Her eyes popped open, and their gazes met and held. Something hot and instant leaped between them, a heat that defied all logic and explanation. Swallowing hard, Collier was the first to look away, though his heart was beating much too fast. Something was happening, something he’d never experienced, and it was scaring the hell out of him.
He fought the strong urge to get up and run like the devil himself was chasing him. Curiosity on his part and need on hers clearly won the battle raging inside him, forcing him to stay put.
“I’ll try not to hurt you,” he said more brusquely than he had intended. But he was shaken, which left him no recourse but to try to protect himself as best he could. Knowing that she was naked under the robe made his mouth go bone-dry.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said in a breathless tone.
“Yes, I do.”
The intoxicating scent of roses assaulted his senses as he eased the terry robe off a creamy shoulder, further exposing the nasty scrape. Without looking at her, he squeezed a generous amount of salve onto a finger, then placed it on her bare flesh. And rubbed. Instantly he went hard, his erection pushing against his zipper.
Had she picked up on his reaction? More than ever, he dared not look at her. He almost couldn’t move that finger over the wound. Again the urge to flee was almost too tempting to ignore. Yet he wasn’t sure he could even stand, mortified by his own behavior.
She seemed unaware of his dilemma, because she didn’t pull away, for which he was thankful. She needed medical attention, and, for the moment, he was the only one who could provide it.
“Who did this to you?” he asked in a steely tone.
“I’d rather not say.”
He peered up at her, his lips tight. “Why would you want to protect such an animal?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Why don’t you try me?”
She licked her lower lip, then whispered, “Please.”
Please what? he wanted to shout. Please don’t kiss you senseless? Sweat drenched him; he was losing it.
He forced himself to look at her, he hoped without showing any of his chaotic thoughts. “Did he rape you?”
Her face paled. “No.”
“Did he try?”
“Yes, but he didn’t succeed.”
“Don’t make me pull the details out of you. You owe me that much.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she focused on him. “I…we were in his car when he attacked me. We’d gone out to dinner—” Her voice broke, and she wiped at the tears.
That gesture was almost more than Collier could take. He wanted to lick those tears away, to soak up all her pain and heartache and make it disappear. Instead he forced himself to say, “Go on.”
“When I wouldn’t let him…touch me, he became angry, then mean.”
“How did you get out of the car?” Collier suspected he knew the answer to that question. Nonetheless, he wanted to hear her say it. He was no shrink, but he knew she needed to talk about this.
“He…pushed me.”
“That sonofabitch!” He’d like nothing better than to break the man’s neck for damaging her perfect skin and body, not to mention her mind. What kind of animal did these kinds of things? He knew. A sicko. In his profession, he’d dealt with more than his share.
“I have no idea how long I’d been walking when you stopped.”
“I’m assuming no other cars had passed.”
“If they did, they didn’t bother to stop.”
Silence ensued while he gritted his teeth and placed the bandage over the scrape. Without asking permission, he gently pushed her robe completely off her shoulders and checked for other injuries that might require his attention.
Having her full, pointed breasts so close, barely hidden, almost begging to be touched, was almost his undoing. His erection pinched that much harder as he continued on his mission, all the while trying to ignore what was happening to his body.
Finding no other wounds worthy of medication, he covered her, then moved out of harm’s way to the rocking chair near the bed. “Tell me his name.”
“No.”
He gave a start. “No? Why not?”
“It’s none of your business,” she said in a small voice.
“As an attorney, what if I want to make it my business?”
Her mouth worked. “Why would you do that?”
“Does it matter?” His tone was tight.
He wished he knew what was going on behind those lovely eyes. Even in her vulnerable state, she seemed a master at guarding her secrets.
“I have to handle this in my own way, in my own time.”
Boy, had he heard that one before. “You’re not going to file charges.” His words were a flat statement of fact.
“No, I’m not,” she said, though she kept her gaze averted.
Feeling his attorney modus operandi kick in, he wanted to fire more questions at her, weaken her resolve until she agreed to make the scumbag pay. But he sensed that tactic wouldn’t work with this woman, that underneath her fragility was a strong will, so he kept his mouth shut. Besides, she was right. It wasn’t any of his business.
“Would you like a cup of hot chocolate?” he asked, changing the subject.
“No, thanks. I just want to go to bed.”
“No problem.” He took a deep breath, then stood. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you need?”
“I’m sure.” She paused, locking her gaze on his. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
“You’re welcome,” he lied, then turned and strode out of the room.
A short time later, Collier’s frustration continued to rise along with the water. With too much rain, the bridge up to the house became impassable. Under normal conditions that wouldn’t be a bad thing, since he had tons of work to keep him occupied.
However, Brittany Banks had put a whole new spin on things. After the way she’d affected him, work remained the furthest thing from his mind. What was there about her that had his gut in such a mess? That ignited his libido? Hell, he was practically engaged to a woman with whom he had everything in common.
With Brittany, it was just the opposite. It was a given from the way she was dressed that she didn’t have much money, much less move in the same social circles he did.
Disgusted with his thoughts and with himself, Collier turned back to the stack of papers piled on the coffee table. Man, did he need to be busting his butt. Defending a bigwig from a large energy company on sexual harassment charges brought against him by one of the female employees would not be a piece of cake. He had to be prepared. There could be no mistakes on his part, especially with the federal appointment in the offing.
Still, his mind was cluttered with the woman occupying the guest room. Running a close second to that thought was another equally as chilling. What if someone got wind of this incident—like the press, for instance? What would happen? They’d have a field day coming up with all kinds of inappropriate sexual connotations. With him under consideration for the federal judgeship, that would be the worst possible scenario.
Shuddering, Collier stared out the window and watched a bolt of lightning rip across the sky.