Colton's Dilemma (Shadow Breeds)

by Dara Nelson

  “Here, allow me,” he said as he plunged his arm into the tub right next to her. His fingers brushed the side of her butt on their way to the hidden drain that lay in the bottom of the tub. She glanced at him when they did. He was avoiding eye contact, but she didn’t miss the small smile that was on his mouth and she couldn’t suppress the smile that sprang to her face as well.

  She was just trying to figure out how she was going to possibly get out of the tub when he said, “Sit on the edge and carefully swing your legs around. I will keep my eyes closed and hand you a towel. You let me know when it’s wrapped around you and then I’ll carry you to the bed.”

  She latched on to one key sentence, “You’ll keep your eyes closed?”

  He grinned and held up two fingers, “Scouts honor.”

  She smiled and nodded at him. As he turned away to grab a towel, she tried to force herself up onto the edge of the tub. It was a very deep bathtub and it was draining quickly so she was losing her buoyancy. It only took her a few seconds to realize what was happening. “Ummmm, I think I may have a problem,” she said.

  Suddenly his left hand was right in front of her. “Here,” he said.

  She looked up and smiled as she saw that he was covering his eyes with the towel that was held in his right hand. She grasped onto his hand and forearm with both of her hands and easily hoisted herself up onto the side of the tub. God, his arm didn’t even waiver. She couldn’t help but be impressed by his strength once again. She very slowly and gingerly helped her injured ankle over the side, then pulled her other leg out and swung around. “Okay, towel,” she said. Their fingertips brushed together as he handed her the towel, sending a jolt that coursed through her body and made her nipples stand up and take notice.

  She wrapped the towel around her body as tightly as she could and tried to get it as far under her butt as possible, but as he reached for her after she said, “Okay, I’m ready,” she inhaled sharply as she felt the skin of his arm against the bare skin on the backs of her thighs.

  He carried her and gently set her on the edge of the bed then he quickly straightened up and walked over to the dresser. After rummaging through the drawers, he settled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for her. As he walked over and handed them to her he said, “Sorry, this is all I’ve got. I don’t have many female visitors these days,” then he returned to the dresser, pulled out a pair of tight boxers for himself, then a dark shirt and a pair of khakis from the closet. As he walked towards the bathroom he smiled at her and said, “This will take me a minute or so. You should be safe to get dressed while I’m in here.”

  He glanced at her once more as he closed the bathroom door. Only after the door was safely closed did he allow himself a moment of weakness. He started mumbling to himself as he pulled on his clothes, “Holy crap, Colton. What the hell have you gotten yourself into? Did you get a look at her now that she’s cleaned up? She’s gorgeous. And did you feel what it felt like to touch her skin? This is insane. I can’t be doing this. Nothing good can come out of this, nothing good at all.” He tossed his towel and wet pajama pants into the hamper, dabbed some deodorant under his arms and ran his fingers through his hair as he checked himself in the mirror once more. Then he grabbed the bandage off of the counter and started to open the door. Before he stuck his head out he said, “Ready?”

  “Ready,” she said in response.

  “Okay, let’s get that ankle checked and re-wrapped,” he said as he stepped out, trying to appear entirely in “doctor” mode. He didn’t fool either one of them. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched him step out – hair tousled, t-shirt tight against his muscles, pants bulging in all the right places. He was just as nervous and affected by this as she was and she knew it.

  She pulled the pant leg up, revealing the purple ankle that was currently about the size of a grapefruit. He examined it as gently as he could but she winced a few times. As he began to wrap it again he said, “I think I should take you down to the basement to take a few x-rays, just to be safe.”

  “You have an office here in your house?” she said.

  He smiled, “What’s left of an office. I retired several years ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to part with my equipment so I brought it here. I thought it might be a good idea to have it around in case of an emergency. Looks like I was right.”

  “Do you think it might be broken?”

  “No. I think it’s just a bad sprain. But only an x-ray will tell us for certain.”

  “How could I have walked here on a sprained ankle, or even a broken one for that matter?” she whispered.

  “Adrenaline, my dear. It’s a powerful chemical. Now, what would you like to eat? I’m sure Hansen would be happy to whip up anything for you,” he said.

  “Hansen? Who’s Hansen?” she whispered as she looked around.

  “He’s my trusty, faithful and incredibly nosey servant who has been listening to us through my door for the past, oh, fifteen minutes or so, wouldn’t you say, Hansen?” he said, winking at her.

  His door slowly opened and a man dressed like a butler stood stone-faced at his door. “How can I be of service, Sir?” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Miss, umm, Miss,” he turned and looked at her, “have you had any luck remembering your name yet?” he softly said.

  She shook her head, “No,” she whispered.

  He placed a gentle hand on top of hers and whispered, “It’s okay. It’ll come when you’re ready. What do you feel like eating, Miss?”

  “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother. Some cereal or a piece of toast would be fine.”

  “Nonsense. This is a rare treat for Hansen. We don’t get many visitors around here. He’s excited about being able to cook for somebody for a change, aren’t you Hansen?”

  Hansen’s jaw clenched, “Absolutely, Sir,” he hissed.

  “You mean cook for somebody besides you, right? He does cook for you doesn’t he?”

  Colton’s head whipped around. How could he have made such a stupid mistake? “Oh, of course he does, but cooking for me is boring. I’m allergic to just about everything and on a very restrictive diet,” he said, trying to cover his tracks.

  “Well, if you’re certain it’s not a hassle, I could really go for some pancakes, and syrup, oooh, and bacon too, if you have some.”

  Colton laughed the sweetest laugh, “And how about some orange juice too?”

  Her eyes lit up as she smiled, “And coffee?”

  “And coffee too,” he said then he stood up and walked to her side. Her arms willingly went around his neck as he scooped her up off the bed. “Now, Hansen. I’m going to take her downstairs for a few x-rays. Will you please change the bedding up here while I do? And then you can go downstairs and make the lovely lady here some pancakes with maple syrup, bacon, orange juice and coffee. Sound good?”

  “Sounds excellent, Sir,” Hansen mumbled as the daggers shot from his eyes.

  She and Colton chuckled as they walked out the door. As he walked down the hall and descended the stairs, she rested her head on his chest. Her hair was still wet and making his shirt damp, but he didn’t care. She felt nice in his arms.

  He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He stopped in front of the door to the basement, “Would you mind?” he said. She reached out and opened the door. He began to descend the stairs in the dark. “Ummm, wouldn’t you like me to turn on the light? She said.

  His foot hesitated on the step. This was the second time in the last ten minutes that he’d made a faux paux like this – first with the eating slip up and now wandering around in the pitch black. “There’s a switch at the bottom of the stairs.”

  “I’d be falling down the stairs onto my face if I did this,” she mumbled, making him laugh again.

  He stopped at the bottom step and turned her to the side, “It’s on the wall on your left.”

  Her hand reached out and found the wall. As she felt around he said, “A little more to the left, no, just
a little higher, there you go.” And then the room was flooded with light. He looked down at her and saw that she was just staring at him. “How could you tell where my hand was? I couldn’t even see where my hand was.”

  Damn it, another slip. “I’ve always had really good night vision,” he said as he moved forward. He set her on the exam table then he quickly began moving around the room, gathering the equipment he needed and trying to ignore her staring eyes. “I don’t think Hansen is really happy that I’m here,” she said.

  “Him? Oh he’ll get over it. He’s just not much of a people person. Don’t let him bother you.”

  She was silent as he bent down to plug in his x-ray machine and started up the computer. It would take a few minutes for it to be ready. As he watched it¸ he heard her sniffle. He turned around and was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. She looked like she wanted to say something, so he didn’t make a sound. He just waited. Finally, she stared at her palm as she spoke, “Doctor Renner,” she began.

  “Please, call me Colton,” he whispered.

  She looked at him for a second then went back to staring at her palm, “Colton. Why am I sore, you know, down there?”

  “I’m not exactly sure, Miss. We don’t know what happened to you out there. You could have fallen or something. We just don’t know,” he whispered. He hated lying to her, but this was something that she needed to figure out on her own.

  Her voice was barely a whisper, “I was raped, wasn’t I?”

  He crossed the room and took her chin in his hand, forcing her eyes to meet his, “I think maybe you were.”

  She tried to push his hand away, “Nobody will ever want to touch me again,” she sobbed.

  He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight to his chest. “You’re wrong. You’re so very wrong. Any man would be lucky to have you by his side, he’d be proud to share your love and he’d be honored to share your bed.”

  “I feel so weak for letting this happen.”

  Colton released his grip on her and again put his hand under her chin, “There is absolutely nothing weak about what happened to you. If anything, you’re strong because you’re a survivor. This was done to you and you fought and you screamed and you broke free. You broke free and you ran to me. That makes you one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. The only one weak here is the wretch who did this to you. He’s a coward and a weakling for forcing himself upon a woman. He’s a cancer and he will pay for what he’s done to you. I will find him and he will pay. I promise you that.”

  Before he knew what was happening, her arms reached up and clasped behind his neck. He knew he should turn away, but to do so now would just fuel her fears that she was no longer desired by someone. And she had to know that she was worthy of this. It was just as important to him as it was to her. And for some reason it was important to him that he was the one to show her. So he allowed her to pull his face down to hers for just one kiss, he told himself. Just one kiss to let her know that she was still wanted. She needed this and he would give her just this one kiss. But as her lips met his, as her tongue moved in and swirled around his, a fire ignited in him that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Something that had lain dormant in him had been awakened. He knew without a doubt then that he was in deep, deep trouble.

  Chapter 3

  He refused to allow his arms to pull her closer like they wanted to. He refused to allow too much passion in this kiss – even though his entire body yearned for it – it was too soon for her, and he knew it. It was too soon – and she seemed to realize it as well. She released her hands from his neck and pulled back, “I’m, I’m, I’m so sorry. That was so inappropriate. I’m not sure what came over me,” she stammered. The blush that filled her cheeks enticed him.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” he said as he released his arms from behind her back and walked over to the now ready x-ray machine.

  “I’m not usually like this, really I’m not. It’s just that what you said was so sweet and so kind – something came over me and I just had to kiss you. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  His eyes met hers. He almost burst out with ‘please don’t say that’ but he held his tongue. He wanted this to happen again. He wanted this – and a lot more – but not until she was ready. Not until she wanted it too. “Please, it’s fine. I told you, you have nothing to be sorry for. I mean that.”

  She blushed slightly and was that a smile and a twinkle in her eye? He sure hoped so. He wheeled the portable machine over next to the exam table. Very gently he unwrapped her ankle and positioned her foot on the glass plate that he had placed on the table. She winced and inhaled a few times. “I’m sorry. I know this hurts,” he said.

  “It’s okay, I understand,” she said through clenched teeth.

  He gently placed the protective vest over her torso and positioned the light from the x-ray machine directly over her ankle then he stepped to the other side of the machine and said, “Hold still,” right before he pressed the button. The machine beeped and he stepped back up to the table. As he re-positioned her ankle for a different view, she inhaled sharply and said, “Shouldn’t you be wearing some sort of protective vest too? You know, to protect yourself?” she said. He was confused for a second but then he watched as her eyes moved back and forth between his face and his crotch and it dawned on him – she was worried about his sperm. He bit back his laugh. “Oh, ummm, no. I’m, uh, actually I’m sterile,” he mumbled, deciding to go with the truth.

  “Oh,” she said, blushing and averting her eyes, “sorry.”

  “Why on earth would you be sorry for that? You had nothing to do with it. I came to terms with it a long time ago,” he said, thinking – yeah, a very long time ago, about eight hundred and sixty-three years ago.

  He re-positioned her foot once more and stepped behind the machine, “Hold still again, please,” he said as he pushed the button. One more beep and then he walked over to the computer. He sat down and began clicking the mouse. She leaned up on one elbow to watch what he was doing. Pretty soon a grey image appeared on the screen. He moved the image over to a much larger screen and studied it. Then he did the same with the second image. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said.

  “Let’s hear it,” she said.

  “Well, there don’t appear to be any breaks, but you’ve got a torn ligament. We’re going to have to cast that foot.”

  “Cast it? You mean a plaster cast?” she moaned.

  He smiled, “No, I believe a removable boot cast should suffice – as long as you keep it on all the time, except to bathe. And by all the time, I mean when you’re sleeping too.”

  “Oh, I will. I promise,” she said.

  He went and rummaged through a few cabinets and drawers then he walked back to the table carrying a boot and something else. “I want to put some ointment on that burn,” he said innocently.

  “B,b,burn? What burn?” she said as her eyes began moving over her body.

  He slowed his walk, “You have a burn, on the back of your neck,” he said as he hesitantly stepped up to the table.

  Her hands reached behind her, one pulling her hair to the side, the other carefully touching her neck, her fingers tracing the raised skin. Her eyes went wide as she stared at him, “Oww, ouch, what is that? Colton? What the fuck is that?”

  “It’s a burn,” he whispered.

  “Bullshit,” she spat, “It’s more than just a burn. There’s a shape, a definite shape to it. Tell me what it is.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut, “You don’t want to know.”

  “Damn it Colton. Tell me what it is. Please?” she whimpered.

  “It’s a wolf paw,” he whispered.

  Silence. Colton was afraid to look at her. He was afraid of what he might do if he saw the pain in her eyes – he was afraid that he’d want to take her into his arms and try to kiss that pain away.

  “Why would somebody do that?” she finally whispered.

&nb
sp; “I don’t know,” he lied. He’d tell her when he felt she was strong enough.

  Her hands covered her face and she began to quietly sob. He instinctively reached for her, cradling her head against his chest. “I’m afraid,” she sobbed.

  “Don’t be. I’ll protect you,” he whispered.

  She looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks, “No. I’m afraid of remembering.”

  He cradled her chin in his hands, “I’ll be right here when you do. I promise,” he whispered – and he meant every word of it.

  She could tell from the sound of his voice that he meant what he said. But she was still terrified – terrified that it wouldn’t be enough.

  She was silent as he applied the ointment to the burn, re-wrapped her ankle, placed the boot on her leg and then he went to pick her up.

  “Can’t I walk with this thing on?” she said.

  “Not up two flights of stairs. But from the bed to the bathroom, yes,” he said as he scooped her up. Secretly she was glad. She really liked the way it felt in his arms.

  As he walked through his bedroom door and towards the newly made bed with the fresh, clean sheets, she stopped him. “Ummm, bathroom first, please? I really need to pee,” she smiled.

  “Oh, of course,” he stammered as he turned toward the bathroom, “I think I might need to run downstairs to grab toilet paper though. Oh, never mind, there’s some in here,” he said, thinking ‘thank you Hansen.’

  He slowly released her legs when she was near the toilet. She inhaled with a hiss when her foot made contact with the floor. Even with the support of the boot, she could still barely stand.

  “Will you be okay?” he said.

  “God, I hope so,” she said smiling.

  As he walked out and closed the door he looked back at her, “I’ll be right out here. Holler if you need anything.”