Page 5 of Trussed In Hope
“He’s fine,” she teased.
“Wait… what?” I clicked off the email to see Tia staring into the phone screen so hard that I thought she’d come through it. “Girl! Did you look him up?”
“I did. I’m surprised you haven’t. Oooh, and he’s a military man.”
“How doyouknow?” Before I could even switch screens, she’d sent me a photo of him in his uniform. “Hot damn…”
“You never told me he was white. Not that it matters… Yeah, I vote not to cancel. And then, when you get there, see how much of his military training you can use for sex!”
I shook my head, laughing. But the truth was, he was sexy as hell. The photo he’d put on his profile didn’t do him justice. Maybe canceling was a bad idea.
“Maybe he can’t answer because he’s on a secret covert mission!” Tia excitedly rattled off quickly.
“Maybe.” She had a point, and he became less creepy when I stalked his social media page Tia sent me the link to. Seeing him like this made him seem real and less like athingI had to do.
His skin seemed smooth, and I wanted to touch it. His smile was so infectious I knew I was smiling, too. Not that he could see. And those arms…
“Stop drooling, Ember, and go pack.”
What she said. I couldn’t imagine walking away from his eyes that seemed to beckon me close. I felt the urge to surrender, and I hadn’t even met him yet. Maybe not going was easier than telling him the truth face to face. I knew I was a lot of things, but a coward, I was not. I wouldn’t leave him hanging, and I knew it.
Standing up, I moved to my bedroom, where I packed everything Tia suggested. I had no idea what the weather would be like, so I couldn’t be over-prepared.
I could manage a couple of nights before I got back on a plane to come home. If he threw me out before that, I’d manage that, too.
EMBERLYNN
“What people do you have working for you?” The voice boomed through the open window while I was on the porch.
I turned to make sure there wasn’t another house in this direction. The door was ajar, and a man yelled from inside. I neared the opening but stayed out of sight. Was this Hardison?
“I did. There were supposed to be two physical therapists. Two girls showed up, and they spent more time chatting about their boyfriends than trying to fucking help. One girl showed up twenty minutes later than the first one. And I never heard from the psychologist.” He sighed. It was easy to hear the frustration in his voice. And if what he was saying was true, I understood where he was coming from.
I raised my hand to knock but stopped when the next words came out of his mouth.
“You left me in a crappy situation. Why isn’t that reason enough to expedite someone else coming? I wasn’t fucking rude. I asked how long they were going to be talking because I was achy. I’m still in pain!”
It showed how his words seemed to be forced out of his mouth.
“I’m… Listen, I understand all that. I just need someone…” The cry for help was too much for me to continue to stand there. Why were they being so difficult with him?
I felt bad enough for eavesdropping. I’d only been trying to let him finish his conversation, but this had gone on for long enough.
Knocking on the screen door, I could see him moving about, but the door wasn’t open wide enough to see much more.
“Hold on a second.” He came to the door, and when he opened it, I didn’t expect this beautiful dark-haired warrior to appear.
His face was scarred, unlike the recent pictures I’d seen of him. There was a gash on his eyebrow where the hair refused to grow back. Another traced along his left eye, then down his cheek, ending at his lip. It made his face appear more serious and no-nonsense. Even when he smiled, it seemed as if he was grimacing at me. And I loved it.
If Beast were real…
I stood still, trying not to trace the scar with gentle finger touches.
“Emberlynn.” He grunted out my name as if it was too painful to hold back.
I was too dumbfounded to respond right away. Too awestruck to chime in with good intentions. This was where I was supposed to confess why I was there. I needed to explainto him that I couldn’t stay. We couldn’t get to know each other because…
“Come in, queen.” He opened the door fully and beckoned me inside.
