Page 12 of Axe-ing for Trouble
As if on cue, the dog came over and put her head on my knee, turning those beautiful dark doggy eyes on me. She got it. She could see how screwed I was.
“But—”
“Please. Stay here,” Jude said. “I’ll stay out of your way so you can rest. And Ripley takes care of herself.”
I studied him, then his sister-in-law. They were relative strangers, but they’d both shown me tremendous kindness. I didn’t want to fucking rest. But I closed my eyes and nodded. What other choice did I have?
Willa hopped to her feet and clapped. “Great. I need to get to the clinic. If you’re feeling up to it,” she said to me, “you can take a shower tonight. Jude can help you change the bandages then.”
I nodded. Though I wouldn’t let Jude do any such thing, a shower sounded like heaven. And surely I’d do a better job searching if I was clean.
I looked over at the man who was dead set on helping me. His face was stoic, impossible to read.
The awkward shame that consumed me in this moment was worse than the fractured rib and busted shoulder. I was embarrassed. Not only that, but I felt helpless—a sensation I loathed more than just about anything—and exposed.
This man had seen me naked. He’d pinned me against the big picture window in this very room and eaten my pussy until I screamed his name.
Now he was my caretaker, and I was a deranged runaway who’d taken over his bed, forcing him to sleep on the couch.
Jude walked Willa out, and when he returned, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels, giving me a pitying look. “I’ve got to go to the office for a bit,” he explained. “Meetings.”
Lips pressed together, I nodded.
“I won’t be long.”
“It’s fine.” I waved him off with my good hand. “I’m going to take a painkiller and attempt to sleep.”
That was a lie. My real plan was to get out of here and find my phone, but something told me that if I was transparent about that, he’d lose his shit.
“In the bed?” he raised his eyebrows.
“No. On the couch.” I patted it for effect.
He huffed, head bowed. When he looked up again, he zeroed in on me. “Ripley will stay with you. Her food and water bowls are filled, and she’s got a doggie door.”
“Okay.”
He headed to the kitchen and came back with a big glass of water and a sleeve of crackers, which he put on the coffee table.
After that, he disappeared down the hall and returned with the green fuzzy blanket I’d been so enamored with when I woke up, as well as an armful of pillows.
I smirked. “So youcanrespect my preference for the couch.”
He hovered over me, glaring. “Only because I don’t have time to argue. Tonight, you sleep in the bed.”
“Good luck with that.” I leaned back gently, fussing with the pillows.
“Let me do it.” He slid a hand behind my back and angled me forward gently, shifting the pillows around until I was at the perfect angle for my shoulder.
So close like this, it was impossible to avoid soaking in the heat of his body, and I was fully engulfed in his scent.
So much so that I had to hold my breath to keep from burying my nose in his neck as he pulled the blanket up and tucked it around me.
His hands paused on either side of my thighs, and he froze there, his face only inches from mine. His gaze darkened as he looked at me, causing a tiny fizzling sensation in my stomach.
“There you go,” he said, straightening. “I’ll be back.”
Just like that, the moment was over. He snagged his keys from the table by the door and shrugged on a coat, and then he was gone.
