by T. A. Grey
Darien tightened his grip on his knife and tracked down the perpetrator. He broke through a low canopy of branches and his gut tightened at what he saw. Sniffing the air, he caught the person’s scent this close. Goosebumps shivered over him at the smell; it was like flowers.
“Fuck.”
What the hell was a damned woman doing out here in the middle of nowhere? A woman with a full head of coppery hair and an ass that had him quickly looking away from it. Double fuck.
Crouching down at the woman as if at any second she’d scramble up and kill him, Darien gently pushed the hair back from the side of her face. His eyes narrowed on the dark circle around her left eye and the dark red sheen on her cheek. He gnashed his teeth together. It wasn’t any of his business. Yeah, right, like he could ignore the shiner someone had given her.
She’d fallen on her stomach and face for that matter. He pressed fingers against her throat and found a steady pulse. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized a pressure had been wrapped around his heart. It eased more and more at the feel of her skin pulsing against his fingertips.
He rolled her over gently and went to inspect her for wounds. He didn’t get any further than her face.
The black and red bruises that marred the right side of her face couldn’t begin to take away from her beauty. Fuck, he felt like he’d just been punched in the gut again. Her face was heart shaped, her lips pink with a perfect bow-shape on her top lip, and her brows and nose were dainty. Jesus, this was the last thing he needed.
Gently he wrapped his arms underneath her and lifted her to his chest. She was so damned light; the woman must not eat a thing. Yet as he looked down at her in his arms, he saw the full flush of her curves, rounded thighs, and full press of her breasts against her shirt.
His cock twitched in his pants. The sensation was so shocking that he stumbled a step forward and nearly dropped her. Breathing unsteady, he closed his eyes until he had his body back under control. It was just a fluke. His body was just having a spasm—it wasn’t her. He hadn’t been sexually attracted to a woman since Dana. He couldn’t be, even if he wanted to.
He kept his gaze forward as he carried her back to his cabin. What the hell should he do with her? If he trekked with her to his truck, he could take her to a hospital. His gaze slowly lowered to her face, and he jerked it back up. He had no business looking at a woman when she was unconscious, and he certainly had no fucking right eyeing a woman who’d been hurt. Guilt nagged at him. And doesn’t Dana have a right to be in your thoughts?
He kept his fucking gaze straight for the rest of the trip. When he reached the cabin, he opened the door and set her down on his small bed. She sighed a little and snuggled into his pillow. He bared his teeth at some unseen foe as his chest tightened.
Was living with the pain of Dana not enough? Did life really have to send another complication into his life right now? Of course it did, because life was a brutal bitch with a gun-wielding vendetta against wrongdoers.
Darien pulled a chair up next to the small cot. At once he wished he had a clean, big bed to put her in and not this lousy half-a-thing he’d dragged through the woods to get here.
Swallowing hard he quickly felt over her front pockets, then moved her side to side to feel her back ones. No wallet. No I.D. Well, the one plan he had had just kicked the bucket. So much for calling her family. He’d have to wait until she woke up.
The thought sent him pacing around the cabin.
About the Author
T. A. Grey lives in Missouri where she spends her days writing and reading heart pounding stories in the comfort of her home. She has two wild cats that never leave her alone and a loving fiancé who surprises her with gifts of cherry taffy. She has a weakness for feeding stray cats, old music, and trying out new recipes. After graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Professional Writing, she has since spent her days filling up pages with sexy and imaginative stories. You can learn more about her books at www.tagrey.com.