Page 3 of Saving Her Curves

“Maybe,” he grunted, continuing to assess her for injuries. “I’m a member of the search and rescue team.”

“I’m Skye.” She lifted her hand to her head. It came away with blood again.

“Well, it certainly looks like I need to be rescued, doesn’t it?”

“Just a little, ma’am.” He smiled at her and her heart accelerated in a way that had nothing to do with the trauma she had just experienced. “Are you injured anywhere else besides your head?”

“No, not really. The seatbelt has made me a little sore though.”

“Okay,” Hank nodded. “That sounds normal. Let’s get you out of this car and into someplace warm.”

Before she could answer, his thick arms wrapped around her. One held her weight as the other undid her seatbelt. “Put your arms around my neck, honey.”

Skye didn’t hesitate. For some unexplained reason she trusted him explicitly. Maybe it was the fact that this was his job, or maybe it was because she knew he wouldn’t drop her. She was a curvy woman, but her size was no match for his strength. He was a big mountain of a man.

As gently as Hank could, he lifted her through the open car door. The movement made her groan but she didn’t let go. She helped him, using her feet to push herself upward and into him. Suddenly, she found herself standing beside him, knee deep in the snow.

They stood there for a few seconds; his arms wrapped around her. He could feel every soft curve cradled against him despite the thickness of his outerwear. Later, he would tell himself he’d brought his hand up to check her injury. It certainly hadn’t been his plan to cup her soft jaw, to stroke his thumb across the sweet roundness of her cheek. And he definitely hadn’t planned on moving, of lowering his head until his mouth was on hers.

Hank lost all sense of reality and his heartbeat soared, the adrenaline of the moment spiking even more as sparks exploded in the nerves beneath his skin. Sheer, sensual excitement roared to life deep in his gut and his control blazed away on a lick of desire more intense than anything he’d felt since he’d had his first woman a lifetime ago.

With a guttural sound that was totally male, his tongue claimed hers, exploring the sweetness of her mouth, stealing her breath, robbing him of reason. The fragrance of her hair and skin wafted around him. Sunshine and flowers in the middle of a damn snow storm.

That thought brought him abruptly to his senses.

“Damn,” he said. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

Skye stood still in the circle of his arms. Her dark brown eyes widen as she stared up at him. Her sweet, pink tongue came out to lick her lips. Both made him think of long winter nights snuggled beneath the covers of his king-size bed. He shook his head to dislodge the wayward thoughts.

“Well,” she smiled. “That’s a first for me.”

“What?” Hank was having a difficult time getting his thoughts—and body—under control.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been kissed in the falling snow. I think I might like to do it again.”

CHAPTER TWO

. . .

Hank turned off the engine in front of his cabin, glancing at his unexpected passenger. Despite the suggestion by Logan that he could walk to the accident, Hank had taken his vehicle, knowing he’d have to transport whoever was inside the wrecked car, plus he had the emergency equipment stowed in there.

It had taken him longer than he would have liked to make his way back to the cabin. And, if he hadn’t put chains on his four-wheel drive before leaving work today, they wouldn’t have made it back. “Well, this is it.”

“It looks like heaven.” Skye gave him a smile and she couldn’t have looked cuter, sitting next to him, wrapped in the spare jacket he always carried. He tried not to dwell on the fact that they would be alone in his cabin until the storm moved through. And, if the weather reports were accurate, that wouldn’t be until tomorrow afternoon. Then, there’d be a least a foot of snow, if not more to deal with. Even though the county was prepared for this kind of weather, it would be a couple of days before they got the roads cleared this far out. The roads in town and those coming into town were the first priority.

Thankfully, he was prepared to wait out a storm such as this. He had enough wood to last the winter, a pantry full of food, and a generator to run the essentials.

What he wasn’t sure about, was the control he’d have over his desire for this woman. Sweat popped out on his forehead and his groin tightened predictably. He glanced down at the search and rescue emblem on his jacket pocket. He’d rescued her from a bad situation. She’d put her trust in him immediately. Now she trusted him to keep her safe.

So, no throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to his bed.

“Not quite, but it has everything we’ll need. Stay there.” He opened his door and walked around the front of the vehicle. Before she could protest, he had opened her door and swung her up in his arms. “Let’s get you inside.”

The vehicle’s lights cut off before they reached the front door. It didn’t matter, there was nothing in the way—except the snow. His long legs cut through it with little effort. Once on the porch, he shoved the door open with one broad shoulder.

Stepping inside, he set her on her feet on a braided rug right inside the door. They were both wet from the heavily falling snow. His sharp brown eyes surveyed her cloud of disheveled hair and the trail of dried blood marring one side of her lovely face. The cut had stopped bleeding.

He quickly stripped out of his wet coat and the other equipment he had strapped to his body. He sat down in a chair by the door to rid himself of his heavy boots. He stood up, and without asking, began to do the same for her. First, he removed her jacket, then knelt down in front of her. She was wearing a pair of low-heeled ankle boots that zipped up on the side.

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