Chapter 21

Feeling like a coward for running from her, Devin walked briskly through the trees. One innocent touch from her and his body went berserk. Her hand on his bare skin had brought him close to swallowing his own tongue, her touch was so soft, so warm. This was going to be harder than he thought. He needed to keep his distance to learn more about her, and doing that when she was under his roof and lying on his couch—in his robe, was just a little too tempting. He didn’t want to send her back to her camp, not until she healed. His stomach tightened in an odd way. Devin stopped and rested his forehead against the rough bark of the closest tree while he thought this through. Do I want to send her back at all? His stomach clenched once more, no I don’t. What was he going to do? He had no idea. All he did know was that he wanted her in his house close by.

Exhaling loudly, he turned and quickly closed the distance to her camp site. Did this happen to all the males that found their mates? That might be the reason many avoided being mated.

Walking through the door, Devin quickly bee lined to the sitting area, only to find she wasn’t there. A few scraps of the toast were left on the plate sitting beside the empty juice glass, the pain killers he’d left on the tray were also gone. He turned and glanced into the kitchen, she wasn’t there either. In long strides, he went towards the bedroom and stopped suddenly when he noticed the studio door was open.

Stepping through the doorway he stopped and just stood there. Her back was towards him, he had to smile when he noticed how big the robe was on her, coming close to touching the floor. She stood without moving as she studied the five paintings along the one wall, they were all various storms he’d painted. Devin thought they were quite good, but he may be a little biased. He held his breath when she turned and hobbled with the cane towards the one that had her image in it. She was never meant to see that one.

He cleared his throat, so he wouldn’t startle her and felt he should offer an explanation. “I’m not a stalker.” Her spine stiffened. “Painting you was a nice change, I seem to be in a rut.”

She laughed softly. “I don’t think I’d describe your work as a rut.” The cane clicked across the wooden floor as she moved back to the first painting. “When I first stepped in here I thought I’d just discovered a brilliant artist.” She smirked over her shoulder at him. “Then I read the signature.” She turned to face me completely. “You’re D. Addison.”

He jammed his hands into his pockets and nodded, not sure why her tone made him feel like a chastised child.

“I’ve always liked your flare for enhancing the tiny details, most painters will just blur the small stuff and make the main focal point something larger.”

Devin was shocked, she knew his work. Not that he was an unknown, he lived off the commissions from his painting. He was just surprised that she knew his paintings. “I see things differently I suppose.”

Rayne jerked her head towards the painting with herself in it. “Do I have any say with that one? I’d prefer not to be hung over someone’s mantel.”

“I think I’ll keep it all to myself.”

“Good. Thank you.” She turned back to the paintings once more and wobbled a little.

He reached her in three strides. “You should be resting.” He placed a hand gently on her arm, afraid she was going to tip right over.

“I know, I thought this door might lead to the outside so I could sit in the sun.” She sighed. “I still feel cold.” She moved to head back out of the room. “Thank you for not being a temperamental artist and throwing a fit when you caught me snooping.” She teetered again, sidestepping a few steps, and then hissing out a breath when she stepped on her injured foot.

Devin didn’t ask, he just scooped her up into his arms and started for the door. “I am very temperamental, but I can’t rant at someone that isn’t up to full strength.”

“I’m glad I’m feeble at this moment, then.”

Her smile hit him and went right through his chest. He tried not to feel like he was falling into her eyes, but it wasn’t working. Just looking into her eyes gave him a sense of completion, and made him experience physical urges that were not nearly as mellowing. “I’m sure you’ll be up to one of my offended artist rants in no time.” He went over to the couch and set her down. “I’ll give you a hand getting some of the tangles out of your hair and then you can soak in the tub and see if you can get some warmth back into your bones.” She nodded and offered him a tired smile, which made him worry that there, might be something really wrong. Maybe her foot was infected. Should he take her to a doctor so they can check her out? He’d reassess that later once she’d rested further.

Going over, he picked up her brush. He’d been thankful it was in plain sight when he stepped into her cabin, rifling through her things was not a task he was prepared to resort to. He debated on how to go about brushing her hair while she was leaning back on it. He could kneel at the end of the couch and do it that way, but he wanted to be closer to her. Yes, he remembered the whole internal discussion on the way to her camp site, but he had never thought of himself as smart. Leaning down, he helped her to sit upright, then slid behind her to cradle her between his thighs. She willingly leaned further away so he could work between their bodies.

Devin started at the bottom, figuring if he worked his way up it would hurt less. “I’m afraid I’m out of practise, I haven’t brushed someone else’s hair since my sister was young.” He grinned at the memory. “She had long hair then, and got tangled in some burrs, mother threatened to cut it off...” Leaning her head to the side to rest on the couch, she seemed completely relaxed with his touch.

“You have a sister? That must be nice.”

He worked carefully, hoping it wasn’t pulling too much. “You don’t have any brothers or sisters?”

“No. I always wanted at least one, but mama said it wasn’t in the cards.”

No siblings. “I’m sure you kept your parents busy.”

“Are you insinuating I was a handful?”

It was hard not to notice how silky her hair was as it slid through his fingers, he had to focus to keep from lifting it to his nose to take in her unique scent. “No. Were you?”

She shook her head slightly. “I don’t think so. We moved a lot though, so maybe I was a bit pouty from time to time.”

“Your parent’s jobs move you around?”

“I don’t think so, I don’t remember much about the places when I was young. When they finally settled in Chicago, I was more than happy to find one place to call home.” She exhaled slowly. “I still miss them. The last five years haven’t been easy.”

“Didn’t you have any relatives nearby?” Her parents had both passed, was that why she didn’t know who she was? She leaned back, making it a little more difficult to work on her long hair, but he wasn’t about to tell her to move.

“No. Well, I’m sure I have some somewhere, but I’ve never met them. Mama always said that someday they’d take me home so I could meet our family but...”

“Do you know where home is?” She shook her head gently. “You’ve been on your own all this time?” He still hadn’t pegged her age, and he was experienced enough to know not to ask.

Her shoulders stiffened, pulling her back away from him. “A family, the one my father worked for took me in.”

Instinct told him to ask questions and find out why that upset her, but she sighed and leaned back against him again. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of her body against his.

“I’m too tired to talk about all of that right now.”

Not talking worked out fine for him too, as he tried not to inhale her scent each time he took a breath, but he was failing. The heat from her against him made his body grow hard inside the jeans. Devin shifted a little to not be pressed right into her, even though every single cell in his body wanted to press into her. Remembering the brush in his hand, he began to gently work on the top of her head, not even sure if he’d already done that area.

She made a quiet sound of contentment and leaned her back against his chest. He dropped the hand that held the brush and rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Devin?”

His groin responded to his name by pushing against the denim. “Yes,” he barely managed to whisper.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to stay awake for the bath part. Those pills have kicked in and I feel so wonderfully relaxed suddenly.”

Devin let the brush slide to the floor and lightly ran his hand down over her shoulder and arm. “Just rest, the tub will be there later.” His brain told him to help her into the bedroom. His body didn’t want her to move from where she was so he sat there, breathing shallowly, and trying to keep her scent from enveloping him further. It wasn’t working.

After some long moments of internal torment, she stirred in his arms. He was ready to get up when she turned on her side and snuggled into his chest. Her hip rested against the throbbing hard-on in his pants, and he could barely control the drive to give into his urges. When he looked down and noticed the robe gaped and one creamy breast was visible, he quickly pulled the robe closed. Forcing his eyes away from her breast, they traveled back up to her face to see her eyelids flutter open before she looked up at him. Does she have any idea how sexy she looked right now half asleep? I’m sick, I know this now, she is exhausted, injured and medicated and all I want to do is rub my naked body against hers. Her eyes fluttered again and her lips curved into a small smile. Did she know what he was thinking?

“You’re so warm, it’s nice.”

Warm? That’s an understatement, I’m on fire from the inside out.

“Do you want me to move?” She whispered breathlessly, causing his heart and other parts of anatomy to respond.

Did I? “No,” he said quickly before she did. “Just rest.” He slid their combined weight down a bit further so she would be more comfortable. The movement shifted her hip so it rubbed over the bulge he was trying to ignore. He may not make it with his sanity intact having her close, but she needed to rest.

Devin placed his hands on her back, concentrating on not moving them over her body. She sighed again and turned her face into him, her warm lips brushed over his throat as she placed a sweet kiss against it. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced his body to go rigid so he wouldn’t grab her.

Her warm body squirmed around while she got more comfortable. “Stretch out, you can rest too,” she mumbled.

Does she know what she was asking of me? Could he lie with her, on this suddenly very small piece of furniture, and just rest without touching her? He hadn’t even decided what to do when he realized his body was doing just that. Careful to not jar her foot, he flipped them both on their sides, so they were facing each other.

“Much better,” she whispered against his throat.

Devin swallowed and counted to ten inside his head. “Rayne?” She made a noise that caused her lips to vibrate against his throat, spurring flames that engulfed his guts. “I can’t resist you. I’m going to...”

“Then don’t,” she sighed and leaned into him more.

He lay there feeling the heat from the length of her body against him, trying to decide if he’d heard her correctly. Her warm breath against his throat was driving him crazy, he had to get up, now.

“Devin, kiss me. Then rest,” she mumbled as she leaned her head back.

He’d get up in a minute. One kiss, how can I say no to that? He couldn’t resist a small taste of her, at least this was his reasoning as he lowered his mouth to hers. Devin hesitated close enough to taste her breath, and before he could decide if he should her arm snaked up around his neck and pulled his head towards hers.

He only meant a mere touching of lips, just a small taste, but the second her soft lips brushed over his, he completely forgot. Her warm mouth opened to him and he grasped that opportunity to plunge his tongue into the wet cavity of her mouth. She tasted of home and sin, and he didn’t know how he was going to stop.

Devin ran his hand down her back, pulling her tight against him. Flames shot through his groin, tightening with anticipation. She gasped into his mouth and the last threads of logical thought flew from his mind. He wanted her in a way he’d never wanted another woman in his life, and here she was in his arms, against his body. Rising onto one arm he leaned over her, without taking his mouth from her eager one, then he pinned her to the cushions with his whole body, revelling in the feel of her beneath him.

Her small hand grabbed his hair and pulled so he couldn’t move away, not that he had any plans to. He was drinking her in, as he worked out how to manage this on the couch. Devin wasn’t small and he didn’t want to hurt her any more than she already was. Then he realized the last thoughts, and if someone had poured ice water over their heads, he didn’t think he would have come back to reality faster.

Wrenching his mouth from hers, he buried his face in her neck and tried to remember how to breathe as he dug for the will to move away from her. Her fingers continued to move through his hair as she hugged his head to her. “Before I forget you’re...” Her mouth moved against his ear and lust surged again. “You need rest, I can’t do this.” Devin moved back and his lower body slid off the couch. Coming to his knees, he looked down at her glazed eyes and had to clench his jaw to stop from climbing right back up there with her. “You need sleep, hun.”

He pulled her into his arms and walked with stiff legs towards the bedroom. This was where he found out how strong he really was, he thought as he lowered her to the bed. Now, walk away. Devin stood there looking down at her, with her golden hair spread across his pillow and felt his resolve fading quickly. Before it was completely gone, he took a step back. “You rest.”

She gave him a sleepy smile and his heart skipped several beats. “Okay,” she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.

He continued to stand there, his eyes roving over her, his heart softening even as his body still throbbed. Devin hadn’t even realized he was moving back towards her until the bed bumped against his leg. Rubbing a hand over his face, he turned to get out of there, stumbling over his own feet as he did.