Page 39 of No Fear
Chapter Eight
Remy hated this. Hated that he had no idea what to say. Hated that he didn’t know what to do to make it better for her, to make it all stop. He had no clue what he could do to take her fear away, to reassure her that she was safe and that nobody would ever be able to hurt her again because he had no idea how she had been hurt in the first place.
He shot a glance at the woman he loved as she sat curled and shivering in the passenger seat of his car. She’d let go of him as soon as he deposited her into the seat earlier. She’d curled into a ball, her back to him and he couldn’t tell if she was staring out the window in silence or if she had her eyes squeezed shut to keep the tears at bay. He wanted, more than anything, to reach out and touch her, to caress her, to hold her hand and tell her that everything was going to be okay but since he wasn’t sure how she would react to his touch, he didn’t.
As the Challenger bounced over the rough terrain that led out to his trailer in the woods, he grit his teeth. Twice. They’d done this twice in less than twenty-four hours. He’d had to carry her out of a place full of his family members because she was shivering and shaking, paralyzed with fear. It was the second time he’d had to watch her fall apart and he hated that she wouldn’t tell him how to keep it from happening a third time.
He white-knuckled the steering wheel as he pulled to a stop in front of the trailer. He’d never been so scared in his life as the moment Skylar came bursting into Fine Lines. He’d beaten even Colt to his feet and when the pretty blond had looked at him, he’d felt his blood run cold.
She’d only said one word, Rachel, but he’d already been moving.
He’d known something had happened, something bad, but he hated that he didn’t know what. Craig, her asshole half-brother, had stopped in and upset her. He hadn’t touched her. That’s what the girls told him. But he’d clearly used his words to hit her again, where it hurt, and since nobody could tell him exactly what threats he’d made, he was left feeling useless.
He wanted to curse his cousins for leaving the girls alone in the first place. They never should have been alone. Bentley was supposed to stick to Skylar like glue when Colt wasn’t with her and Ford had all but become a big brother figure to Jemma since he was constantly at her side. He hadn’t thought about putting protection on Rachel today because he’d been right next door at the tattoo studio and Colt had promised him, repeatedly, that she was perfectly safe with Skylar.
Well, Colt had been wrong and Rachel was the one paying for it.
“Stay there.” He ordered gruffly when he put the car in park and Rachel reached for the door handle.
She winced and he knew his voice was too hard but he couldn’t help it. He jerked his own door open and slid out of the car. He needed to get himself under control. He needed her to trust him so that she would open up to him, it was more important than ever that she tell him what was going on. She wouldn’t do that if she was scared of him.
“Come on, babe.” He helped her up and then swept her into his arms.
“R-Remy, I c-can…”
“Shh, no talking. Not yet.” He cut her off as he stomped towards the trailer, “We’re both too on edge to talk right now. We’re going to go inside and you’re going to take a warm, relaxing bath. Then… then we’ll talk.”
He fumbled with the door handle, getting it unlocked, and then awkwardly carried her inside. She didn’t relax in his arms this time. She held tight to him but refused to lift her head and look him in the eye. She’d buried her face in his shoulder again so he only barely heard her when she spoke.
“I was only gonna say I could walk.”
He harrumphed at that but didn’t comment. She was going to say a lot more than that but not right now. Later, after, she was going to have to talk to him. She had to know that. He’d sworn that he wouldn’t push her but this wasn’t aboutthem, it was about her safety and he wouldn’t back off when it came to that.
“A bath sounds nice.” She finally sighed as he twisted to fit them both into his small bathroom and then lowered her to her feet.
He twisted the taps, turning the hot water on full blast and leaving the cold barely turned on. He knew the hot water heater in the trailer was shit. This way she would get hot water to start and when it began to wane, it would still run at least warm for a while longer.
He turned back to find her watching him from tear-stained eyes, “I wish I had bubbles or those salt things you girls like but this will have to do.”
“It’s f-fine.”
“The hot water will help with the shaking.” His hands went to her blouse and she sucked in a surprised gasp as he began unbuttoning it, “You’re getting in that tub alone, Rach. You need to relax, not get worked up even further. I’m just helping undress you because right now, I need to see that you’re not hurt, okay?”
She bit into her bottom lip but nodded quickly.
Remy focused on the task at hand. He was not a good man. He knew that. The way his body responded to her as he revealed her pale skin was only further proof of it. He wanted her. God he wanted her. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her beautiful body, kiss every centimeter of her smooth skin, and prove to both of them that she was alive and safe. But instead of doing any of that he simply stripped her naked, working methodically and ignoring his traitorous cock as it hardened and then ached. When she was completely naked, he forced himself not to look for anything but bruises and when he didn’t find any, he turned away.
“Get in the tub, Rachel. Let the warmth sink into your muscles. Relax. You’re safe here.”
“Th-Thank you, Remy.”
“I’ll find you something to put on when you get out.” He nodded and then left the room without looking back.
He hated that she was stuttering again. It was just the two of them. She should have felt safe. His cock being at full mast behind the zipper of his pants argued that maybe she was stuttering because of the sexual tension. God knew it was there and that she could probably feel it as deeply as he could. But he didn’t think so.
After a lot of rummaging in his drawers, he gave up on finding anything small enough to fit her. He simply grabbed an old t-shirt that would drape her like a dress and went back to the bathroom. If she didn’t want to wear it, she could put her work clothes back on. That was up to her. They’d have to figure out what to do about getting her more clothes though, and soon.
“Here’s a shirt for you.” He dropped it onto the counter and fought a smile when he saw her relaxing in his bathtub.
