Page 19 of Beloved Beast

How to describe the feeling of helplessness and fear she experienced when they entered the shelter? She couldn’t. When Luke left her by the wall, she nearly lost her mind. How could he abandon her? At first she’d been angry, literally shaking with a toxic mix of fury and fright until the crowd closed in around her. The anger turned to a chilling dread as she was pushed and pulled in all directions. It’s a wonder she held on to her purse. The wig, hat, gloves, and veil were not as lucky. Her head still throbbed from the pins being torn from her scalp. Not only that, but her feet were freezing and soaking wet.

There had been a heavy rain shower not long before the air raid siren blared. As a result, the crowd tracked in a good deal of water, which no doubt added to the danger of the situation. Luke suddenly took her hand and squeezed it. He parked the vehicle inside a shed, turned off the ignition, and then exited the car. Holding the bag from the chemist in one hand, he opened the passenger door and swept her up in his arms like she weighed nothing at all. For some reason the gesture made her want to cry. But she was on the verge of tears anyway, thanks to the doings this evening.

The yard was cloaked in darkness, but Luke apparently knew his way as he climbed the backstairs with no problem. He lowered her long enough to unlock the door then scooped her up again to cross the threshold. After he kicked the door shut with his boot, he set her gently on the couch. He moved about the room, drawing the curtains and turning on a couple of lights. Tearing off his coat and throwing it on a nearby chair, he met her gaze. It was mesmerizing—she couldn’t look away.

He got down on his knees and lifted one of her feet to rest on his thigh. Hard muscle moved under her toes. Rubbing her foot between his hands, a soft moan left her lips as heat spread through her at the vigorous friction and his gentle touch.

“Your feet are like blocks of ice,” he murmured. He looked up and she gasped. Gillian had never seen such extraordinary eyes. The irises held a spectrum of colors consisting of gold, green, brown, and blue. Was the strange coloring the result of his sensitivity to light?

She sat forward and reached out to stroke his scarred cheek. “Your eyes are astonishingly attractive,” she whispered, giving him a shaky smile.

In response, Luke closed those beautiful eyes and leaned in against the palm of her hand as if he reveled in her touch. Again, her nerve endings sizzled with awareness and even though his skin was cool, heat moved through her body chasing away most of the chill that had settled in her bones. His long lashes fluttered and his eyelids lifted partway, making his look slumberous and sensual. “Tell me what you want to do first. A warm bath? Food? See to the cuts on your poor feet? I bought iodine and plasters along with aspirin tablets. I also procured a box of sanitary pads.”

“Goodness, you think of everything…how did you know?”

With a soft chuckle, he moved to her other foot and rubbed tenderly. “I was married, remember. I know what ‘women’s complaints’ means.”

“Of course,” she replied. She was not used to a man paying such attention to her. Seeing to her needs. Giving her choices. “I believe a quick, warm bath would be heaven, though I have no clothes to change into.”

“The food and our clothes from this morning are still out in the boot. I will fetch them directly. I have flannel pajamas you can wear as I do not use them much.” Which meant he slept nude or in his undershorts. The thought made her heart skip a beat. “Unfortunately, there is only a small sitting bath in this flat, and I cannot fill it all the way. Water restrictions. But it should chase away the chill. Afterward, I will see to your cuts. Then we can eat.” Luke rose to his feet and held out his right hand. She took it and stood. With slow ease, he ran his hands along her torso, causing her breath to hitch. “No other injuries? Cracked ribs? Soreness?” he asked in a low but concerned voice.

“I think the padding I’m wearing may have saved me from any damage.”

His tender touch made her skin crackle with awareness. “Thank God for Operation Miss Marple.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for several moments. Though she had only known him barely forty-eight hours, already they had gone through a lot. Luke stepped back, his arms dropping to his side. “I will get the bath on the go. Luckily, I have an indoor loo.”

He left, and Gillian sank to the couch. She clasped her hands to stem the shaking; only now it was not from fright or a chill. Quite the opposite. She recognized the sensation. It was…desire.

* * * *

More than thirty minutes later, Gillian emerged from her bath dressed in Luke’s pajamas, the legs and arms rolled up to accommodate her shorter height. He immediately addressed her cuts, applying iodine and covering the scrapes with plasters. Again, his touch caused all sorts of reactions. How can a man with cool skin give such heated contact? Even his gloved left hand managed to garner a response from her. Yes. Why did he keep one hand covered? Another question to add to her list, as it grew by leaps and bounds the more she was with this man. While she lingered in the bath, he’d brought in the bag of clothes and food.

Luke escorted her to a small table, and on it were the sandwiches, shortbread biscuits, and a pot of tea. “I wasn’t sure if you would prefer coffee or tea.”

“I do like both, but I think in this situation, after all we’ve been through, tea is more appropriate,” she replied.

“Quite right. My thoughts exactly. I also drink both. The answer to life’s problems is ‘put the kettle on.’” He poured then took the seat opposite her. “It was cold enough outside when we were driving around the sandwiches haven’t spoiled.”

Gillian reached for a wedge of egg sandwich and bit into it. After she swallowed, she asked, “What happened at the tube station?”

In a solemn voice, he relayed what he witnessed and what others told him. She covered her mouth in shock the more he told. God, it was worse than she thought. “How could something like this happen?”

“The perfect storm as it were. All those people converging at once. The poor lighting, the wet stairs, no handrails, the rockets going off. All you need is a few people to panic and all hell breaks loose. There were no police or wardens about, not that they could have controlled any of it.” He looked up at her. “You are aware this will be hushed up.”

She gasped. “Oh, they wouldn’t.”

“You work for the government. You know how they operate, how much the public is not told. Devil’s hell, if they knew half of what went on they would never leave their flats. Or never use underground stations during an air raid. Then how many would be killed?”

Frowning, she snatched another sandwich wedge from the plate. “It’s not right. Those poor people. Mostly women and children? How tragic. Luke, I was frightened.”

He reached across the small table and clasped her hand. “I should not have left you.”

“No, you were right. I understand it now. Do you know how many people you assisted? I counted more than twenty-five, not including those you pulled from the pile below. If not for you, those people would be seriously injured, or worse, dead. In my eyes, you are a hero.”

And he was a true hero. The way he plunged himself into the crowd, only thinking of others. “You must be incredibly strong. You lifted one man like he weighed nothing at all. And you balanced three good-sized children on your shoulders. And you carried me about as if I weighed no more than a sack of laundry. Not only that, how could you see so well in such darkened areas?”

Luke let go of her hand. He sat back in his chair, and with a slight shrug said, “Yes, I am strong. I also possess heightened senses. Hearing, sight, smell. Do not ask me to explain. It is what it is…” His voice trailed off and his gaze moved toward the opposite wall.