“Thanks.”
I’m careful to grip her wrist, not her burned hand, and as I pull her to her feet, she stumbles a little on the uneven ground.
Instinctively, I steady her, and for a brief moment, we are chest to chest. As she gazes up into my eyes, I can’t look away.
Luckily, she does it for me and says in a higher voice, “I’m well—damn uneven ground out here.”
Once again, I chuckle as she evades apologizing, and I offer nothing in response as we head back the short distance to the cabin.
CHAPTER 5
DELILAH
Darlin’.
I have a new name, courtesy of Blade. Delilah has left the building, and Darlin’ is not a slave anymore.
I am free, well, I will be as soon as my path is set and rather than be terrified about that, I’m merely curious.
Blade wants me to rest, and it doesn’t seem right. I must earn my keep here. I shouldn’t expect any free loading.
“It must suck playing babysitter.”
He is stacking logs by the log burner, and his muscles flex as he works, his thin t-shirt almost groaning with the effort, and despite myself, I can’t tear my eyes away from him.
He is the scariest, most magnificent man I have ever seen, and I am not immune to him, no matter my circumstances.
“It does.”
Ouch. That told me, and I sigh inside. Great, he doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do.
“What would you be doing?”
His shoulders move as he huffs, “If I’m not fighting, I’m drinking and if I’m not drinking, I could be eating and if I’m not eating, I could well be fucking, which then only leaves sleeping.”
His words stun me, and I shift on my chair, a hot flush burning through my body like a lit trail. The silence is suddenly tense and in an effort to dispel that, I say rather highly, “Don’t you have any hobbies? You mentioned whittling wood.”
“Did I?”
He rocks back on his heels and stands, his body almost filling the small cabin, and as his dark eyes power into me, I forget to breathe.
He says nothing and merely heads out of the cabin, leaving me strangely flustered. He sure doesn’t like to talk about himself.
Now I’m alone, I don’t know what to do. My hands hurt like hell, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize they were burning. What happened back there?
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. Wait until my memory returns, perhaps—that could never happen and I may be stuck here forever with Blade. At least at Rockwell I had some company. Not the kind I relished, but there were other people there.
Most of the time I was locked in Angela’s small apartment, but occasionally I ventured outside when she was teaching or otherwise occupied. Mainly to do the laundry or pick up supplies. To everyone else, I was her sort of housekeeper. Then there were the others. The ones who knew exactly what I was and took advantage of that with her blessing.
I shiver as the memories return with a vengeance, and it’s obvious I can’t be alone with my thoughts right now.
How can I live with what I’ve done?
* * *
The sun is hot today,fierce in fact, and even the shade of the forest does little to cool the heat from the fiery rays.
The stream seems mighty appealing right now, and I wonder if I could sit on the edge of it and dangle my feet in the crystal-clear water. Perhaps it will distract me from the haunted memories that will probably destroy me in the end.
