As Chucky flashed the light into the car, I bent over and peered inside.
All the air left my lungs at the sight of her. Chucky was right. She was breathing, and one couldn’t miss that with her huge breasts rising up and down. Not the most gentlemanly thing to be thinking at the time, but it did hit me first. That gorgeous face came next. Even with snowflakes dusting her soft, brown flesh and blood glittering around those lovely eyes and cute cheeks, she captivated me. Long, kinky curls fell into a mess around her shoulders, and I swore I’d never seen another more beautiful woman in my life.
“Simone,” I whispered. “Please be okay.”
Now, I know how Prince Philip felt when he saw his sleeping beauty. If only life was so easy where all I had to do was kiss those sweet lips and everything would be sunshine and happiness. Damn it. Please, be okay.
I wouldn’t forgive myself if she didn’t make it. I’d gotten over Jason’s death. I had no guilt; he’d chosen his path. I’d tried my best to save him, but he’d fought against.
But Simone...no...nothing could happen to her.
She was on this road because of me. She’d been chasing a dream. She was hungry, starving for success, and I knew what it was like to run toward the light and not fear getting burned. There was no sanity in that voyage. She would’ve been out here if tornadoes had spun down the highway.
Chucky waved four other guys over. It took them two minutes to saw and break open the door. I yanked my sweater off, not caring about the cold. She was probably freezing to death. Another man had several blankets.
The window busted open as they ripped the door open further. I reached down, popped her seat belt, wrapped my sweater around her, and pulled her small body from the car. Chucky tried to help me.
“I’ve got her.” I carried her small frame in my arms as they placed more blankets on her and then one over my shoulders. “Grab her bags from the back and anything else. I’ll have David deal with getting this car towed later.”
It wasn’t until I carried her back to the truck that I let the reality of what happened sit in. Simone was in my arms.
We got into the truck and headed back to my property. Her incredible scent wrapped around me and filled the car, lavender and sweet cream dancing on an island breeze. She smelled like sunshine on the beach and the splashing of warm blue water.
Chucky smiled. “I see why you were worried. She’s just a little thing.”
He probably had more to say but kept it on a respect level. My cock tried to stiffen, but I growled inside of my head and made him go down. Now was not the time for that bullshit. I had to get her back to the house and make sure she was okay.
Simone. Simone.
I drank her in, so tiny, covered in snow, and shivering.
“The wounds look superficial, scratches from the broken glass, but I’m no doctor.” Chucky turned the heat on high. “We got to get her warm, though. That I know.”
I pulled her closer to me.
We returned in record time.
David and some of the maids were waiting outside. Someone must’ve radioed ahead of us. I didn’t even want to let Simone go as I carried her little body through the front door and into my massive sitting room.
“Has she said anything?” David asked.
“No.” I set her down in front of the fireplace. Logs crackled and snapped within the fire. Heat blazed out to us, warming the whole space.
My chef Judy stepped up and helped me with Simone. “We need to get these clothes off her,” Judy said. “They’re wet. She’ll freeze to death.”
“David,” I yelled over my shoulder as I yanked off Simone’s boots. “See if we can get a doctor out here. I know the weather is bad, but if he gets here, he’ll have enough money to retire.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We have to get her warm.” Judy removed the blankets and my sweater from around Simone. “When someone is freezing to death, the body instinctively protects the brain and the trunk.”
I pulled wet, almost-iced socks off Simone’s feet.
Judy continued, “The body doesn’t absolutely need legs, so they’re the first to go. Same thing with arms and ears. As the body freezes, it lets go of unnecessary functions and protects the internal organs and the brain.”
Worry hit me. “Is she in pain?”
“Frostbite absolutely sucks. Hypothermia is also very uncomfortable. Uncontrollable shaking and teeth chattering, extremities turn purple or blue and you have limited movement from them, like the inability to grasp and hold onto things. But I’ve heard that freezing to death is kind of peaceful in that you drift off to sleep and never wake up again.”