Oh crap.
Joe.
I stared, shocked and confused.
Then he opened my door, resting his arm along it and his other on top of the car. His expression was grim as his deep voice rumbled through me. “Looks like there’s been a communication problem.”
I was going to kill Shaw.
Following Joe up the porch stairs and into the cabin, I vowed to metaphorically kill my sister. Yet I couldn’t even find the energy to be all that angry with her. My ankles felt like they had twenty pounds of rock tied around them, and I was grateful Joe had taken my luggage off me to carry it inside. I didn’t think my fingers could grip onto anything.
In fact, as soon as the heat from the log burning fire inside hit me, something happened.
I stopped inside the open plan living area. Joe’s body wavered as he continued walking ahead of me. His voice sounded distorted, like he was underwater.
The room tilted and little black dots scattered across my vision.
I thought I heard Joe shout my name.
That’s the last thing I heard before the dots all joined together and all I saw was black.
The first thing I was aware of was the throbbing in my cheek, near my eye.
Confused, it took me a second to remember the assault and then my eyes flew open in panic.
Daylight streaming into an unfamiliar room greeted me and the tightness on my chest got worse as I tried to remember where the hell I was and what was happening.
“You’re awake.”
The familiar voice drew my attention. Turning my head on a soft pillow, I found Joe sitting in an armchair by the side of the bed. His clothes and hair were rumpled and his eyes a little bleary like he hadn’t slept.
Despite my confusion, I relaxed.
“Where am I?” the words croaked out of me. My mouth was so dry.
“Lake Tahoe.” Joe leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “You don’t remember last night?”
Slowly his voice brought back the memories.
I’d passed out upon arrival.
When I woke up, Joe was trying not to freak out. I promised him I just needed to sleep, that I hadn’t slept in days. He tried to ask questions, but I’d fallen asleep on him.
“What time is it?” I pushed up into a sitting position, glad to feel the strength back in my arms. While there was a heaviness in my head, my eyelids felt lighter for having slept.
“It’s midday, New Year’s Eve. You’ve slept around fifteen hours.”
Holy crap.
Guess I needed it though.
Joe’s expression suddenly darkened as he stared at my face. “When you fainted, you hit the floor on your cheek pretty hard. I put some ice on it. Funny thing though… the ice took off your makeup and beneath the fresh swelling there were bruises.”
Shit.
I looked away. “Joe…”
“What happened?”
Protecting my sister from what had happened was one thing. Protecting myself from Joe’s need to protect was another. While I wanted many things from him I couldn’t have… I didn’t want his protection. I didn’t need it. I was alone. And I didn’t need the illusion of not being alone.
“You know, I’m starving. While my sister was setting us up, did she happen to stock the cabin for food?”
I whipped off the covers and stopped when I realized I was in my sleep shorts. I glared at Joe.
He shrugged nonchalantly. “I couldn’t let you sleep in your jeans.”
I glanced down at my top, grateful to see it was the thermal Henley I’d been wearing upon my arrival. Still, Joe had taken off my jeans.
I felt a tingle between my legs at the thought.
Okay, definitely feeling better then.
“Oh.” I slipped out of the bed, skirting him and feeling his heat without even touching him. “Food?”
The creak of the wooden floorboards told me Joe was following me out of the room. The floors were toasty beneath my feet, suggesting under floor heating. In fact, the entire cabin was comfortably warm, even though the fire from the log burner had died during the night.
I came to a stop in the middle of the open plan room.
Because… the view.
Beyond the sitting room were sliding doors that led out onto the deck. And beyond the deck was Lake Tahoe. Crossing the room, I peered out of the doors at the majestic view of tranquil water surrounded by snow dusted trees on the hills that sloped down toward it.
“Wow.”
“Pretty spectacular, huh?” Joe came to a stop beside me. So close, his shoulder brushed mine. I glanced at him to find him watching me. His eyes narrowed on my upper cheek. “Why do you have a shiner and why did you pass out from exhaustion?”
Sighing, I turned back to the view.
I could feel Joe’s aggravation growing.
Part of me was thrilled that he gave a shit about me.
The other part was terrified of it.
“I’m not letting you leave here until you tell me.”