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“I wouldn’t say he’s out of the woods yet. He’s still very ill, but I hope he’ll survive. I’ll be honest, the odds are not in his favor. He probably has blocked cardiac arteries and will need major surgery.”
“I was so proud of you. Not that I had anything to do with your training.” He kissed my forehead. “I think we should go out and celebrate, and then I’m going to bring you back here and do wicked things to your body.”
“That sounds wonderful. I’ll try and keep my heart under control.” I meant physically, after what had happened, but it might sound different. I could not take the words back now.
“I promise to get your pulse racing. It will be my reward for your good deeds.”
It was part of my job to save lives if I could, but I would not turn down a reward like that.
The food and wine were delicious. The guide had told the manager what I had done, so the restaurant gave us a discount when they heard I had saved the man’s life. I didn’t want to take it but they insisted.
When we returned to the chalet, Ryan took his time to slowly undress me and then did a strip to some awful music on his phone. It made me laugh out loud and was the perfect, absolutely silly way to end the night. He then spent the next two hours finding every little place on my body that could send shivers of delight through me. When I finally climaxed, I had to fight to not let him know how I felt.
Telling myself not to fall in love with this man was not working. If I couldn’t stop it, I would at least keep it to myself.
FOURTEEN
Ryan
I was enjoying every moment I got to be with Autumn. That being said, something wasn’t right between us. The last few days, she had seemed more distant. Had she changed her mind in the past two weeks since we had been away to the caves? I couldn’t live not knowing, so I bought chocolates and headed around after work. I was never known for tact and would probably be like a bull in a China shop. I could only hope I would not stuff it up.
When I walked in, she shut her computer just that little bit too quickly. Was there something she didn’t want me to see? Hell, I should mind my own business. She had a right to her privacy. Just because I had access to her body did not mean I should know everything about her.
“Chocolates. You know they are my weakness. I’ll keep them till after we’ve eaten.”
I took her hand and led her to the couch. She raised an eyebrow as I sat next to her.
“Tell me to mind my own business, but I feel something isn’t right. Did I say or do something?”
“No. It’s not you. And you are right, there is something.” She bit her bottom lip and stared at her lap.
“Like I said, you don’t have to tell me what it is. Just let me help if I can.” I squeezed her hand to reassure her.
“You’re helping more than you know by just being here.” Autumn glanced across at her computer.
“Did I interrupt something when I came in? Were you emailing someone because you shut your laptop really quickly?”
Autumn went quiet and took her hands back and wrapped them around her body. Eventually, she looked up at me wide-eyed. Was she scared? I hoped it was not of me.
“Do you remember that I told you I’d been stalked when I was in London?”
“Yep. You said it was the guy who actually ran into you when your leg was injured. What does he have to do with it?” That was not what I had expected.
“Can you get me a drink? I think I need one.”
I went and poured her a brandy. I helped myself to one as well. It was not like Autumn to get anxious like this. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
She took a big gulp of brandy and coughed. When she got her breath back, she looked at me. This was taking a lot out of her.
“When I think back, the surgery was the easy part. The recovery and learning how to walk again were the hardest. My marriage had fallen apart so I couldn’t go there for help. My closest friend, Grant, was busy with his own life. Plus, he was living in the States at that time. His wife had just had a baby, and I didn’t want to bother him.” The glass shook as she lifted it to her mouth. She winced as the raw spirit went down. “Mom came down to London to stay for a while, but we fought and she went home. It was the first time in a long time my mother had shown she cared at all. I was resentful and sent her away. I’m not proud of that.” Autumn shook her head and shrugged.
“Trust me, Autumn. I understand difficult families more than you know.”
She smiled but held her glass so tight I thought it might shatter.
“Kevin was the stalker’s name. He would come and help me at the physiotherapy sessions in the early days. He made me laugh and encouraged me when I wanted to give up. I was at one of those points in life when you need a friend. I thought he was doing it because he felt guilty that he had run into me. Now I see it for how strange it was.”
“You were at a vulnerable time in your life, you shouldn’t feel guilty about anything. I’m guessing something changed?”
