claws into him that he knew she wasn’t even aware of.
Every little thing about her turned him inside out with wanting. He knew she couldn’t stay, knew nothing could come from actually meeting her, but he lost all reason around her. The term ‘turned to mush’ made complete sense now.
Alpha Awakening Page 3
