Page 14 of Found By You

That’s…unexpected. I’m not sure I follow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, how am I supposed to help you,” he says, sounding so vulnerable it makes my heart ache. “I can’t leave you here…like this. It’s a damn meat locker in your room. Not that it’s much better in here by any means. You were sick last night, and you have been all morning. You’re here all by yourself, and now you tell me you’re…ya know.” Boy, do I know. “I won’t leave you.”

His last four words have me in a chokehold.

He didn’t mean it like that, you thirsty woman. It doesn’t matter how he meant it, I needed to hear it all the same. Whether it’s the last month catching up to me or the flood of hormones my body’s tirelessly creating, I burst into tears on the spot.

Duke guides me into his strong embrace without a word, and I cling to him like the sad sack I am. He shushes me in a soft, deep tone that has me melting. “It’s all right, doll.”

A broken, choked laugh escapes me, and I lean away, wiping my damp face on the comforter then promptly cringe at the action. He grabs a tissue from the counter and hands it to me. “Thank you,” I sniffle. “Sorry, I’m not usually like this.”

He leans back against the door, watching me with those avid eyes that don’t seem to miss a thing. “I figured that.” He grins. “Hormones and whatnot. They say it makes a woman crazy.”

My gaze snaps to him with a glare. “I am not crazy.”

Hormonal, yes. Crazy? No.

He chuckles, lifting his hands in mock surrender. “I never said you were,” he says, eyeing me as I shuffle closer to the sink. “Did you eat yet?”

I shake my head, splashing water on my face and dabbing it dry with a fresh towel. “No, I’ve been in here since those repair guys got here at seven.”

In the reflection of the mirror, Duke’s expression goes from playful to sour in point-two seconds. I turn to him. “What?”

“Wait here,” he grunts, spinning on his heel and whipping the door open with more force than I would. He storms out without another word. I close the door with a light click behind him. Okay…

Shouting ensues from outside the door, and it doesn’t take long for me to realize Duke’s kicking out the repairmen with some seriously heated threats. Like ‘endangering the welfare’ of…me, I suppose.

“You let her sit there freezing for over two fucking hours!”

“Hey, man, we’re just trying to do our job here.”

“Get the fuck out. Now.” Duke’s tone is downright violent. It sends an all-too-pleasant shiver between my thighs that I can’t help if I cared to try. And I don’t.

The heavy slam of the outer door rattles the flimsy bathroom one. I turn the knob slowly and peer out with caution. Duke is in the middle of the room, cleaning up the several screws and worn panels the two men removed from the heater.

“Is it safe to come out?” I ask teasingly, except the look Duke gives me is anything but lighthearted.

He picks up the small pieces and kicks the rest to the side. “Do whatever you gotta do to get ready,” he says. “I’ll go talk to someone at the front desk about getting this taken care of. Then we’ll head to breakfast.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond otherwise before he’s out the door—where a dusting of snow has drifted in to layer the flat, rough carpeting in white ice. I stand there for a minute, a bit confused and a tad more conflicted on following his lead—or should I say, orders—before my stomach gurgles in pain, and I remember, I’m eating for two.

And Duke’s company over a blueberry muffin or three does sound tempting.

Five.

Duke

I linger in the front office as I absently listen to the owner apologize to Maci for the heating issue and his nephews’ disrespect. He offers her a full refund for the night and an extension on her stay until Thursday.

Which is the longest she can be here since the room is booked and paid for by another customer. And I don’t miss the uncomfortable fidget in her posture when she learns this.

Mentally, I’m working out how I can get her car fixed and back to her in record time to alleviate any kind of stress she’s already under. Even though I know it’ll be the better part of a week at minimum.

If she needs somewhere to stay, she can stay with me.

The thought heats my chest in a way it hasn’t in years. Would she go for that? Can I get her to trust me enough by then to have her safely tucked away at the cabin?

Safely. What has gotten into me?

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