Sexy Bastards Anthology: Bad Boy, Biker, Alpha, Motorcycle Club, Contemporary Romance Collection (23 page)

Chapter 5

She woke to find herself tucked under blankets and wrapped in an inferno of body heat. Lord, it felt good. After last night, she was worried that she’d never be warm again. Now she reveled in the heat. And the comfort.

The stranger held her against his chest, his heavy thigh thrown across her legs. Pinning her in place. She lay there quietly. Although she was pinned, the sensation wasn’t oppressive. In fact, it was comforting. He wasn’t pressing down on her to keep her in place. Rather, it was a more gentle letting her know that he was there for her.

Who was this man who moved her so? Who made her wonder about a future after all? Could she have one without the pain and the fear? Was it possible to leave Greg and go on to have a different relationship with someone else? She’d never wanted to before. She still didn’t now. But this man… he made her want so much more than what she had.

Not that she knew what she had any longer. Greg would kill her next time he saw her. If he knew about her fall off the bridge, her night in a stranger’s bed, he’d kill her and take great pleasure in it.

If
he found out.

And she had to stop him from finding out.

“Who are you?” she whispered soundlessly into the room filled with the early morning glow of dawn, knowing he was asleep and couldn’t hear her. She studied his face, so relaxed in repose. He was a beautiful male with his square jaw and high cheekbones and the bright eyes she remembered well. They were a razor blue that caught her and held her in his grasp.

He was a man who went after what he wanted then reached out and took it.

But never against another’s will.

She was proof of that.

What did he do for a living? His hands showed calluses, as if he worked with them or had a hobby he indulged in often. He’d do well coaxing something out of nothing. There was a tenderness to him, though he’d probably hate her for saying so.

She smiled then.

A deep growl slid out from the perfect chiseled lips beside her. “What are you smiling about?”

She froze, the smile dropping off.

“Don’t be silent now,” the same barely-awake gravel voice murmured. “I’d like to know.”

She wanted to answer. She struggled to articulate an answer. Instead, she gave a statement of being. “I’m alive.”

His lashes lifted slowly. His head rested not a foot from hers, his gaze alert and penetrating.

“And that’s a good thing.”

She hesitated then offered a small smile. “It is.” She took a deep breath and added, “Thank you.”

His electric blue eyes widened. She’d heard the term before but had never seen an example in her life. Now she had. And they were beautiful.

“You’re welcome. Glad to see that the bright morning light has brought back your common sense.”

She didn’t know what to say to that, yet she knew some explanation was in order.

“If I’d stayed, I’d have gotten my head clear.”

His gaze narrowed as if remembering her state last night and considering her words this morning. “So you did slip and fall? If I hadn’t startled you, you’d have climbed back out?”

She nodded. “I hope so. I hadn’t gotten that far as to jump. I was thinking about it but was struck by how beautiful the play of moonlight on the water was. I thought if there was that much beauty in the world, why wasn’t there the same beauty in my world? I was lost in thinking I had no option but was still scrambling to find one.”

“And of course there is – but you have to open a door to let it in.”

Tears collected in the corner of her eyes. “No one has ever said that to me before.”

He smiled. “You opened the door. And now you will see beauty.”

“Lord, I hope so. So far there has only been ugliness in my life.”

“Not true, but you have focused on it more than the beauty. You choose what you want to see in your world. What you want to experience. If you’d seen something better, you’d have worked at changing your life for the better.”

Really? It was so not the words she’d expected to hear coming out of a heavily-tattooed biker’s mouth.

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

She would have shrugged but didn’t want to make him upset. “I haven’t heard anything like it before.”

“Then you have a lot of learning to do. Did you finish school?”

She shook her head. “No. I always wanted to but never got the chance.”

“You can now.”

How did that work? She stared at him in surprise. It took money to get an education. Money she didn’t have. Money she’d never have. But she’d love to go to school and get an education.

“What would you do if you went to school?”

She smiled. “No idea.”

“Sure you do.”

“How do you know?” She wanted to frown at him but again didn’t dare upset him, so she managed to keep her face neutral and composed. If there was something odd about lying in his bed, nude and rested, he showed no signs of being discomfited. In truth, she was the one who should be uneasy, and yet she wasn’t.

“Because we all have dreams. We all know inside that we want something different in our lives. Too often we ignore it as we don’t believe it can happen. That the dream is too far out of reach. So they shove it down deep and carry on with their lives as if it never existed.”

She didn’t know what to say because he was right. She just stared at him.

After a long moment, he said, “Cash.”

This time, she couldn’t have stopped the frown if she’d tried. “Sorry?” Was he offering her cash or saying cash was needed to go back to school?

“My name is Cash. I told you that last night, but I guess you were too out of it.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry. I had a lot on my mind.”

He smiled slightly and nodded.

She didn’t know what to say, it was such an unusual name that she wanted to comment but held her tongue.

“No comment?”

“No,” she whispered.

“Interesting.” He rolled over onto his back and groaned slightly.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, my muscles are just a little sore. A good workout and I’ll be fine.”

She sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. Lord knows why she bothered with modesty now, but it was different. More intimate. Greg would expect her to massage his back and be quick about it. Now she felt awkward, unsure. Should she offer? Did she want to offer? Or should she ignore him?

The real problem was she didn’t know how to act. What to say. What to do around him. She felt gauche. Awkward.

He straightened. “I’m going to have a shower. Why don’t you put on coffee?”

And he got up, swinging an obvious erection that he ignored even if she had trouble doing so.

She watched his muscled buttocks disappear around the corner, sad to see that gorgeous body disappear from sight. He was a stunning man.

And he’d said something about coffee. She hopped out of bed, eager to do something useful and hopefully get it correct. She stood alone in the bedroom, belatedly realizing that she had no clothes. Or purse or ID. She had nothing. Without ID, she couldn’t prove who she was.

It frightened her, but also gave her a sense of freedom.

She was no one. Yet she was someone.

And someone new.

What if she could get new ID? Was such a thing possible? She had no idea how to go about getting one. Maybe Cash did. But she’d not be asking him. He might be someone she needed to hide from as well.

But once the idea lodged in her brain, she couldn’t let it go.

There was no housecoat available, but she found a large t-shirt folded on the chair. She pulled it over her head and realized it was down almost to her knees. She was more than decently covered, and the kitchen was only a short hallway away. It was a different coffee maker than she was used to, but she figured it worked the same way as hers. Doing a mundane chore she’d done many times before brought her comfort in the routineness of it all. That it was a different setting brought her joy.

When the pot was dripping with hot brew – and she hoped he liked it strong – she opened the fridge hoping he might have cream inside. No. Ah well. He didn’t look like a man who doctored his caffeine, but she loved the creaminess first thing in the morning.

While she could hear the shower running, she did a cursory check of the contents of the kitchen. Fresh veggies and fruit. The cupboards were missing boxed and canned ingredients. There were a few there like some canned fish and tomatoes, but not much else. So he either liked to cook or he didn’t eat at home much. Greg had a penchant for pizza. Then again, many people did. The water in the shower shut off, sending her blood pressure up again.

She looked outside to see the sun shining through the tops of the trees. There was little to no activity out there, just an odd bird or two singing their heart out. She had no idea where she was, yet it looked to be a nice little residential area. Only not one she knew. There weren’t any run-down houses in sight, no obvious drug houses here. That was an improvement already. She’d hated the neighborhood that she’d lived in with Greg. He’d loved it. It gave him a dangerous appearance, he said. She hadn’t agreed with him and had been hit for disagreeing.

Now as she stared out the window into the pretty back yard with the early morning sun sending bright light across the big space, she had to wonder why she was still here. She could have left any time. Hell, he hadn’t even locked the door. She was free to go.

Except she had no clothes.

Neither had she looked for more to wear.

Frowning, she tried to sort out her mental state. Did she want to stay here? No. Well, maybe. The thing is, she didn’t want to go home, so here was as good a place as any. Considering she hadn’t been hurt in any way and she’d had a good night’s sleep, her body healing well this morning, she realized that this place was
better
than most. It was a place to hole up and think about what she was going to do next.

If Cash was okay with that.

She could co-exist here, if co-existence was something he wanted.

“I’m surprised to see you still here.” His calm voice sounded from behind her in the direction of the bedroom.

She bent her head to look down at her hands. “So am I,” she said in a low voice, hating that she immediately turned subservient. Was it just men that did this to her or would she turn this way with an aggressive female? Hopefully she’d never find out.

“Thank you for putting on coffee.”

“You asked me to,” she said, her tone of voice reasonable. Then winced. Depending on Greg’s mood, her comment would have gotten her a slap across the face.

“I did, but we ask for a lot in life and it seems like we don’t get half of it.”

She frowned. “How does that jibe with your earlier conversation about getting what you want?”

He laughed. “Glad you remembered that.”

He poured two cups of coffee while she watched. He handed her one cup. “And what I mean is we tend to throw a wide net of wants but really don’t want all we ask for. It’s almost a habit instead of conscious thinking.”

His speech was similar to last night’s talk and at odds with his appearance again. He stood in front of her barefoot, wearing clean jeans and a white t-shirt, his face freshly shaved and his hair damp. She couldn’t tell if he was a biker or banker. His words and concepts said new age psychologist.

She sipped her coffee, letting the heat of the dark black brew slide down her mouth. His words were so foreign to her own understanding of the world. She didn’t know what to say but was very aware of the need to watch what she said.

He had to have a trigger point. Now if only she could learn what it was without getting him mad.

She needed to know where the limits were with this strange man. “Do you have a degree?”

What an odd question. She’d surprised herself with it. The answer didn’t matter. She just wondered.

“I do,” he said, surprising her again.

“Really?” When he nodded, she tried to tell herself it was normal. Lots of people had a good education. It’s just those people didn’t live in her world. She wracked her brain trying to think of anyone she knew that had as good an education and came up blank.

“Why is that so odd?” he asked. “Many of my friends have degrees.”

She nodded. “We obviously have different friends,” she added quietly.

“Hmmm.” He walked to the far side of the kitchen and leaned against it, staring at her over his cup. “Do you have any friends?”

Somehow that came out harsh, as if she was completely unloved by anyone. She hoped he didn’t mean it. She hoped she had an answer for him. She opened her mouth to say of course I do, but the words that came out were the ones she’d planned to say. “No, I don’t.” She frowned at herself and huffed lightly. “What is it about you that I say what I wasn’t planning to say?”

“Honesty is important, and here you feel safe. Honesty helps foster an atmosphere of healing. That’s what’s happening.”

There he went again with the weird speech. She like the sound of what he was saying but didn’t understand most of it. Because he had a degree? Or because she felt inferior?