Full Throttle (12 page)

“
You feeling
okay? You have
gone a little pale.” Josh frowned and reached for Sammy’s face, compassion
creasing his handsome brow.

She flinched away and nearly cursed at the way her
frantic attempt to move from his touch aggravated her bruised neck. Sammy
closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I’m fine. I just need the pain killers, please.”
Sammy hated the cold detachment in her tone, but there was no way she was going
to give her body free reign. The night in the hotel had been one of the most
embarrassing times of her life, and Sammy was not cut out for rejection. It
stung too deeply. There was no way she wanted to add to the depth of those
scars.

When she opened her eyes she saw Josh staring down
at her, his expression dark, and quite surprisingly, a little irritated. “I won’t
hurt you.” His tone stayed careful and oh, so deep.

Clearly her flinch came across as something more
than just being afraid of his touch, afraid that his touch would mean more to
her than to him. Josh had seen fear in her action, but for the wrong reason.

Sammy blew out a breath and shook her head carefully.
“I’m
sorry,
I guess I’m just tired.” She took the pain
killer from his hand and reached for the water.

Josh passed it to her and watched while she
swallowed the tablets. He took the glass from her hand, placed it on the table
and before Sammy could say or do anything, Josh had her back in his arms.

“Josh! What are you—” Sammy yelped.

“Your room.
Where is it?”

Sammy sensed anger in his tone, a temper that had her
swallowing deeply. She lifted her hand and pointed to the staircase and croaked,
“Upstairs, first room on the right.”

He started walking before she finished giving
directions, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life
as he literally vaulted up the narrow cottage stairs.

****

When Josh stepped into Sammy’s room he almost
tripped over his own feet. Where Sammy’s living room and kitchen had been cozy,
girly, and down-right fluffy with bright colors and lots of cushions, her
bedroom was a whole different kind of décor entirely.

Cool colors and dark wood greeted them. Her room was
like something from a magazine. A large bed sat in the middle of the space,
surrounded with four posts draped in a gauzy fabric that had Josh imagining all
kinds of kinky games. The floor was covered in a deep-pile, white carpet that
his booted feet literally sunk into. And a big open fireplace took up the
majority of the far wall, inviting and ready for a cozy fire to crackle from
it. The space was tidy and un-cluttered. The sheets were white and perfectly
made, and Josh stared around appreciatively.

“Just put me there.” Sammy pointed to a high-back,
regency-style chair, but Josh ignored her. He stepped over to the large bed and
sat her on the edge. He dropped to his knees and began to remove her one shoe.
“I said for you to put me on the chair. I can take off my own shoe, Josh.”

Josh looked up and stared into the prettiest eyes he’d
seen in a while and shook his head. “I am here to take care of you.” And damn
if that didn’t make him think of other ways he would like to “take care” of
her. But while her eyes were the prettiest, they were also tired and glittering
with pain, surrounded by a black bruise that watered down his arousal just
enough to gain control. “And that means that I am here to stop you from hurting
yourself.” He tugged off her shoe and stood
up,
Sammy
followed him with her slightly irritated gaze and sighed loudly.

“I have a broken leg, Josh. I am not an invalid.”

That reminder of her injury sent a surprising amount
of frustration through his blood and Josh nodded.
“Exactly.
You have a broken leg, probably a concussion and a fucking shit load of
bruises.” Josh scowled as her innocent eyes grew wide at his swearing. “So that
means, for forty-eight hours, you are stuck with me.” He leaned forward,
because he had to, and tucked a stray lock of hair around her ear. His fingers
stroked lazily over her cheek and Josh watched as a rosy hue pinkened her flesh.
Her gaze dropped shyly and Josh sighed, regretting the loss of her stare.
“Like I said downstairs, Sammy.
I won’t hurt you.”

Her eyes flicked back to his, and she swallowed
tightly. A dark emotion filled her stare, and then she dipped her head again.
“Yes, you would.”

Stunned by the sincerity in her tone, Josh heard the
implication. He wouldn’t hurt her physically, but he could hurt her feelings—her
heart. And shit, if she wasn’t right.

Frustrated again, he pulled back, stood tall, and
stared at the top of Sammy’s head. She twisted her hands together for a moment,
and Josh watched the painfully shy reaction with interest as his thoughts moved
around her words.

He was tough. Hard, some would say.
And definitely not good enough for Sammy.
She was so pure
and good, he knew he would ruin her if he had a chance. No matter how much he
wanted a one-night stand with Sammy to purge her from his mind, he knew he
could never take it. It would ruin someone like her. She was not the sort of
woman to settle for one night. It would cheapen her. And Josh wasn’t willing to
cheapen the first person he’d ever met that seemed to shine as bright as the
sun.

He was destined to have a woman as cold and as
caustic as Penny. He couldn’t damage already damaged goods with his black past
and murky moods. But Sammy was right. He could hurt her without even meaning
to, just by being
himself
.

He reached down and took a small lock of Sammy’s
blonde hair between his fingers and sifted through the silky strands gently.

She looked up, surprise and curiosity flickering in
her pretty eyes.

Josh tipped his mouth in what he hoped was a reassuring
smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to hurt you. I promise. I really do
just want to help you until you recover.” Josh swallowed tightly, his chest
feeling suddenly as if someone dropped a bike on it. He stepped back slightly
and wondered why the word
liar
sifted
through his mind.

****

Sammy lay under her bed sheets and stared at the sky
through her window as the day faded into evening. Her mind was so full of
memories of Josh’s touch and manly scent, that she could not get her exhausted brain
to shut off. For three hours, she had tried to force her thoughts away from the
man who was in her house. Was he in her living room?
On her
sofa?
Or was he in her kitchen? She didn’t know why, but she felt as if
she had to know.

It was strange to have someone looking out for her.
Odd to have someone she barely knew, willing to drop his life to make sure she
didn’t slip in to a concussion coma, or whatever happened to a concussed
person. Considering that when her parents had been alive, they’d barely
wondered about her, past making sure she had good grades and didn’t embarrass
them in any way. And lately, since she’d been receiving those letters and crank
calls, Sammy liked the security of having Josh near.

This man, Josh, was downstairs, making sure nothing
happened to her. His words filtered through her mind.
I am here to take care of you
. Sammy felt her insides heat up. Oh,
boy, what those words translated to her body had been potent, almost painful.
What she wouldn’t give for Josh to “take care of her” just once. But Sammy knew
once would not be enough for her. She had a feeling that just once with Josh would
be like opening a bag of crisps—one taste would be barely enough. Especially
now she knew how good his kisses tasted.

Besides, it wasn’t as if she could
wrangle
her nervous reactions to him enough to actually get
down and dirty.

She also knew Josh was not a relationship kind of
guy, especially with a school teacher type like her. Even knowing that Josh had
been engaged to be married before, Sammy could only guess that she’d been a
leggy sex-pot who looked fabulous in leather.

Feeling cross for letting her thoughts stray, Sammy
sighed loudly and tried to turn onto her side. Pain lanced her mind as her leg
jolted painfully and Sammy gripped the sheets to ride the agony. Her eyes
watered as her leg throbbed in time with her heartbeat and Sammy groaned
weakly.

The door to her room flew open not seconds later and
Sammy turned her head to find Josh striding towards her bed, his face twisted
in concern. “What happened?” He
snapped,
his deep
voice short and sharp. For some reason Sammy knew this was Josh worried, not
cross, and she shook her head.

“I just tried to move,” She panted and gripped the
sheets again as agony tore through her. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay in a minute.”

“Have you even slept yet?” he asked, his gaze
turning darker as he studied her face.

Sammy swallowed and shook her head weakly.
“No, not yet.
I can’t seem to fall asleep.” She wondered how
she could feel so tired, so weary, yet wide awake at the same time.

Josh swore loudly and moved to her.

Sammy watched as he climbed onto the bed, his big
body making the mattress dip under his bulky weight. He threaded his arm under
her neck slowly and drew her into his arms. At first Sammy was stiff and
confused, but the more he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head, the
more Sammy found she relaxed. The pain receded slightly, freeing up her mind and
Sammy was able to catch her breath again.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said weakly, but
Josh just tightened his arm around her, making sure Sammy rested her cheek on
his chest. His heartbeat was a strong sound under her ear and Sammy reveled in
the heat his massive body gave off. They lay in silence for a couple of
minutes, and Sammy would have thought it would be awkward, but the way he held
her, gently, yet sure and strong, had Sammy sinking closer and closer to the
comfort he offered.

“When I was a kid, I broke my arm.” Josh began, breaking
the lazy silence. His deep voice was a lovely rumble against her ear. Sammy
smiled and closed her eyes as she listened to him speak, the sound of his words
a balm to her nerves, a welcome distraction to her pain. “I was climbing trees
with my brother, and as usual, Tony was faster and better at it than me.”

Sammy chuckled at the image. Tony was a stocky,
slightly overweight man, she couldn’t imagine him climbing a tree, let alone
fast.

Josh
huffed
a small sound
and stroked his hand idly over Sammy’s arm. Sammy loved the feeling of his hot,
calloused hand as it petted her, the feeling was comforting … nice. She stayed
still and kept her eyes closed, and she hoped he wouldn’t stop talking, or
stroking.

“You might laugh, sweetheart, but in his day, before
kids and a wife, Tony was the coolest lad in town.” Sammy smiled against his
chest, her mind slowly relaxing, the pain less, and all she could concentrate
on was the sound of Josh’s lovely, sexy voice.
Especially when
he uttered the easy word, sweetheart.
No one ever used an endearment for
her, and she found she liked it, a lot.

“I heard how women ruin good men.” Sammy said
teasingly, even as she yawned against his chest.

“They certainly do.” Josh replied.

Sammy heard the catch in Josh’s voice, and she
suddenly remembered what she’d been told about him being jilted last year. The
reminder sent a strange tense feeling through her body, leaving a cold pain in
her lungs. But Sammy, selfishly, didn’t want to ruin the only time she had ever
been comforted in such a nice way, so she changed the subject back to safer
grounds.

“So, how did you break it?” Sammy asked sleepily,
eager for him to continue talking. She snuggled a little closer to Josh’s heat
and sighed, contented.

Josh cleared his throat, but continued his gentle
stroking of her arm. He kissed the top of her head again and Sammy felt
tiredness swarm her mind. She yawned and sighed deeply, sleepiness making her
heavy and relaxed.

“Go to sleep, Sammy, and I’ll tell you when you wake
up.” He said, his voice just a few octaves quieter, but still loud in the
sleepy room, as if he couldn’t quite tame his deep voice into a whisper. He
sunk a little heavier into the bed next to her, and Sammy hazily wondered if
this is what every night would be like with a man like Josh.

Chapter
Thirteen

Josh stood in the dimly lit kitchen and glared at
his mobile phone as another message came through from Penny, this one worse
than the last.

Offer
still stands, even though you were so rude Saturday night. Call me. P xx

He shut off his phone and snatched up his cold beer.
He took a deep pull. His gaze being snatched back time and time again to the
bottom of the stairs—stairs that lead to the woman who was currently invading
his every bloody thought. He’d climbed out of her bed just to get some air
after a good few torturous hours. The feel of her body pressed against him was
almost too much to bear for a man with as little will power as he had. When he’d
gone into her room and seen her in pain, the first thought was to see to her
comfort. She looked so pale, and yet so strong, as she battled with the need to
stay in control, when any other woman would have screamed blue murder or cried
pathetically.