“So you keep saying. Why not let me be the judge…for Stacy’s peace of mind?”
She nodded her head.
Charlie placed his hand against her cheek and instantly felt the warmth penetrate his skin. Anna stared up at him with big, brown, sad eyes like that of an injured doe. His chest tightened at the thought that even his touch put fear in her. Her skin was soft and supple. He wanted to caress it and pull her to him into an embrace, but he knew he couldn’t. Not now. He lifted his hand then pressed gently against her forehead. She felt warm to his touch. He smiled, trying to reassure her that she was safe with him, but Anna immediately looked down to the rug to avoid his gaze.
Reaching back to his bag, he retrieved a thermometer. He took her temperature. The minutes that passed brought an awkward silence between them. He focused on her beauty and the need he saw in her eyes earlier, and his groin tightened. He tried to think of something to say, but Anna had yet to respond to any of his questions with anything other than a nod of her head. He removed the thermometer and found she had a low-grade fever.
“You have a fever, honey. More than likely, it’s from the injuries and pain you don’t have,” he stated then winked. He felt the chuckle catch in his throat as he looked at her.
She stared at him as if trying to read his mind. She looked untrusting, unsure, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. How could he convince her that she was safe here and with him?
He rose from the bed and held his hand out to her.
“Now let’s take a look at the injuries.”
He examined her cheeks, her chin, and then her eyes. He tried not to touch the injured skin, but he couldn’t help but trace the finger marks and bruising with his own hands. He knew immediately what the true culprit was. The hands that did the damage were as big as his.
His insides tightened at the pain inflicted upon her, and he wanted to know who had done it. He tried breathing slowly and remained calm for Anna’s sake.
“These are going to get a bit uglier I’m afraid. Did you ice them after the…accident?” he asked, and she shook her head.
He touched her neck and gently tilted her chin up. It didn’t take a doctor to see that a large hand had made the marks. Someone held her by the throat. No wonder her voice sounded rough and she clenched her eyes when she swallowed too hard. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his anger.
“You don’t have to do this. I know it looks bad. I’ll live,” she whispered, her voice sounding worse the more she spoke.
He smiled and was taken aback by her concern over how he might take looking at her wounds. The sweet thing, if she only knew the thoughts that were going through his head right now. They weren’t pretty, and he wished the bastard who did this was standing here right now.
He gently caressed her chin, then softly rubbed his thumb across her lip. He was careful not to get too close to the cut there.
“You’re beautiful, Anna, and I’m not cringing at you. I’m angry with whoever did this to you.”
She turned her eyes away from him as best as she could. He released her chin.
Standing in front of her, he looked at the bruising on her arms. There were obvious finger and hand marks. Someone really roughed her up.
“Anna, you’re going to have to take off your shirt.”
She inhaled and took a step backward. Her face looked flushed, and he could see beads of sweat across her forehead.
She teetered in place a moment, and he reached for her.
“Anna, are you okay?” he asked. Then he saw her take a step to the side, and her eyes began to roll a little. Immediately, he pulled her to him as she passed out.
* * * *
Charlie picked her up and carried her to the bed. She was light and soft. She felt perfect in his arms. He wanted to protect her and care for her and, mostly, make her smile. He was shocked at his thoughts.
Touching her forehead, she remained warm. He hoped that her fever wouldn’t get worse. Perhaps it was from the slight rattling in her chest he heard as he listened with the stethoscope. Or maybe it was from her injuries.
Slowly, he pushed her shirt up and cursed at the sight.
“Motherfucker!”
“What?” he heard Stacy say from the doorway. He hadn’t even heard her open the door.
He carefully pulled Anna’s shirt down.
“She passed out. She ha