His to Protect: Book 1 in the Bound to Him Series by Sandra Antoni (the reading list TXT) 📗

something to clean these scrapes. I’ll be right back,” I told her, standing from the bed.

Walking into the bathroom, I grabbed the supplies that I would need from the cabinet, and then I headed back to the bedroom. When my eyes landed on Chelsea in the middle of my bed, I saw that her eyes were still closed, and her head was turned slightly away from the bathroom. So, I let my eyes absorb their fill of her. She was beautiful, and it almost took my breath away.

Chapter 4

I could not believe that there was a beautiful woman lying in the middle of my bed. My eyes swept up her long, toned legs. She must run or work out to get legs like that. The lace panties hugged her hips, and there were several inches of creamy skin at her belly before her shirt covered the rest.

Even lying down, I could tell that her breasts were the perfect size. They would be a handful. In fact, everything about Chelsea was just the type of woman whom I was attracted to. But then there was her scent.

My wolf had reacted to her, and that never happened, especially with a human. It definitely made me think. Also, she was right now in my bed in my bedroom. That was something that had never happened before either. I ran my hand through my hair, then hurried to the bed.

I cleaned the blood from her leg and knees and was grateful to realize that the gash was not deep enough to need stitches. Her breath hissed through her teeth, but other than that, she laid perfectly still. I was impressed. When the gash was bandaged, I threw a blanket over her bottom half.

“Okay, let me see the ribs now,” I told her as I moved my hands to her waist.

I only lifted her shirt as far as I needed to check her ribs. There were some scrapes and a few small bruises, but I was pretty sure that she didn’t have any cracked or broken ribs. She was breathing too easily. She was lucky, especially considering the rockslide that she told me she had been in. It could have been so much worse.

Lowering her shirt, I reached for her hand. The t-shirt she had torn and wrapped around her hands had been ingenious, especially since she had been crawling down the side of the mountain on her hands and knees. I knew that she was a fighter. I had no idea how many hours she had been crawling down the mountain, but she had obviously not given up.

I looked up at her face and found her watching me as I treated the scrapes on her hands. Who knew what she was thinking, but my heart had not stopped pounding in my chest since I had first laid eyes on her. She was somehow drawing me in, and I didn’t understand it.

Once her hands were bandaged, I lowered her hand to the bed. Now what? I had never been shy in front of a woman before, but for some reason, this was different. She was different, but I didn’t understand how. Her eyes were still watching mine.

“I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble, and this is only day one of my vacation,” she finally said, and let out a deep breath. “I’m not usually so accident prone.”

I chuckled and noticed that she smiled a real smile this time. My heart skipped a beat, and I swear my wolf purred. What was happening to me? I had never felt like this towards a human before, but for some reason, I knew that I wanted to know her better.

I needed to know everything about her. It would not be difficult to run a background check on her, but I wanted her to tell me.

“Like I said before, I’m just glad that I was there. Now, I am sure you need some sleep, and you are more than welcome to stay here, especially considering you are already in bed,” I told her, and she grinned up at me. “Tomorrow, we will see if we can find your car. Is there anything else that you need?” I asked her.

A blush filled her cheeks, and it was adorable, but I could tell that she was embarrassed. Maybe she needed to go to the bathroom and was embarrassed at my having to help her. She definitely was not getting around with that swollen ankle. She lowered her eyes to the bed.

“Um…I haven’t eaten anything today except a couple granola bars. I’m starving,” she finally admitted in a quiet voice. I smiled at her hesitation.

“Food is definitely something that I can help you with. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be right back,” I told her as I stood from the bed.

Making my way to the kitchen, I really wished that I had something more extravagant to make for her, but if she were that hungry, she would probably be grateful for the sandwich I was making. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I headed back to the bedroom.

Once I helped her sit up against the headboard, I set the plate in her lap. Then I sat down on the edge of the bed beside her once again. She dove into the food greedily, and I was glad that she was not acting timid or shy around me. I wanted her to be comfortable. Adjusting the ice on her ankle, I felt her flinch.

“Sorry. Let me get you some ibuprofen. Hopefully, that will make it easier to sleep,” I told her.

When I came back from the bathroom, I took my seat again beside her on the edge of the bed. I dumped out two pills and handed them to her, and she downed them with a drink of water.

“So, you said you are on vacation. What made you decide to come to Arizona? Do you have family or friends here?” I asked her, curious to find