Saving Mel

Rolling over, I spotted a clock next to me. The red numbers flashed 5:32, and I groaned as I flopped back down onto the bed. Holy hell, I’d slept through dinner.

And through the night, at that. After the adrenaline of the accident and being forced to stay with a complete stranger – hot though he may be – left my body beyond exhausted. At least the charging cord had worked enough to let me call and talk to Dad.

I’d been pleasantly surprised that he’d sounded better than he had in a while. I’d reminded him to take his meds and stayed on the phone with him until he did. He had made some oatmeal while we talked and I had promised to call him again in the morning to check in on him.

I battled for a while between staying in the warmth of the bed and getting up to tame the hunger rising in my gut. My stomach was growling, but the blankets of the bed were so warm and soft against my skin. I was loathe to leave the coziness of my little cocoon.

Nevertheless, I finally got up and stretched. I’d slept in my clothes the previous night, just in case Evan hadn’t been telling the truth about not having a key to the room. Though I was reasonably sure I could trust him, my guard remained mostly up.

I wrapped my arms around my chest as I started down the hallway, and soon the smell of bacon and eggs was wafting up my nose. My stomach audibly growled, begging for the food I could smell.

I came down the hallway and rounded the corner to find Evan cooking. His massive form was standing at the stove while he tossed the eggs around in the pan, but I didn’t see the kids. There was a high chair at the table that had a bottle sitting out as well as a small plate of food, but there were no tiny people filling the spaces just yet.

“They’ll be up soon,” he said. “You hungry?”

I studied his hulking form as he cooked. The sight of him making breakfast and setting out food for the kids struck me as incredibly sweet. Though I was still a bit leery, I couldn’t help but admit that I was insanely attracted to him.

I hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, no one being able to break through the barrier I’d erected around myself the last few years. As I looked at him, my sorely neglected body reminded me just how much I had missed out on.

“I am,” I said, nodding. “Thank you.”

“I’ll fix you up a plate,” he said.

His voice was low and rumbling, and sexy as hell. It was powerful, but at the same time, gentle and quiet so as not to wake the children before they were ready. I sat down at the kitchen table as he made me a plate, my mouth drowning in saliva as my stomach readied itself for the food. He sat it in front of me as the steam rose to my nose, and I closed my eyes and inhaled the wonderful scent.

“This smells wonderful,” I said.

“Just some bacon and eggs. I’m about to make some toast. Juice or coffee?” he asked.

“Coffee would be great, thank you,” I said.

He went back to the kitchen and put bread in the toaster before grabbing a mug and pouring me some coffee. “Did you sleep okay? You must have been exhausted, you never came out for dinner,” he said, looking at me curiously.

I nodded as the coffee warmed me from the inside. “I guess I was. Once the adrenaline wore off, I was done for. I slept fine, thank you.”

He nodded. “Were you able to get ahold of your dad?” he asked me as he buttered the toast.

“I was, yes. I let him know where I am and that I’m okay,” I said, wanting to be sure Evan understood that someone knew where I was.

He glanced over at me and smiled. “Good,” he said.

“Has it stopped snowing yet?” I asked.

“It has, but it dumped quite a bit on us.”

“So, with the snow piled so high, when will the kids’ parents be back to get them?” I asked.

“Not for a while,” he said after a moment of hesitation.

“You said they’re your niece and nephew. Are they your brother’s kids or your sister’s kids?”

“Brother’s.”

His tone had changed the slightest bit, but I detected something in it that told me I had broached a sensitive subject. Not wanting to offend the man who had so far been nothing but gracious to me, I decided to let it go. I bit into my bacon and tried to stifle a moan as he set a small plate of toast next to me, then I watched him as he made his way down the hallway.