He turned around. Usually the boys were right underneath him, but even they could sense the gravity of the situation and were a few feet back, holding Nick’s hands. When he caught his brother’s eye, he was surprised to see that Nick looked deeply shaken.
“She’s okay. Maybe you should take the boys back to the house.”
Nick nodded mutely but didn’t move. It was odd to see his usually jovial brother so disturbed. Although, if he was honest, he was disturbed as well.
Violence wasn’t something they’d ever had to deal with. Seeing the effects on a woman he knew, even if it was only a casual acquaintance, made his stomach turn.
“Raina isn’t even supposed to be in town. She told me just a few days ago that she’d be gone for two weeks straight. She had a bunch of modeling jobs booked in Asia. She seemed really excited about—”
Matt held up a hand and he halted mid-speech. “She’s waking up.”
They all watched as Raina turned on her side and exhaled a long, slow breath. When her eyes opened, they darted around wildly. When she noticed Matt right next to her, she started scrabbling backward.
“Easy, it’s okay.” Matt backed away.
She got to her knees and blinked rapidly.
“Raina?”
She held up a hand as if the sunlight was too bright. He wondered if she could even see them.
“It’s Jackson. Are you okay?”
Her wide, brown eyes locked on his face. She stared at him for a minute, then glanced away before looking back. Then her lips curled up into a small smile.
His stomach dropped. The sensation was like falling while standing still.
Shock forced him to take a step back. He’d never had this reaction to Raina before, despite the fact that she was an extremely beautiful woman. When she was dressed impeccably and made up like she was going to a photo shoot, he’d only felt the general attraction that most red-blooded men feel around gorgeous women.
But in that moment, as her eyes held him captive, she was more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. With her hair wild and a streak of dirt on her cheek, all he could think was…
Wow.