CHAPTER TWO
I knew she was trouble as soon as I saw her, lying belly-up on the rock bed of my favorite stream. The tiny creek branched off the Skagit River and was surrounded by towering evergreens. It was on my land, and I frequented it often. As far as I knew, I was the only one who was aware of its existence.
Until now at least.
The bottom half of the girl’s body was lying in the water. Her legs weren’t completely submerged, only a few inches deep in the shallow edge of the stream, but it was enough to soak the dingy, yellow sundress she was wearing. She was streaked with dirt, and girly sandals with little, white wedges adorned her feet – their ankle straps probably the only reason they were still attached.
It was ridiculous.
She was ridiculous.
The wisp of a girl in her cutesy, little dress had no business being here on my land – in my woods.
Righteous anger caused blood to burn hot in my veins.
No matter how irritated I was with her presence, however, I knew I couldn’t just leave her there, half-drowned in the river. As callous and underused as it was, my conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Especially not with the storm brewing overhead.
Rain had already begun to fall, and the thunder that had started booming a half-hour ago was rolling closer. She was liable to freeze to death, and then I’d have more to worry about than a lost girl wandering around my property.
Images of sirens and police tape flashed through my mind, and I fought the urge to growl.
Feeling remarkably clear-headed considering my current… state, I took one lumbering step towards her and then another. Kneeling on all fours, I prodded at her, but she didn’t react.
She was so still, in fact, that for a moment, I thought I had stumbled upon her too late and that she was already dead. I was surprised by the shock of discontent that thought sent barreling through me. It made the following rush of relief all the more annoying when I spotted the tiny rise and fall of her chest.
Shaking the warring feelings off, I was forced to acknowledge that my first instinct – to tower over the girl and scare her off my property – would be a useless endeavor considering the circumstances.
I transformed to get a better look at her.
Paying no mind to my nudity – it wasn’t like anyone was around to disapprove – I crouched down and tentatively shook her shoulder, attempting to rouse her. “Hey!” I shouted over the whistle of the wind. “Hey... girl.”
I hadn’t truly expected an answer, so I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get one. I eyed her carefully, taking in the small scrapes on her hands, and the longer scratch that stretched from her right elbow to her wrist. All the cuts were shallow, however, and hardly reason for anyone to lose consciousness.
I pushed back the wet hair sticking to her face with my palm, intent on examining her for more injuries. For a second, my heart stopped in my chest, before it started back up again even faster.
The girl. She was breathtaking.
And young, a nasty voice in the back of my head pointed out. Too young for an old man like you. Really so desperate for company that you’re drinking in the features of a half-drowned, comatose girl?
I scowled – at the voice or the girl, I didn't know.
Regardless, it was true. The pale, unblemished – if one didn’t count the purple goose egg on her temple that was likely the cause of her unconsciousness – face spoke of youth. I wasn’t even sure if the girl was eighteen. It further solidified my realization that I couldn’t just leave her there and let nature take its course.
I didn’t want to be responsible for the death of a child.
I would have to take her home with me.
I sighed, muttering a string of cuss words under my breath and scooping the girl up before I could change my mind. She felt like little more than a feather in my arms, and I could feel my forehead crease in concern.
Batting the foreign feeling away, I cradled her to my chest and began the mile-long trek back to my cabin.
Her skin was cold against my heated flesh, her lips tinted blue, but I took heart in the fact that her arms were covered in goose pimples, a sign that her body was still actively trying to warm itself. It didn’t stop an unfamiliar knot of worry from forming in my chest, though, when her lashes didn’t so much as flutter despite the jostling hike back to my cabin.
I arrived as fast as the extra weight – however slight – in my arms allowed. Much like the stream, my home was surrounded by trees. Located a quarter mile down a narrow, gravel driveway, it was secluded from society – from people.
Just the way I liked it.
Stomping past the garden and chicken coop, I adjusted my grip on the girl before twisting the knob of my front door and shouldering my way into the cabin. It was small and only one story. Besides the single bedroom and adjoining bathroom, it had an open floor plan, with the small kitchen, dining room, and living room all connected. The only features that spoke of luxury were the vaulted oak ceiling and the stone fireplace, where embers were currently burning.
Thane assaulted me as soon as I walked in the front door – his usual greeting. When he saw the burden in my arms, however, his already exuberant excitement grew. He barked loudly, trailing after me as I made my way to the couch.
“Quiet,” I shushed the lab, probably more harshly than the situation demanded.
The girl didn’t react at all to the excess noise, and I laid her carefully on the couch before reaching to switch on a nearby lamp. As light flooded the room, I could see a faint bruise on the apple of her cheek and a small scrape under her chin that I had missed while looking her over near the stream.
What the hell had happened?
Knowing I had to get her out of her wet clothes, I ignored Thane, whose internalized curiosity was causing him to practically vibrate at my side. (It was a strange reaction from a dog who tended to growl at the rare conscious person I brought home.)
After prying off her sandals, I took a moment to examine her dress, debating how I was going to get it off her before spotting the three button clasps on the front of the garb. I fumbled with them with uncharacteristically clumsy fingers.
I blamed it on the female’s sudden and unexpected presence in my home; it had me off-kilter, and I couldn't help but feel a ping of resentment as I peeled the dress off the tiny girl.
Just a girl, I reminded myself firmly as I took in her saturated bra and panties. Her bra was made of a flimsy, silk fabric, and I could see the outline of two perfectly round rosy nipples. I jerked my eyes away from the mouth-watering sight, having no desire to be labeled a pedophile, even if the small swell of her breasts and the little curve of her hip implied she was more woman than girl.
The girl’s naturally sweet, cloying scent burned my nostrils, hardly aiding in my attempt at respecting her privacy. Leaving her underwear on, I fetched a random shirt from my closet and forced my eyes – and hands – to remain clinical as I gently pulled her arms through the sleeves.
It swamped her, but wasn’t nearly as funny-looking as the pair of sweatpants I shimmied up her legs. They were the smallest pair I owned, and I was still forced to fold the elastic waistband over her hips three times.
After she was dressed, I added some logs to the fireplace before reclaiming my place standing over her, damn near glowering at the girl on my couch.
“What do I do with her?” I finally asked, directing the question at Thane, who was looking on with me.
He shot me an odd sort of look and tilted his head to the side, as if pointing out: “How the hell should I know? I’m a dog.”
I snorted. Then sighed.
Picking the girl up, I brought her to my bedroom. Cradling her to my chest with one hand, I pulled back the covers before laying her down and drawing the heavy quilt back over her.
My hand reached forward of its own accord, intent on tucking a stray strand of damp hair behind her ear, but I caught myself at the last moment and forced the hand to drop back down to my side.
I stared at the girl, ignoring the heavy, almost sated feeling in my gut that seeing her in my bed caused.
“You better have a damn good explanation when you wake up,” I finally muttered before wandering back out to the living room.
It was late – or early, I noted, as the big hand of the clock above the fireplace pointed to just past the one. I stretched out on the couch, attempting to sleep, but the unease of having someone else in my house made it next to impossible. I was restless, and I tossed and turned on the undersized couch, only managing to catch a few minutes of shuteye here and there.
It was the kind of rest that had me feeling more tired than before I’d closed my eyes.
When the yellow and orange hues of the cheerful July sun began streaming in through the windows’ blinds, I gave up on sleep altogether. I got up, draining a glass of water before finding myself staring down the meager contents of my fridge, begrudging the girl who continued to sleep peacefully in my bed.
Forcing myself to concentrate on things other than her, I stuck as close to my usual routine as possible, making myself a hardy breakfast and allowing Thane to sunbathe on the porch as I tended to the garden and fed the chickens. Then I made myself lunch.
When the bright afternoon sun slowly began dulling at dusk, however, my resentment had been almost completely replaced by concern.
The girl hadn’t so much as stirred the entire day.
(I had better hearing than most, and if I strained my ears, I could hear her steady heartbeat through the wall that separated the living room from the bedroom. It was the only thing that had stopped me from constantly checking in on her throughout the day.)
I was second guessing the decision to bring her to my cabin instead of the hospital when the sky had darkened completely and the girl still hadn’t come to. In fact, I was debating the merits of fetching a doctor, even if Beacon Memorial was over a half-hour away by car, when I finally heard it: rustling sheets.
I stiffened where I knelt, stoking the fire. A moment later, I heard soft footfalls on the floor, and a while after that, the sound of the toilet flushing. Throwing the log I still held in my hands into the flames, I straightened before instinctively pressing my back against the stone wall of the fireplace as I waited for her to emerge from the bedroom.
I didn’t have to wait long.
The next sound I heard was more footfalls before the bedroom door creaked open. She peeked out behind the oak slab, and Christ, she was even more striking with her eyes open – big, brown, doe-like things surrounded by thick, black lashes.
Her gaze passed right over me where I stood in the natural shadow of the fire.
I tried not to think about what she thought, about whether or not she was impressed, as she glanced around my cabin. I didn’t care what she thought.
She took a hesitant step out from behind the bedroom door. “Hello?”
She didn’t get more than that single word out before Thane was upon her.
I felt something tight curl in my chest when the large lab sprung at the girl, worried for a second that he would attack her – he wasn’t exactly affectionate with strangers – but to my bewilderment, he seemed… fond of the girl.
Still, he nearly leveled her in his eagerness, yipping excitedly as he butted his head first against her hip, and then her hand as he practically forced her to pet him.
Thane liked her.
It was irksome.
Even more annoying was the way my shirt hung down to mid-thigh on the girl, threatening to slide off her left shoulder and show off a delicate collar bone.
She had no right looking so fucking… sweet.
“Well, hello there,” she greeted Thane congenially, her voice soft and a little throaty from lack of use. “What’s your name, hmm?” she asked as she obliged the big lug, kneeling and smoothing back the short hairs between his ears. “Aren’t you a charming boy?”
I watched as she spoiled my dog. Thane soaked up the affection, his tail wagging wildly behind him as he tried to bury his snout into her chest. When he was unsuccessful, he attempted to jump in her lap and nearly knocked her over, slobbering on her face as he swiped his long tongue under her chin.
Instead of shoving the dog off like any normal person would have, the girl laughed – a sweet, tinkling sound that caused a sudden jolt of something to buzz under my skin. The bizarre urge to make her make that noise again hit me.
I’d had enough.
Pushing myself off the wall, I stepped into the light. “Thane, heel,” I ordered sternly, refusing to feel guilty about the way he whined at the order or the way she flinched back at the sudden intrusion. (I wasn’t intruding. It was my house.)
Her brown eyes zeroed in on me, and they widened as she took me in.
She scrambled to her feet, but my six-foot, five-inch body still easily dwarfed her small frame. She really was just a wisp of a thing.
I clenched my jaw as her white teeth dug into the pink plumpness of her bottom lip. She stared at me with something akin to fear, but I watched as resolve hardened her gaze a moment later. She squared her shoulders before opening her mouth. What came tumbling out was the question that I should have been asking.
“Who are you?”