Harbor, page 3
Dario patted her good ankle. “Yes. You should rest some more. Your body is healing. Later today, I’ll remove the bandage around your leg so we can see how it’s doing.”
She nodded, wondering if there was still a chance it could go the wrong direction and become septic. The thought made her shudder. She was the most badass female she knew. It would kill her to have to stop doing the work she loved because of a bum leg, or worse, no leg at all.
Dario stroked her calf. “Rest, sweetheart. We’ll come back in a while.”
She was aware of Dario and Keanu leaving the room without opening her eyes. She was also aware of Advic still hovering next to her.
He lowered himself back onto the chair by her bed. She could feel his body heat, and then he gently took her hand and stroked the back of it. “You’re going to have quite a bruise where the IV was. Sorry about that,” he murmured as if she cared about a bruise while her leg was essentially in traction and her ability to ever walk again was still in question.
She didn’t acknowledge him or look at him. She considered yanking her hand out of his. She didn’t like to be touched. She rarely permitted anyone to get this close to her. Especially men. Most especially, men she didn’t know.
Maya trusted few people, even those who lived with The Wanderers. She trusted Stuart because the two of them had history. She’d relied on him during the darkest days of her life five years ago. He’d proven himself to her over and over. Too bad she’d never been romantically interested in him.
She’d always known he would make someone an amazing life partner. And eventually, when he’d permitted himself to love, he had. He was in a committed relationship with Ariel Vail and two other men.
It had only been a month since Stuart had admitted his feelings for Ariel and entered into a polyamorous family. Maya was happy for him. For all of them. But seeing them together had also made her chest tighten.
She could have had what they had ten times over if she’d wanted. She could have easily had Tarin Gelman and Stuart. Both of them had vied for her attention years ago. She’d hurt Tarin badly when she’d ignored his advances. He was a good man. She was glad he and Stuart had put aside their differences and joined forces with Kester Carbon to create a family with Ariel. All of them deserved happiness.
What about herself?
She winced at the thought of her own happiness. It wasn’t meant to be. She would never allow herself the level of vulnerability required to love someone or even care about them enough to commit. Life was too fragile, as she’d proven more than once now.
She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to relax, beyond aware of Advic still stroking her hand. “You’re okay, baby. You’re going to be fine,” he whispered. He probably didn’t know she could hear him or even that she was still awake.
It was one thing for Dario to call her sweetheart and Keanu to refer to her as hon. But baby… That was more intimate. It inferred a deeper level of feelings. Didn’t it?
How much of the past week had Advic stayed by her side? She hadn’t been conscious. How could he have fallen for her? Was she reading too much into this?
It didn’t matter. She would ignore any advances he made just like she ignored the advances of every other man she’d ever met.
Didn’t matter that she found him kind of sweet and endearing. The answer was still no.
Chapter 10
“No… Please… Stop…”
Maya rolled her head back and forth, trying to reason with these men. It was useless, and she knew it, but she had to try.
“Shut up, bitch. Your whining is getting on my nerves.” Someone slapped her across the face.
She winced, holding her breath from the pain. She jerked her arm, wanting to reach for her cheek, surprised when she was able to move her arm. They always kept her tired down, spread-eagle.
* * *
“Hey hey hey.” Someone was talking to her. Someone kind. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
She opened her eyes and blinked at the man leaning over her. Her heart was racing as her memory flooded back. She was in a clinic. She’d fallen and cut her leg.
The man in her line of sight was named Advic. He wasn’t going to rape her.
He cupped the top of her head and stroked her forehead with his thumb. “You’re safe,” he repeated. His brow was furrowed, making her realize she might have been talking in her sleep. How much had she said?
“Take a deep breath for me, baby.”
Maya pulled in a long breath and let it out slowly.
“There you go.”
The room was bright. This was not the dark cabin she’d been left in for dead. She hadn’t been raped and beaten. That had happened five years ago.
She lifted her arms and ran her hands over her face, grateful for the ability to move. Oddly glad she wasn’t restrained.
“Whoever hurt you isn’t here. You’re safe. I promise.”
She winced as she looked at Advic.
He held her gaze. “You’ve had a lot of nightmares. I assume they’re flashbacks.”
She closed her eyes. Fuck.
Advic stroked her forehead again. “Do you have someone…somewhere? Someone who’s looking for you? Someone who…loves you?” His voice grew softer with every word.
She shook her head. “No.” That was partially true. At least the way he meant it. She didn’t have a man somewhere.
“I know you must have people. I won’t pry. I understand your hesitance. But if there’s anything we could do to let them know you’re safe…”
She jerked her gaze to his. “What makes you think I have people?”
He sat on the edge of her bed and lifted her hand again. The man was always holding her hand.
She jerked it away this time, mostly because she hated the fact that she liked the way he touched her. She needed to stop letting him get so close. This wasn’t a damn fairy tale. This was real life. It was time to get a grip. She wasn’t the sort of person who let anyone get close to her.
Advic swallowed, but he didn’t comment on the fact that she was leaning away from him. “When Keanu found you, you were in rough shape, but you had clean clothes. Your pack is in good condition. You’d bathed recently. Your hair was plaited in a tidy braid. You had come from somewhere. Not nowhere.”
She turned away from him, not answering. He was astute. She was relieved to realize his assessment was based purely on her appearance. He didn’t know anything about her. She may have muttered in her sleep, but not about The Wanderers.
Which was worse? Blabbing about her people or about being gang-raped? She lived in a fucked-up world.
She was still formulating a response when Dario stepped into the room. “How’s our patient doing?” he asked.
She met his gaze. “My mind is clearer,” she informed him.
“That’s good.” He eased the covers away from her injured leg, carefully tucking them up around her thigh. “Let’s take this bandage off and see how it’s healing.”
She gritted her teeth and watched as he removed the tight gauze, unwrapping it around her calf. When he was finished, he lifted a second wet dressing covering the wound.
Maya craned her neck to see better and winced when she finally got a full view of the injury. The doctor hadn’t been kidding about the number of stitches. The cut ran all the way up the back of her leg from her heel to her knee. It was red and angry.
She cringed as Dario lifted her leg to examine it better. “I know it looks bad to you, but trust me, it looks so much better than it did even two days ago. It’s healing. There’s still infection, but the antibiotics are working.”
She knew by looking she would have died without their help. She would’ve died without antibiotics. “Thank you. For saving me,” she whispered.
Dario put a fresh bandage over the wound and wrapped it back up, looser this time. “You’re welcome. It’s what I do.”
When Advic stroked her upper arm, she realized she’d grabbed his hand and was squeezing it tightly. She glanced at him, flushing as she released him to cross her hands together over her stomach.
Advic continued to soothe her with a light touch to her biceps, making goosebumps rise on her arm. He didn’t say anything.
It unnerved her how much she enjoyed his touch. There wasn’t a soul alive she permitted to touch her like that. Not even Stuart. He was the only man she could even tolerate hugging briefly. He certainly didn’t dare stroke her skin or hold her hand.
Dario lifted her foot again when he was done, turning it gently from side to side. “You need to start moving some. Gently at first. Advic can help you. Some ankle rolling, bending at the knee. Just to keep your muscles from tightening.”
She swallowed. Normally she was the sort of person who could endure a lot of pain, but damn, this fucking hurt. Every movement sent pain up her leg. It was enough to make her feel nauseous.
“Keanu is making you some scrambled eggs and toast. Take it easy at first. Make sure it stays down before you start eating more.” He patted her other shin, holding her gaze for several seconds before inhaling deeply, nodding, and leaving the room.
“Do you want something for the pain?” Advic asked, drawing her attention back to him. His hand was on her shoulder now.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Figured you’d say that. Based on the muscle tone you had when you arrived, I’m betting you’re pretty fierce. A scout I’d bet.”
She followed him with her gaze as he moved to the foot of the bed and lifted her leg gently. He was too fucking astute.
“I know every movement hurts, but please tell me if it’s unbearable.” He carefully worked her ankle up and down, glancing at her face every few seconds.
She held her breath. It fucking hurt a lot, but she would never admit that.
When he finished torturing her ankle, he moved to torturing the bend at her knee. She winced as he pushed her leg slowly, holding her breath again. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to walk out of here on her own anytime soon.
She was sweating when he finally eased her leg back onto the elevated pile of pillows. She panted as she dropped her head back to try to catch her breath. She lifted her arm to drape it over her eyes, hating the vulnerability.
“You’re not used to letting anyone help you, are you?” Advic asked, his voice teasing.
She didn’t answer. He knew she wasn’t.
She sensed him moving back toward her head, but she was shocked when he lifted her braid. “Would you like me to wash your hair for you? I bet it would feel good. I could bring a bowl of warm water up behind you and shampoo it.”
She lifted her arm slowly and met his gaze, staring at him. Her gut reaction was to tell him to go to hell, but the thought of this man massaging her scalp was oddly appealing. And the thought of having clean hair even more so.
“Or…” he continued, “I could get you a sharp knife and you could stab me with it until I bleed out.” His expression was difficult to read. He was partly serious, in the sense that he recognized she was skeptical about letting him touch her so intimately. But one side of his mouth was lifted in a playful grin.
He started to turn away, but she reached out and grabbed his forearm. “I’m sorry. That would be nice. If you washed my hair I mean. I’m not…” she swallowed, having no idea how to explain herself better.
He reached for her hand and threaded his fingers with hers. The gesture was far more intimate than any other up to this point. He brought her hand to his cheek and rubbed it against his cleanly shaved face.
His gaze was intense. “Look, there’s no reason to lie and try to convince you I’m not attracted to you. You’re like an angel. And no, I don’t ordinarily fall for my patients. I never do. You’re the first. From the moment you arrived, I’ve been drawn to you. I can’t explain it because you weren’t even conscious. But I’ve rarely left your side.”
She pursed her lips. It was obvious he wasn’t done speaking, and she had no idea how to respond.
He drew in a breath. “I can tell you’re independent and skittish. A warrior.” He grinned. “You’ve said you don’t have a man or, uh, perhaps more than one man, so I assume that’s true. I also assume you don’t have amnesia.” He smirked. “I mean, even though you’ve shared almost nothing with us, I’m guessing you know exactly where you came from and who your people are.”
She nodded.
“I’m just going to lay it all out here. I’m thirty-four. I was a med student when everything went to shit. I was working under Dr. Shan, Dario, at the time and went underground with him. We’ve moved a few times over the years, but we’ve been in this location for two years. We do everything we can to help people who are injured, sick, or often pregnant. We don’t work for the government or any other entity. We are independent and believe in free will.”
She nodded again. “Okay. Thank you.”
He squeezed her fingers. “If I’m smothering you and you want me to back off, just say the word. Otherwise, I’d like to spend time with you. If you’ll let me.”
She licked her dry lips. “I appreciate your honesty. My instinct is to tell you to take a hike. I don’t let myself get close to people. My inner circle is small.” Her heart was beating fast, and she squeezed his hand in the same way he’d done hers moments ago. “I’m a loner. I don’t trust easily. I don’t need or want a man or men. But…for some reason, you don’t make me cringe.”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure a woman has ever told me she would consider talking to me because I quote, ‘don’t make her cringe.’”
Maya smiled for the first time in forever. “That’s huge from me.”
“I gather that. So, I’ll take it.”
“Am I interrupting?” Keanu asked as he entered the room with a tray of food.
Maya glanced at the scrambled eggs and toast, her stomach growling as the scent filled the air.
“Our patient was just telling me I don’t make her cringe,” Advic informed Keanu. “I think from her that’s a marriage proposal.”
Maya gasped, her eyes going wide, and then she laughed when she realized he was joking. She tugged her hand free of his and pushed herself to a more seated position so she could eat. Hopefully on her own this time. She didn’t want anyone feeding her again.
Advic piled pillows up behind her.
“If there’s a marriage proposal, I’d like to be included,” Keanu stated as he set the tray on her lap.
Maya glanced at Advic. “You didn’t mention you were part of a group package,” she pointed out. She wasn’t surprised, nor was she annoyed. This entire conversation was all in jest. Wasn’t it?
“Did I leave that out?” Advic asked, not meeting her gaze.
“Let me guess,” Maya said, “one of you lures a woman in, and then you pull a bait and switch and all of you pounce.”
Keanu cringed. “It sounds much worse when you state it like that.”
“But it’s true,” she pointed out as she picked up the fork, praying she would have the strength to feed herself.
“We don’t exactly plan it,” Advic mumbled. He still wasn’t looking at her. In fact, he was busying himself by tucking her blankets in around her sides as if they’d gotten untidy.
She grabbed his arm, surprising herself. “It’s okay. I’m not naïve. I get it. It would be weird if one of you had a monogamous relationship in an underground clinic.”
Keanu stroked her thigh. He probably had no idea his touch sent shivers up her spine. His hand was precariously close to her pussy with every pass. “We don’t exactly lure every patient we see into some sort of trap. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It’s been over a year since we’ve…shared a woman, and that relationship lasted a week.”
“Was she a patient?” Maya asked softly.
Keanu shook his head. “No. She was a midwife. She came here to pick up some supplies, but she needed to return to her people. She wasn’t looking for anything permanent. Scratching an itch unexpectedly. We all were. None of us were under any illusion it would last, and no one was hurt.”
“Okay.” That was a long-winded explanation. He didn’t owe her that, but she appreciated it.
His hand had stopped moving, but he was gripping her thigh, high enough that he was awakening something in her she’d buried a long time ago.
She must have been staring at his hand because when he followed her gaze and realized where he was touching her, he jerked his palm away from her leg. “Sorry.”
She held her breath, trying to rein in the odd lust that had reared its head after years of dormancy. “It’s been a very long time since anyone has touched me,” she murmured.
Advic reached for her cheek and held it. “You have demons.”
“Yes.”
“No one will pressure you here. I promise. But we’re all attracted to you and open to entertaining whatever you’re interested in.”
“Right now, I’m interested in eggs and toast. Let me think about the rest later.”
He grinned. “Of course.” Luckily, he also released her and backed off.
Both of them left the room. She was grateful because she was starving, and eating was going to be messy and clumsy, and she didn’t want them to watch her eat, and she needed to clear her head and think.
How was it possible she was even entertaining the idea of letting these three men get close to her?
Chapter 11
He was touching her again. She knew it before she opened her eyes this time. She even smiled. “Hey.”
Advic grinned. “You didn’t have a nightmare this time.”
Maya cringed. “Have I had a lot of them?”
“Yes.” He slid his hand from her palm to her wrist and encircled it. “I think restraining your wrists was causing you to panic in your sleep. If I’d realized that was the cause…”
She pulled her arm away and rubbed her wrist with her other hand, needing to confirm she was actually free. “What sorts of things did I say?” How much did I reveal?
