Page 10 of Needing His Touch
“Come on, babe. Let’s get you in the truck.” I stand up, taking her with me. She’s no sooner on her feet, and I’m lifting her up and in my arms, carrying her to my truck.
“I-I-I…” Carsynn stammers. “Can I get a few things out of my car? It’s silly, I know, but it’s my stuff.”
“Let me get you in the truck, and I’ll go back for whatever you need. Give me a list.” I hope it’s not a lot of things because we really need to get back to the house.
“Oh, um, my purse, phone if you can find it, and there’s a bag with a pair of sneakers in it. The whole reason I’m in this situation to begin with. I was finally able to afford a nice pair of shoes, only it’s costing me my car. I’m so stupid.” My lips graze her forehead. There’s going to be some talking in the near future, particularly about her calling herself stupid.
“You got it.” It’s a slippery slope up the embankment, a few backtracks of sliding and planting my feet one in front of the other. Once I’m on the asphalt, I’m able to move a bit faster. My truck door is still wide open. Rookie fucking move, letting the heated air out when it could be warm inside for her.
“Thank you, Gabe. Bernie said you were the best. He wasn’t wrong.” Carsynn lets out a tired yawn as we make it to the truck.
“You can thank me later. Right now, let’s get us home.” I open the door, offload the tiny fairy into the seat, and grab the spare jacket from the back seat to cover her up. “Be right back.”
I cuss the entire time I run back to her car. When I was helping her out of the wreck, I wasn’t thinking. This second trip could have been spared if I had grabbed her stuff along the way. Now I’m worried that by the time we get on the road, even my truck is going to struggle, and it’s made for this shit weather. “Fuck,” I grunt. Her purse and bag were easy to locate. The phone I have to search around for, and when I see it smashed to hell, I know it’s toast. I’ll have to see if I’ve got an extra in the drawer. The company is always getting replacements for the guys when they go out on the road. Most of the time, they come back with a busted screen or soaked in water. Still, I grab it just the same. The SIM card will make it easier for her to get a loaner, if nothing else. I’m out of the destroyed car and back at the truck as fast as I can.
“You good?” I ask, climbing into the driver's seat, closing the door, and cranking the heat up as high as it can go. I had the forethought to turn on the seat heaters when I left my house, so at least I didn’t lose all my few brain cells tonight.
“Yeah. My car, I can’t leave it there.” She looks out at the window, giving me only a side profile.
“Baby, your car is totaled, and it can stay there until the weather passes. I’ll grab the tow truck and see what we can do.” I conduct another quick sweep of her body to make sure nothing is worse for the wear. Carsynn’s scraped and bruised, along with what I’m sure will be a killer headache as soon as her adrenaline comes down.
“Add it to the list of things I always lose.” My hand reaches for hers. Our fingers entwine. She doesn’t pull away, and for that I’m grateful. I think we both need a little bit of comfort after tonight.
11
CARSYNN
I’m comfortable, really comfortable, almost too much, and I have no problem scooting my body into the warmth behind me. I can’t remember the last time I slept this deeply and woke up not freezing without a pile of blankets on top of me. In fact, I’m almost too hot. I don’t open my eyes. Instead, I move my leg out of the covers, needing some kind of moving air on my heated flesh. What I don’t expect is to feel a leg on top of mine, pinning me to the mattress. It’s heavy, hairy, and a heater much like the rest of the man lying beside me. Everything comes flying back, my eyes fly open, and somehow, I manage to remain stone-cold still.
Last night replays in my mind. The car accident, being cold, unbearably so, and the noise. It’s a sound I’ll never forget. I’m only thankful Gabe found me when he did. I couldn’t tell you how long I was sitting upside down in my car, probably not long. I was frozen to the core, and not in the I-can’t-get-warm feeling either. An almost panic was more like it, unable to get my hands to move, let alone my body. The worst feeling I think I’ve ever experienced, and there’ve been more than a few doozies in my life. The relief was instantaneous. I was able to formulate words and do as he said to get me out of the wreck.
“Did I really say that out loud?” I recall being on my hands and knees, coming face to face with Gabe’s very well-endowed package and then, of course, I blurted out that still intact virginity status.
“Which time are you referring to?” My hands slap to my face, attempting to hide the fact that Gabe McCoy is the person beside me, his heavy thigh draped over mine, and the reason I feel like a furnace is heating me from the inside out. I spread my fingers, turn my head slightly, and look beside me. Why does he have to look so gorgeous first thing in the morning? His hair is messy from sleep, face soft, and I know without a shadow of a doubt the same can’t be said for myself.
“Oh God, I said so much.” I roll away, remembering everything. Did I really tell Gabe McCoy I was a virgin last night? Did I really see the outline of his cock and mention it? Yes, yes, I did.
“Carsynn, look at me, baby.” Gabe’s leg stays on top of mine while I attempt to wiggle away, trying to hide my embarrassment. He’s not letting that happen, not with the way he is using his leg, ankle hooking around mine and pulling me closer to him.
“Nope, not happening. I appreciate you helping me last night, but I can’t look at you. My face will be as bright as a tomato. I’ll just see myself out.” I’m not looking at him. Nope, no way. I keep my head turned, use my hands that are no longer covering my face to push the sheets away.
“Kind of hard to leave when we’re snowed in. How are you feeling? Any aches or pains?” Gabe’s touch on my hip is hot, searing me through the shirt I’m wearing. His gaze is heated, and with him so close to me, it’s hard to miss the outline of his cock.
“I don’t think so.” The man hovering above me dips his head, a grin appearing on his lips, only making him that much more desirable that I forget about the news he laid on me. “We’re snowed in?” I abandon thinking about getting out of bed or wiggling all my body parts to check on any aches and pains.
“Afraid so. The house runs on a generator when the power is out. The weather turned fast. A Nor’easter hit. We’ve got six feet outside right now, and they’re expecting more to drop throughout the day.” My eyes close, and I lose sight of the handsome man in front of me. A variety of things runs through my mind, mainly Bernie. Then there’s me being at Gabe’s house and stuck here when who knows if he’s okay with that. I mean, the man did bring me into his room and handed me a shirt from his dresser. He looked through his shorts and sweatpants, but none would fit. Gabe is massive in height and muscle compared to me. He looked from me to the drawer then back to me, mumbling under his breath about me being a tiny thing. I helped him make the decision, telling him I’d be fast in the shower, to which he replied to take my time, and he’d help sort out the scrapes afterward.
“What about Bernie?” I ask, trying to forget what it felt like to shower in his bathroom, use his bodywash and shampoo. It sucked there was no conditioner, but I couldn’t very well complain. The minute the water turned off, Gabe was knocking on the door, asking if I was ready to get bandaged up. I was quick with towel drying my body, using the same towel to put my hair up in a turban, and slipping his shirt over my head before squealing out an okay. Gabe proceeded to check me over from my head to the tips of my toes. My forearm took the brunt of it, a big scrape down the length of my left arm. He babied the heck out of the injury. Meanwhile, my eyes devoured his naked torso and a hell of a lot lower. Too bad for me, I didn’t get to see more of what he was packing like I did when I was crawling toward him.
“He refused to come stay with me. I chopped enough wood and brought it in for him. There’s plenty of food at his house. He’s self-sufficient. Which reminds me, you need to call him soon. He’s called twice already.” Gabe lowers his head even more. He’s nowhere near my forehead or my cheek. Oh God, is he going to kiss me?
“What time is it?” I ask under my breath. Last night after Gabe doctored me up, he deemed I was okay and didn’t need to go to the hospital. Which I would have told him absolutely not. Health insurance is a benefit and luxury at this point in my life. Gabe ushered me to his bed, kissed my forehead, and I promptly passed out. I didn’t ask if I should sleep somewhere else or anything. I was completely oblivious to anything else. I didn’t feel when he got into bed with me. My body went through an emotional rollercoaster, and it was ready to sign off.
“Nearly noon,” he replies like it’s no big deal. I guess it isn’t since we’re snowed the hell in.
“What!” I realize I didn’t brush my teeth before bed, and morning breath, dragon breath, dumpster breath, or whatever you call it, is a real thing. It’s also foul and why I place my hand over my mouth swiftly, which also pulls on my forearm, making me wince in pain.
“You’re hurting, and I’m not worried about your breath, fairy.” His eagle eyes narrow. In a swift yet steady movement, his arms wrap around my body and he’s helping me sit up. “Let me look at your forearm, then you can get up and call Gramps before he has a coronary and tries to navigate the streets in this shit weather. I swear he wouldn’t listen when I told him you needed the sleep, wanted to hear your voice for himself.” I melt. No one has ever cared about me enough to worry about my wellbeing. It’s foreign, and it’s making my eyes water and my heart ache a little bit more than I thought possible.