As I started waking up, something tickled across my nose. When my hand reached up to swipe it away, I realized it was long strands of hair.
A woman’s hair.
Oh fuck, it was Annabel’s hair. I had fallen asleep with Annabel in my arms.
Opening my eyes, I peered down to see if she was awake. One side of her face was pressed against my chest as if she were trying to listen to my heartbeat. From the soft rise and fall of her chest, she was still sleeping peacefully. I debated whether or not to move since I really shouldn’t have been in bed with her.
Sunlight had yet to streak through the curtains, so I knew we didn’t have to get on the road yet. A glance at the clock on the nightstand read it was a little after five. More than anything, I hated to wake Annabel when she was resting so comfortably.
After she’d woken me up screaming from her nightmare, I hadn’t had the heart to make her sleep alone. Even though I knew it wasn’t a good idea, I had taken her into my arms and then slept beside her.
I hadn’t slept with a woman in years. Sure, I’d had sex with several girls since my girlfriend had broken my heart. But theynever stayed the night. To my way of thinking, sharing a bed or sleeping beside someone was almost more intimate than the act of sex itself.
I stared up at the ceiling. How in the hell had I gotten myself into this situation? I felt completely in over my head. I had left to save Sarah, and somehow my whole life had changed. But as twisted as it sounds, it had changed for the better.
The truth was I enjoyed spending time with Annabel. I liked her laugh, her smile, and the way she felt comfortable teasing me. I may have saved her from Mendoza, but in a way, it felt like she had saved me.
But no matter how much I was enjoying being with Annabel, I couldn’t turn off the voice of doubt in my head. Part of me wondered if I was tripping on the high of a hero-complex. That being the savior to a beautiful girl gave me some kind of sick pleasure. That if she hadn’t been abused at Mendoza’s hands she would never give a guy like me a second glance.
I hated those thoughts.
Most of all, I was so afraid of doing anything that would hurt Annabel. I didn’t want to be the cause of impeding her recovery. Like I had told her at dinner last night, there was no handbook on the right or wrong way to heal.
In another time and place, Annabel would have been the type of woman I pursued. Beautiful, sweet, innocent, and a little bit sassy. In a fucked up, I almost wished I had rescued a less attractive girl, or a girl who had a boyfriend or husband waiting on her at home. Anything but a girl who would catch my interest.
Instead, fate could be a cruel bitch.
Of course, I had to wonder what kind of sick son of a bitch I was to even be thinking about Annabel in a sexual way. Last night, I’d tried to put her at ease about her feelings while at the same time I struggled with my own needs.
After all, I’d known the girl a week—one part of which was spent rescuing her from sexual slavery and watching her heal. I mean, for fuck’s sake there had to be something wrong with me. Annabel had been through mental and physical hell and had every right to be confused by her feelings for me.
Me, I had no excuse whatsoever.
Annabel shifted and stretched in my arms. When I looked at her again, her eyes were open and she was taking in her surroundings. “Morning,” I said softly.
She jerked out of my arms. “Um, morning.”
“Sorry if I scared you.”
Annabel shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that. I’m just a little embarrassed about how I acted last night.”
“Annabel, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Nightmares and flashbacks are horrific. I know that as well as you do.”
“I hope you were able to sleep last night considering I was laying all over you.”
Even in the short time I had known her, it was clear to me that she always worried too much. “I actually slept through the night. I just woke up a little before you did.”
“Guess we better get on the road, huh?”
I nodded. “If we haul it, we could make it to Georgia by tonight.”
Her brows shot up in surprise. “Really?”
“It’s about twelve hours when you don’t have a lead foot like mine. Of course, I know I owe you a quick shopping stop.”
She laughed. “Yes, you do. I promise to be quick.”
I cocked my head at her. “A woman who shops fast? I’ll believe it when I see it.”
