"I'd like to hobble to the bathroom."
"Why don’t I call the nurse?" Sensing her temper might lead to disaster, Matt instinctively rose. Her expression determined, she landed unsteadily on a bruised and swollen ankle before her face crumpled with pain.
"Ow. Ow. Ow." She teetered on her good leg, frozen between moving and retreating. Before she face-planted, he hauled her against him.
"You need crutches." When his shoulder spasmed a warning, he shifted her to his hip. Great. His lame ass rescue attempt had probably undone a month of physical therapy.
Matt studiously ignored the soft curves thrust against him. The cranky troll exterior housed a soft, curvy body that was wreaking havoc on his nervous system. Giving himself a mental headslap, he acknowledged maybe he’d been in the woods too long.
"Ready for a step?" His fingers tightened on a slim waist. Once he returned to Boston, he'd dust off his dating profile. Maybe reconsider Madeline's perpetual set-ups. His thrice-married mother and her busybody friends maintained a stable of eligible daughters. Brushing against the hint of a perfect breast, he felt perspiration slide down his spine.
Julie lurched away in surprise, her cheeks staining a flustered shade of pink. "Uh . . . sure."
His thoughts turning grim, he shuffled her the fifteen feet to the bathroom, conscious of her fingers digging into his hip . . . branding him. His spine tingling where her arm rested. Her damned curls swinging in his face. The huffing little breath that probably spoke volumes about her pain level . . . but to a groin at code red registered as sex sounds-
He skidded to a stop. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Are we resting?"
Her words muffled somewhere in the vicinity of his ribcage, but their heat scorched through the rest of him like an arcing current. Christ— could he act any more unprofessional?
"No," he said through clenched teeth. If she went down, he’d catch hell from the nurses. By the time they reached their destination, his shoulder was signaling the exhaustion of this month's white knight allowance. Relief and disappointment mingled when she pulled away from him. "Think you need a nurse?"
Despite her trembling limbs, she dismissed him with a limp wave before closing the door in his face. Uneasy, Matt retraced his steps.
"Don’t go far." Her demand filtered through the door.
His smile was grim. "Not a chance, sweetheart."
***
Perched in the window, Matt raised his head when the shower turned on. Was she out of her mind? Five minutes earlier, she’d barely been able to stand upright. Clearly, this called for reinforcements. Tucking his notebook in his pocket, he moved for the hallway and the relative safety of the nurses’ station.
Jerking the door open, he nearly plowed into the dark haired man blocking the entrance. "Excuse me."
The doctor muttered an apology before taking two steps back. He hesitated . . . glancing at his flipchart, then turned in the opposite direction. Matt’s senses immediately flared. A vibe of uncertainty hung over the doctor. And something else. A vague flicker of familiarity. Dark eyes. Hispanic. He walked away— slowly at first, then more rapidly as he approached the corner, green coat flapping against his legs.
There was no doubt he'd been about to enter Julie’s room. So, why the about-face? Instinct had his legs moving in pursuit before Matt's brain arrived at the same conclusion.
He doesn’t belong here.
By the time he rounded the corner, Matt fought the urge to run. The stranger was already at the opposite end of the hallway. Glancing over his shoulder, they locked eyes. Heart ricocheting with certainty, he read the man’s fear from fifty feet. Before he took off running.
Ski Mask Guy has olive skin. Why hadn’t they accounted for the possibility of another attempt? Frustrated, Matt skidded to a stop. He knew why. He'd slammed the door on Julie's version of events. Ten weeks on leave had made him rusty. There was no hope of catching him now. And Julie was alone in a hospital bathroom. Unprotected.
OUT OF THE MIST
Available, April, 2016
Dear Reader:
Thank you for reading CHASING MARISOL. I hope you enjoyed spending time with the Traynor family as much as I enjoyed creating them. If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I hope you'll return for Hank's story. In the fourth installment of Blueprint To Love, solitary widower Henry Freeman crosses paths with Annie McKenna. SHELTERING ANNIE will be available summer, 2016. The first books of the series, Trusting Jake and Falling for Ken are available at all retail sites. Other books include my traditionally published novel, a romantic suspense, FOR HER PROTECTION released in 2010.
Blueprint To Love Series
Book 1: Trusting Jake
Book 2: Falling for Ken
Book 3: Chasing Marisol (January, 2016)
For Her Protection
To learn about upcoming books, please visit my Website or at Lauren Giordano Amazon page. Visit Lauren on Goodreads, follow Lauren on Twitter or Facebook.
Happy reading!
Lauren Giordano
About the Author
Lauren Giordano is an award-winning author of eight novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense. She also blogs about the endless, troubling encounters she experiences on the journey to 'create' in her kitchen. Her Cooking Disasters blog can be found at laurengiordanoauthor.com. Originally from the Northeast, Lauren makes her home in the Mid-Atlantic with her husband, daughters and two vacationing cats.
PUBLISHED BY: Harvest Moon Press
CHASING MARISOL
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2016, Lauren Giordano
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please do so through proper retail channels. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author. This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons.
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