The main light in the room was on and the girl was back. At the sight of him, her eyes widened. She was a very pretty, black-haired girl, with curves in all the right places. Even before, despite the pain he’d been in, he’d noticed how attractive she was. Now, looking at her gave rise to a strange, prickling sensation beneath his skin.
“How you feeling, wild man?” she said, standing close to the door, as if she was unnerved by him. “I didn’t expect you to be out of bed.”
“Better, I think.” He sat down on the bed, and indicated to her that he could sit down too if she wanted. “Seems like I’ve been out for a while.” She chuckled and sat on the farthest edge of the bed.
“You did say you needed to sleep. So, I’ve got good news for you. I had a veterinarian check you out. Don’t freak. He’s an old friend, and very discreet. He says he can’t see any sign of internal bleeding. But if you start vomiting, I’ve got to let him know A-sap. You’ve got half a dozen cracked ribs, but he couldn’t find any other broken bones. You most likely have concussion, and that’s probably what’s causing your amnesia.”
“Will my memory come back?”
“It should. Although he says there’s a chance that you’ll never remember the events right before the memory loss. There’s also still a chance you have a fractured skull, but you’d need an x-ray to diagnose that. The veterinarian says he can see you at his surgery if you can make it there tomorrow.” He shook his head, and a bolt of pain almost blinded him.
“I think I’ll be okay.” She crooked one corner of her full, cherry-pink lips in a smirk. “I figured you’d say that. Apart from that, you just have flesh wounds, and a hell of a lot of them. Bill said they look like animal bites – like a bear or something. He’s got a theory that you got hit by a car then attacked by a bear. Sounds kinda wild. They’ll heal in time, but you’ll have scars. He gave you an antibiotic shot and something for the pain. And –” she paused, fiddling with a ring on her finger.
“What is it?”
“He says that I should stay with you tonight, wake you up a couple of times, check you’re not going into a coma.”
“I think I’ll be okay,” he said, flashing her a smile.
“No, he was real adamant about that. In fact, his exact words were, ‘if that damn fool won’t go to a hospital like any reasonable person, then I’m holding you responsible for making sure he doesn’t give up the ghost in the night.” She let off a burst of laughter. “So I’m staying. No arguments.” She stood up and strode to the door. “I’ll get you some food first though.” And she was gone, her footsteps quick on the stairs.
He sat on the edge of the bed. In truth, his head hurt a lot. When he touched it, it was tender all over. Nothing you can do to fix a fractured skull anyways. You just wait for it to heal. And wait for your memory to come back as well. He kept getting a sense that there was someplace he was supposed to be. If only he could get some clue about where that was.
The girl was back in a moment, carrying a plate piled high with pizza slices.
“You like spicy pepperoni?” she asked, bounding into the room. He liked her energy. Liked the way that even though she’d spent the day scraping an injured guy with amnesia off the forest floor, she was still acting like it wasn’t that much out of the ordinary. “Oh – you probably don’t know, right?” He took a deep sniff of the air.
“I like it,” he said.
He ate fast, wolfing the entire pizza down in minutes.
“Feel like I haven’t eaten for a long time,” he said when he was done. She shrugged.
“You probably haven’t. Hey, did you find any ID in your jeans?” He’d already been through his pockets, but he checked them for a second time. There was nothing in there at all.
“Nope.”
“That’s a shame. Maybe you got robbed, in between being hit by a car and savaged by bears.”
“Maybe.” He allowed himself a small smile. It really was a crazy situation.
“And are you getting any ideas what your name might be? I can’t keep calling you wild nan.”
“Nope.”
“Maybe I should try a few out. See if they feel familiar. Let me see.” She crossed her ankles in front of her and gazed up at the ceiling. “Rick? Rob? Trey? Davis? Michael?” He stared into space, rolling each name around in his mind. None of them felt more familiar than another.
“Are you trying these out because you think they suit me?”
“Yeah, maybe. They’re mostly names of guys from TV shows. Maybe we should just pick a name until you remember your own.”
“Like what?” he said, thinking of the chiseled-featured stranger staring back at him from the mirror. She looked at him boldly, and her eyes roved over his torso, taking in all the stitches and tape.
“Something tough,” she said at last. “Axel, maybe.” He shrugged.
“Works, I guess.”
“Do you feel like sleeping? Because, to tell you the truth, I’m beat.”
“Sure. Whenever you’re ready.” She got up and arranged the blankets on the bed so they each had their own covers, then she unzipped her black ankle boots.
“I’ll take the inside, because it’ll be easier for you if you need to get up in the night or something,” she said, and climbed onto the side next to the wall.
Slowly, he lay down beside her, trying to keep himself as far way from her sweet, curvy body as possible.
“Damnit, I forgot the light.” She darted out of bed and flicked the switch off, plunging the room into blackness.
“Hey – um – I realized I never asked your name?” he asked as she fumbled around the bottom of the bed, careful not to bump against him. She giggled again – that carefree, happy sound.
“I was wondering if you were ever going to ask. It’s Paige.”
“Paige, I just want to say thank you. For everything you’ve done for me today. You probably saved my life.”
“It was nothing,” she said lightly. “Goodnight, Axel.”
He lay awake for a while, listening to her breathing, hearing those little sounds that indicated that she wasn’t yet sleeping, but lying awake restlessly, possibly wondering how she’d ended up sharing a bed with a complete stranger. It occurred to him that he hardly knew any more about himself than he knew about her. But whoever either of them were, he knew without a doubt that she had a good heart, and that he was very lucky that it was she who had found him on the road today.
3
Paige lay awake for a long time, listening for the man, trying to work out if he had fallen asleep yet. His breathing had a particular sound – kind of like a regular rumble, or a purr. Maybe all guys sounded like that. It was actually the first time she’d spent the night in bed with a guy, so she didn’t have anything to compare it to.
She was a long way from sleep, her nerves on high alert. She didn’t have any reason to fear him – he was hurt real bad, and it was obvious that every little movement caused him pain. But still. He was a stranger, and a big guy. He was stacked, every muscle bulging – from his pecs, to his abs, to his biceps. When she found him on the road, she’d been so fixated on helping him that all she’d noticed was his injuries. But when she walked into the room later and he was standing there, clean from the shower, she’d gaped at him like a fish. He was gorgeous. Like, pin-up gorgeous. She hadn’t imagined that such a handsome face lay beneath all that dried blood and grime. How can he not even know who he is? she thought, throwing him a glance in the pitch darkness of the room. It seemed impossible.
When she’d first brought him to the room, and he passed out almost immediately, she ran for Bill, the veterinarian. Luckily he was propping up the bar, as usual. And, as it was only 2pm, he was only one beer down. He’d cursed and grumbled, but when she told him that the guy she’d found had lost his memory, his interest was piqued. He came upstairs and examined the man, and told her that he’d be better off going to a hospital, but he’d likely pull through, as long as he avoided all physical exertion for th
e next few days. Relief washed through her. She’d been full of guilt for not taking him straight to a hospital, despite his reluctance. But then Bill dropped a bombshell:
“You’ll stay with him tonight?” he said. “He needs to be woken every few hours to make sure he’s not slipping into a coma.”
After Bill left her, eager to get back to his beer, she stared at the man’s sleeping form in dismay. Stay with him? How? For as long as she could remember, it had been just her and her mama, living together in their little house, deep in the forest, where no-one could get to them. Her mama had found her in a box when she was a baby. Like a little kitten. And she’d brought her up, home schooling her and protecting her from the world. Something bad had happened to mama many years earlier. She’d never speak of it, but it had left her with a hatred of men – which she’d done her best to instil in Paige too. “We don’t need a man around, child,” she was fond of saying. “We can do everything ourselves.” But mama had done such a good job of isolating Paige from men that when she began to meet them, her first reaction was curiosity. Some men were obnoxious, sure. Some made hurtful comments about her not being a size 6. But others seemed like regular people, and not the monsters her mom had made them out to be.
And now she had to spend the night with one. As she worked her bar shift downstairs, she tried to figure out how to tell mama that she needed to spend the night in town. The truck was the only excuse that would fly, she realized. She called her, said that it wouldn’t start and that she’d had to get a tow to a car mechanic. Mama wasn’t happy. She cursed and complained, told her it wasn’t safe staying in town. But in the end, she accepted it. They both knew she wouldn’t tolerate Paige getting a ride into the forest – not that such a thing was likely to be possible. When Paige was young, mama had been very self-sufficient, but now she’d become a complete recluse, never venturing more than a mile from home, and paranoid about the outside world intruding on her peaceful life. Paige assured her that the room above the bar had a big bolt on the door. Which it did. But what she didn’t mention was that she’d be bolted in with a creature that her mama distrusted with every fiber of her being.
At last the purring sound coming from the man grew louder. He’s sleeping, she recognized. She had a strange urge to reach out and touch him. Bill had made her help him apply the dressings to the man’s broken ribs, and she’d already been acquainted with the velvety feel of his skin. She’d expected men to be rough to the touch, and although a surreptitious feel at his biceps had confirmed that they were rock hard, they were covered in soft skin. What would it feel like to lie in a man’s arms? she wondered. His arms? Resting her head on his chest, listening to that funny, yet comforting sound? At the thought, she felt a sensation in her body, like something waking up, coming alive. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep on such dreamy thoughts.
The next thing Paige knew, her phone was vibrating underneath her pillow. Three hours had passed and she needed to wake the man up. Cautiously, she reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t stir. Damn. She squeezed a little. Nothing. His breathing was very heavy. A bolt of fear hit her in the chest. Is he unconscious?
“Axel?” she called. “Axel! Wake up!” She squeezed his shoulder a lot harder and gave it a shake. Suddenly, he snarled and his hand shot out and engulfed her own, immobilizing it. “Ow!” she yelled. “What the hell are you doing?” The man’s body jolted.
“Paige, I’m sorry. I wasn’t awake.” He released her hand immediately and she snatched it back. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I think I was dreaming.”
“It’s okay,” she said, but her voice was trembling. “I was just waking you up, like the doctor told me to.”
“I know. I remember. It was just my unconscious brain taking over, that was all,” he said, his voice full of regret.
“I get it. It’s fine.” She flipped over, turning her back to him. “Okay, now I’m satisfied you’re still alive, let’s get back to sleep.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She drew her knees up to her chest, hugging herself. For all her snark, he’d scared the hell out of her. Badly injured or not, he was capable of doing her a lot of damage if he wanted to. But he’s a good guy, she told herself. And how do you know that, huh? her more rational side countered. He doesn’t even know it himself. And then all those thing her mama had said raced through her mind. Men are only after one thing. And when they’ve got it, they’ll leave you. She knew what that one thing was, of course. But Darlene who owned the bar had a husband. She complained about him, but she obviously loved him, and he loved her. Lots of the guys who stopped at the bar for a beer on their way home from work had wives as well. My old lady, they called them, and told affectionate stories about them. It was confusing. Her thoughts swirled around for a long time, and she was barely asleep by the time her phone vibrated again.
This time, she moved as far away from him as she could, pressing her body right against the wall, and called his name – well, the name she’d given him – loudly. This time, he woke up right away.
“Hi, Paige. Thank you,” he mumbled, and his breathing deepened again.
She moved back onto the pillow and allowed her body to relax. And then the man’s hand moved, across the empty space between them, and came to rest on her waist, right between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans. The palm was facing down, and she could feel every single finger, splayed on her bare skin.
“Oh my goodness,” she whispered. Her breath hitched in her throat. What shall I do? She waited, paralyzed. But his hand didn’t move. It stayed right where it was, as if it had gotten comfortable. Should I try to push it away? she asked herself. But, actually, I don’t hate it being there. In fact, it felt kind of nice, kind of comforting and tingly at the same time. And before she had time to think anything else, she was asleep.
4
When he next awoke, it was full daylight. He blinked at the ceiling, slowly figuring out where he was. His body hurt like hell. But he’d made it through the night, thanks to Paige. Guilt washed over him at the memory of scaring her half to death in the middle of the night. He hated that he’d given her the impression that he was capable of hurting her. Because nothing was further from the truth. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he just knew – in another space and time, when he wasn’t beat up, his instinct would be to protect her. He turned his head to the side. She wasn’t there. And then the bedroom door opened and she came in with a tray of food. She put it down on an upturned beer crate, sat on the edge of the bed and watched him with her pretty, gold-flecked eyes, raising an arched eyebrow.
“Anything?” she said. He frowned, searching through his thoughts. His mind felt like an empty box. Very little bouncing around in it. He’d lived a whole life, and all he could remember was a day.
“I haven’t forgotten your name,” he said.
“Good. Your ability to make new memories is a good sign.”
“Did the doctor tell you that?”
“Nope. I googled it.” She leaned over to the tray and passed him a cup of coffee and a plate of French toast.
“I’m sorry again for scaring you last night.” She waved her hand.
“Don’t give it another thought. If I truly thought you were going to hurt me, I never would’ve shared a bed with you last night. I’ve got a good instinct about people.”
“So you think I’m a good guy?”
“I do.”
His head was thick and sore, but the coffee was doing a little to clear it.
“Paige?”
“Axel.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay here a while?”
“Totally. It’s fine. Darlene who owns the place is real chilled. I told her you were a relative of mine, and she said you can stay as long as you like. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. You’ll like her. She’s got an acid tongue, but she’s very kind too. Genuine, you know?” He didn’t know. Right now he didn’t know a single person in the w
orld, apart from Paige.
He finished the toast quickly and Paige giggled.
“I made you a big portion because I remembered you had a big appetite. But looks like I should’ve doubled it.”
“I’m sorry. Maybe I always eat a lot.”
“You’re a big guy.” He leaned his head back against the wall.
“I’ll return the favor one day, when I figure out who I am.” She gave him the eyebrow again.
“Think you’re a good cook, huh?”
“I feel like I’d be good at cooking barbecue.”
“Okay. I’ll hold you to that.” She got to her feet abruptly. “Right, I’ve gotta run.”
“What do you have to do today?” he asked. Instantly, her shoulders tensed.
“I’ve got to go home, see my mama. Bring her some food.”
“You live together?”
“Yup. Just the two of us. Deep in the forest.”
“That sounds nice.” She shrugged.
“Mostly. Okay, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I left you some magazines to read on the nightstand. Make sure you do as the doctor says and stay in bed. Don’t go wandering off.” She flashed him a comical stern expression, which only succeeded in making her look extra pretty.
“Not like I have anywhere to go.” He lifted his hands and dropped them again. “Paige?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry you have to look after me like this while I’m all helpless. I feel real bad about it.” Her expression softened.
“But why?”
“It’s a man’s job to protect a woman, not the other way around.”
“And how do you know that, huh?” she said, a mischievous glint coming to her eye. He shrugged.
“I don’t know. I guess I just feel it. Deep in my bones, like an instinct.”
Lost To The Bear (BBW Bear Shifter Romance) Page 2
