Page 53 of Damaged

“I had to pee,” I whine, trying to explain myself.

“What?”

“I had to pee so bad that I got out of the car.”

“It’s okay. You got heat exhaustion.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. Don’t apologize.”

“Well…thank you.”

I’m not naked, thankfully. Although I don’t think I’d be embarrassed even if I was. I might as well be naked. My wet bra and underwear aren’t hiding much. And my priorities are different after seeing my life flash before my eyes on that Russki’s knife blade. I shiver, but that’s from the water.

“How long do I have to be in here?”

“You need to cool down, or it could become heat stroke.”

“Oh,” I say. That makes sense. Now that the initial shock of the cold has passed, I’m not that freezing. My internal temperature must be a couple degrees higher than normal.

“The nearest hospital is twenty minutes away. More with traffic,” James says. “Besides, they’d just be doing what I am now.” He wets a hand towel in the icy water, wrings it out, and drapes it over my forehead. Then he puts his hands into the water and holds onto one of my hands with both of his.

At first, I think it’s shock, but then I realize that the pop rocks shooting around my stomach are butterflies. My breath is short. My pulse quick.

The sleeves of his dress shirt are rolled up to the elbow. His crisp white shirt is wrinkled and soaked from sweat.

How’d he get me back here? I was only a couple blocks from the hotel. If I walked, I don’t remember. Did he carry me up here?

I don’t think too much. Or worry. I’m just thankful to be here. Alive. Safe.

James wets my hair and runs his fingers through it. I close my eyes and try to relax and not shiver as he massages my head. After another minute, he sets his hand against my forehead to gauge my temperature.

“You’re cooling down, snowflake.”

“I’m freezing,” I say and start to laugh.

He turns the water on warm and begins to wipe the grime and dust from my skin with a wet and soapy hand towel.

Who knew muscled hands could be so soft? My heart starts to beat harder the more lucid I become. The cold has made my skin sensitive to his touch. I let him wash me, gently. Wiping the dirt from my skin.

“I lost my satchel,” I say suddenly, realizing it fell in the alley.

“A bystander handed it over to the police. It’s here. I can have the plane ready in six hours to take you back to New York.”

I pause. Home would sound a lot more appealing if James wasn’t here next to me. “Are we done here already?”

“No.”

“Then I’m staying. I’m okay. I’m not in shock. At least, I don’t think.”

James nods. “Come on.”

He helps me gently to my feet and hands me a towel. My body is still exhausted, weak, and I stumble when stepping over the lip of the tub. He catches me quickly, his strong hands gripping my shoulders.

“Easy there.” He guides me so I’m sitting on the tub’s edge. He wraps a towel around my shoulders and sits next to me.

I start to shiver now that I’m out of the warm water and under the blasting A/C of the penthouse. “Is there any way we could turn the heat up?”

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