Satin and Steel (4 page)

“I can help you-if you want,” he said, sensing her discomfort. “Once your arm is in there, you won’t have to move it again until my old lady comes back to check you out.”

Rhee nodded, unable to speak. This was so damn embarrassing! The last time a guy had gotten this close to her naked breasts, it wasn’t because Rhee wanted it. Marco wouldn’t take no for an answer. The experience hadn’t ended well. Rhee had grown wary of men long before the fateful night she had stepped into
Tu Madre,
and for good reason. Men couldn’t be trusted. She had learned that lesson long ago.

Dax looked at the girl closely. Her cheeks were bright pink, and so was the hand he could see peeking out from beneath his old hoodie.

“Did you scald yourself? You look so red,” he said curiously.

Rhee said nothing for several moments, and then she spoke in a voice so soft he could hardly discern her words.

“I was dirty.”

Well, that was true. But suddenly, Dax knew exactly what had possessed the girl to fry herself in his shower.
Those scumbags.
Dax was overcome with a burning desire to shove Juan’s balls down his own throat. Once Rhee could describe her attackers, and confirm what he already expected, he would exact a fitting punishment on
The Chicos’
head mercenary. Dax clenched his fists reflexively and his eyes took on a steely glint. He never would have noticed his own reaction to Rhee’s situation were it not for her swift intake of breath and her tangible increase in anxiety as she looked fearfully at his clenched fists.

I’m scaring her.
Forcing himself to relax and put on a calm smile, Dax gently reached for the hem of the sweatshirt. Gingerly, he lifted it up, and slid his hand up Rhee’s bare arm. His knuckles grazed her bare flesh, and she let out a yelp of shame and jerked away from his touch.

“Rhee? Rhee. I’m sorry honey, but the only way to get this on you is to touch you. I promise I won’t hurt you-okay?”

A single tear trickled from her eye and he caught her barely perceptible nod. Her cheeks were beet red now, and her body trembled as though she were cold. Deftly, Dax pulled the sleeve down, exposing a good portion of her neck and shoulder. He wanted to avoid lifting her arm but in the end, he had to move it a bit. Rhee gasped in pain and then he saw her small white teeth clamp down on her full bottom lip to stifle any noise. Dax was startled at the admiration he felt for the young girl.  There was definitely more to her than met the eye.  Rhee’s left arm was finally in the sleeve and she gazed at him with a mixture of gratitude and shame in her eyes.

“Thank you. I’m sorry to be so much trouble. I’m feeling much better. Maybe-maybe I should be going home now? I’ll return your clothes…” Rhee’s huge yawn cut off her own words.

The man, Dax, certainly had a killer smile. He fixed his toothy grin on her, eyebrows raised at the conflict between her words and her obvious exhaustion.

“You’re not going anywhere, little girl,” he said, much to Rhee’s annoyance.

I am not a little girl!
She glared at the man, but he only grinned again, causing a strange tingle to run down Rhee’s spine. Rhee yawned again uncontrollably. She hated being at a stranger’s mercy, hated being so weak and tired.

“You need to eat. I ordered a pizza. I’ll wake you when it gets here. For now, try to rest.”

He stood up, and Rhee was again reminded of how tall the man was. He was at least six foot four, making her feel just like the child he seemed to perceive her as. She sank back into the comfortable pillows, wanting to protest but finding herself unable to do much of anything other than allow her heavy eyelids to flutter closed.

It was morning again, judging by the quality of light that shone in through thin curtains.
So much for that pizza
! Rhee could hear low voices beyond the closed bedroom door. Her stomach growled loudly and her urgent need to void her bladder once again forced her shaky body from the strange bed, a bed that was actually starting to feel more familiar. Wondering briefly what day it was, Rhee used the restroom and splashed several handfuls of cool, clear water onto her face. Sighing, she resigned herself to the fact that she would have to show her face to Dax and whoever his guest was. She wanted to use the phone. At the very least, she should check her messages. Maybe Mickey had called.

Dax turned at the soft scrape of the door. He smiled at the sight of his patient peeking at him shyly. The girl looked a lot better. Trish had run her blood and she was clean, which was good to know. His girlfriend went up on her tiptoes to press her lips against his before approaching Rhee.
Funny how she does that
, he thought.
Maybe next time she’ll piss on my leg to mark her territory
. Rhee stiffened as Trish approached her, but after a few moments of whispered conversation, she allowed Trish to lead her to the couch and check her vitals. Silently, Dax observed the two women from the kitchen as he scrambled some eggs.

Trish was tall and blond, with a nice rack. She had a heart-shaped face and big brown eyes, just the type of girl to break your heart. Rhee was petite and dark. Dax wasn’t sure what her ethnicity was but if he had to guess, he’d put his money on something exotic or mixed. Rhee’s eyes were strikingly green and her rich, chestnut hair had a hint of red in it. She was thin, but as he watched her stand so that Trish could manipulate her arm, he could see hints of a nice round bottom beneath those baggy sweats.

Of course, he had already seen Rhee’s tits, and they were smaller than Trish’s ample chest, but perfectly shaped. Dax turned quickly back to his eggs, startled by the sudden hard-on that appeared in his jeans. He willed it away, figuring he needed to get laid. It had been a few days, what with Trish’s rotation schedule at the hospital and the unexpected caregiving he had gotten roped into. Dax heaped some food onto a plate and poured some coffee. Hopefully, Rhee wouldn’t require as much babysitting now. He had already missed a meeting and Hawk wasn’t too happy about it.

“Dax!” Trish’s voice was tinged with irritation, a sure sign that he hadn’t been listening.

“Sorry baby,” he apologized, tweaking her behind. To his amusement, Rhee’s cheeks took on a darker hue of red and she looked away quickly after she witnessing his public display of affection.

“Her shoulder is badly bruised, but I don’t think anything is torn. She needs to rest, and ice it every few hours. Here’s an anti-inflammatory and some more painkillers.”

Trish fixed her gaze on Rhee. “You need to eat, take these meds, and sleep-in that order. When you’re feeling better, Dax can help you get back to your place and handle anything that needs to be handled. Okay?”

Rhee surprised them both, and herself, by nodding. She liked Trish’s no-nonsense attitude. To Dax’s surprise, the tiny slip of a girl wolfed down three eggs, two pieces of toast, and a glass of juice before yawning again. She swallowed the pills Trish offered her without protest. Trish set her up with an icepack and once she was asleep, Dax bent his girlfriend over the kitchen table and fucked the shit out of her. He sent Trish off to work full of his hot cream, with a big smile on her face.

Chapter Four

It was well past midnight when a piercing scream jolted Dax from a deep sleep. His senses on high alert, he bolted into the guest bedroom. Rhee was sitting straight up, and her eyes were open but she didn’t seem to recognize him.

“Get away from me!” she cried fearfully.

Dax leaned towards her, to shake her awake, and was shocked when her right fist came up and caught him square in the jaw.
Little girl has a nice right hook
, he thought ruefully as he grabbed Rhee by her arms, taking care to avoid her injured shoulder.

“Rhee!” he said sharply. “Wake up!”

Rhee was panicking. She was back in that room. Men were touching her, hurting her. Mickey was dead, they said. Rhee would be next.
Mickey!

Suddenly, Rhee was aware that someone was calling her name. Telling her to wake up. She blinked slowly in the darkened room, disoriented. Someone was holding her tightly, and she squeaked in alarm.

“Rhee? You were dreaming. You’re safe. It’s me, Dax. Remember?”

It all came rushing back to her then.
Dammit, I haven’t had night terrors for years.
So much for all of that therapy
, she thought ruefully. Taking a few deep breaths, Rhee managed to nod, willing her rapid heartbeat to slow down. She became aware that she was pressed against Dax’s heavily muscled, bare chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the black ink that snaked around his rippling bicep as he held her with her back to him.

“Not going to punch me again are you?” he asked, his voice sounding somewhat amused.

“Punch you?” she quavered.

“You have a solid right hook, little girl, I’ll give you that. I hope you did some damage to whoever roughed you up.”

Rhee shivered at the reminder. That man, the short one with the scar, he would have happily killed her, she knew. Dax’s arms tightened around her and for a moment she felt his breath in her hair. He smelled of sandalwood and leather. Rhee didn’t realize that she had relaxed in the man’s arms until her cheek made contact with his warm, bare skin.

She jerked upright, embarrassed. This was a virtual stranger! Rhee tried to pull away but Dax didn’t release his grip just yet. Her heart began to pound fearfully as he placed his mouth near her ear. His warm breath tickled her earlobe, and she was confused by the tingle that ran down her neck, causing her nipples to stand straight out as though she were cold.

“Rhee? I have security. In the house, I mean. Cameras, motion detectors, the whole bit. No one’s getting in here, okay? And if they did-well, they’d be real sorry. Do you understand, honey?”

Honey?!
Rhee blushed at the familiar term of endearment he used. Now her nipples were beginning to ache, and she worried that he would notice them sticking out. She managed to nod, and to her great relief, Dax let her go.

“Will you be able to sleep?”

Sleep?
Hell, no!
Rhee managed to nod again, but sleep was the last thing she wanted to do. No way was she going to allow that nightmare back into her head!

“If you wake up before me, feel free to watch some TV. If you’re feeling better, we’ll see about getting you home in the morning.”

Dax stood up and in the dim light Rhee could clearly see the definition in his stomach. She felt her face heat up and was grateful for the dark. Dax was in great shape; she shouldn’t fault herself for noticing the washboard he had for a stomach! She huddled back under the covers, embarrassed beyond reason that she had screamed like a child and interrupted his sleep.

He must think I am such an idiot!
When some time had passed in silence, Rhee crept out of bed and tentatively made her way to the couch. Hoping the low hum of the television wouldn’t wake her gracious host, Rhee flipped to some
I Love Lucy
reruns. It was two in the morning. Rhee sighed.
Long night ahead.

Dax padded into the kitchen in his sweats and drank some orange juice straight from the carton. At first, he didn’t see the small figure huddled on his couch. Smiling a little, he turned the television off and threw another blanket on his little houseguest. It was strange waking up with a girl on his couch like this. Usually, the girlies were in his bed. At least, they were until Trish came back to town two years ago and finally wanted to get serious. Rhee’s color was much better, and she was sleeping like the dead, a sure sign that she was on her way to recovery. His phone buzzed for the third time that morning. Dax scribbled a hasty note for the girl. Time to get back to work and explain himself.

Rhee woke and found herself alone for the first time in days. The clock on the microwave said that it was one o’clock. She hunted around for a phone, but couldn’t find one. She knew he had a cell phone but apparently Dax didn’t have a landline. Rhee contemplated just walking out the door, but with no money, identification, car, or even underwear, she was safer here for the moment. Plus, she was still so sore and bruised. Sighing, she perched on a barstool in the kitchen and that was when she found his note.

Got some things to do

Make yourself at home

Back by dinner

—Dax

Rhee smiled at the childish scrawl. It was so domestic for him to leave her a note, as though they were roommates.
Or lovers.
Rhee choked on her juice, as she recalled finding herself in the man’s arms the night before. Other than her unwanted experiences, she was pretty inexperienced with men. During these past few nights, she had engaged in more intimate moments with a complete stranger than she had with her one and only boyfriend! Her thoughts went unwillingly to that first, and only relationship, and Rhee shuddered.

Marco was the reason she had started taking self-defense classes. Marco was the reason she didn’t date, or spend her time primping and preening, trying to attract attention like so many of her college friends. Actually, through her therapy sessions, she had learned to forgive, and to be grateful to Marco, for showing her that she didn’t need a man to be happy. No, Rhee was meant for something better than just being a convenient lay for some guy. But first, she had to find Mickey.
God, Mickey.
How many precious days had she lost languishing here?!

Rhee jumped up and groaned at the stiffness in her back and shoulder. Still, she had to find a way to redirect her nervous energy. Television just wasn’t going to cut it. She had to do something, or she would drive herself crazy all day thinking about Mickey or reliving her own nightmares. Looking around Dax’s house, she could see that it could use some attention. A thin layer of dust coated the furniture and there were dishes in the sink.