Page 75 of Nowhere to Hide

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to fix my dressing.”

“Call me,” I gritted out.

“Because you’re in such a good mood already?”

I gnashed my teeth together. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You think I want to be here?”

“I know you don’t. We just have to make the best of it.” I straightened her and took one of the thick gauze packs, then crouched in front of her. My breath stalled at the endless honeyed skin of her thigh. Even with the big bandage, she was all soft skin and smelled like a warm beach.

My favorite thing.

I concentrated on replacing the pad and the tape. On washing her.

On trying not to linger.

When I stood, she was staring straight out the porthole with a stony face.

My voice was little more than a growl as I muttered, “Let’s go.”

I picked her up, my fingers digging into the flesh of her ass to anchor her to my upper body. Anything so she wouldn’t notice my body’s reaction. I got her up the stairs and onto the upper deck so she could see the sunset at the very least.

I left her without a word and climbed up into the captain’s seat. I needed to change the heading and straighten out so she could see the coastline from where she was.

I set us to drift. The winds were light, and we weren’t going anywhere for a good bit. I dropped the anchor, and still itching with annoyance and something I refused to name, I climbed up to the top of the lookout and stared at the horizon until my system evened out.

This isn’t a good idea, Milligan.

It’s what you need. She needs you.

I’m no good for anyone. Least of all her.

You’re perfect for her.

Disbelief dropped his voice back until it was a mist behind me. I gripped the railing and did a few box breathing cycles of my own. I just needed to put whatever this was in a box.

I needed to simply treat this like a job.

She was a client, even if I wasn’t getting paid.

That’s all there was to it.

I looked down at where she was sprawled on the deck. She was stretched out on her side, her arms around one of the cushions to prop her up so she could watch the sun make its slow descent behind the lighthouse.

The quiet of the moment seeped back inside of me, giving me a level of calmness that I hadn’t felt since she’d crashed into my life.

While I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to work again, compartmentalizing her helped to shove the feelings into a box.

I waited for the sun to wink out and the dark to take the boat before I climbed back down to where she was. She’d passed out again, which made things a little easier. She needed her rest. I moved her into my cabin and left a low light on above her bed.

She rolled onto her side to hug a pillow. Her sooty slashes brushed her cheeks, and her eyes made rapid passes under her lids. Bracing for a nightmare, I sat next to her for a few moments.

She was a bit restless and my chest hurt for her. I knew what it was like to live in fitful sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d slept through the night.

With her last night, asshat.