"You can't call yourself stupid for anything you did while having a nightmare." He frowns. "Hope I didn't scare you when I came in. I didn't know what to do, other than hold you. I wanted you to know you weren't alone."
"You did everything right, thank you. You have amazing instincts."
My breath catches as Bear rolls to his feet and scoops me up into his arms. He sets me in the center of the bed, then snaps on the bedside lamp before tucking my feet under the covers and straightening the blankets all around me.
Then he sits politely near the foot of the bed. "You don't have to answer if you don’t want to. But would it help if you told me what the nightmare was about? Can you remember?"
My lips open, then snap shut again.
"It’s okay. You don't have to say," he murmurs in that low, smoky voice.
"No, it’s all right.” I take a deep breath. “It’s always the same one. Even though I wasn't there, I relive my mother's car accident," I whisper. "I think my subconscious is curious about what actually happened, so it comes up with new versions for me to consider. It often happens when I'm in a new place."
His hand reaches out to settle on my shin through the blankets. "And if this had happened while you were camping alone?"
"Um… I would have scared the animals away?"
It’s meant as a joke, so I'm surprised when he looks utterly horrified. "Look, Joy, I had no right to kidnap you. Even less right to tell you what to do. But I pretty much forbid you to camp alone. The thought of you having a night terror on your own in the middle of nowhere…" His head shakes. "No. Just…no."
I burst into laughter. "Once again, you turn into a real chatterbox when you're upset."
He growls at me, which just makes me laugh harder. Then he looks from me to the floor where I was lying. "What part of you landed first? Please tell me it wasn’t your head."
"My elbow. And my hip. I'm fine, really."
He lifts my right arm, gently running his thick fingers along my skin, feeling my funny bone, palpating the joints to make sure nothing is out of place. I wince slightly at one point. He frowns. “It’s fine,” I say quickly. “There might be a bruise tomorrow, but it still works.”
He reaches for my hip, then snaps his hand back. "Sorry. I didn't mean…sorry."
My heart flutters in my chest. I can't imagine that a guy like Bear would be shy. Is touching me making him nervous?
Rolling onto my left side, I run my hand around my right hip experimentally. He notices when I jolt as my fingers dig too far into a spot right by the bone.
"Up." The deep note is a command.
Bear takes my hand and helps me to my feet, then guides me through a series of movements to ensure the hip joint is working properly.
"The mechanics feel fine,” I murmur. “It's just tender in that one spot. Honestly, I've ended up with worse bruises from the nightmares. One time I nearly broke my wrist, I smashed it against the wall over my head so hard."
Maybe I shouldn't have said that. An intense look flashes through Bear's eyes. A deep shiver runs down my spine. Even though the man barely knows me, the thought of me being hurt seems to bother him greatly.
I love it.
I'm not sure if that's what I should be thinking about right now, but I do. Feeling safe and protected…even treasured… It's something I've always craved, and here it is in one gorgeous, sexy package: a massive hunk of man who is careful with both my body and my mind.
I start to get back into bed, but he stops me. "Do you ever have two nightmares in the same evening?"
There's no point in lying, since he's going to hear it in my voice. "Sometimes.”
He stares down to our joined hands. I couldn’t tell you who reached for whom. This connection between us is growing so quickly, and every single detail feels perfect, but he has that ultra-cautious vibe about him again.
"Are you thinking about inviting me into your bed, but worried that I'll get the wrong idea?" I ask shyly.
"Exactly. I would love to hold you for the rest of the night. Partly to protect you from the nightmares, but partly…" He smiles, a golden light sparkling in his warm brown eyes. "Because you're the sexiest woman I've ever met. But for tonight, let's just focus on the protection part. I have a padded headboard so you can’t smack the wall and everything."
Maybe I should think this through before I literally jump into bed with a stranger I just met mere hours ago. But I don’t. “Sure. Thank you.”
I thought Bear was handsome from the moment I saw him. But the smile that overtakes his rugged features when I say that is like turning on a spotlight.
