Soul Bonded (2 page)

As though the universe had finally decided to cut her a break, the excruciating sting receded until all that remained was bliss. And now she could feel—soft sheets against her naked skin, the firm press of a male body against her own. Swept away by swift, aching need, she snuggled closer to her dream companion, desperate to sate her desire. Still foggy, she struggled to find the friction she craved, hands roaming over coarse hair and hard planes, but total satisfaction proved elusive.

She had a vague thought:
Why do my sex dreams always end in frustration?

Then another:
I’m safe.

With that, the last trace of her consciousness slipped away.

Katie clawed her way out of sleep with fierce determination, aware that something wasn’t right even before she opened her eyes. Her mattress was too firm. The air carried the unfamiliar scent of cedar. A solid shape rested against her side, breathing evenly—one that was far too big to be her cat. Alarm quickened her breathing as she finally broke free from her heavy slumber and took stock of her surroundings.

She was in a strange bed in a strange room. Wood paneling covered the walls, log cabin style. The framed nature photographs hanging from them gave the space a rustic feel, as did the redwood furniture that looked handcrafted. A lamp served as a dim sentry on the nightstand beside her, casting soft light over the large, brown mixed-breed dog curled up at her side. He stared at her with soulful chocolate eyes and then yawned, clearly unmoved by her rising panic.

Heart pounding, she sat up slowly. Where the hell was she? What had happened?

She dropped her head into her hands and tried to make sense of her jumbled memories. She vividly recalled the accident. Her internal debate about whether to walk miles in the desolate cold or wait for help. The four long days huddled in the backseat of her car. Losing track of what was real and what was delusion, dreaming of rescue one minute and death the next.

Then nothing. And now this.

Clearly she had been saved, but by whom? And how was it possible that she’d just woken up feeling so…
refreshed
?

Improbable as it was, she was in tip-top condition: rested, healthy, and most importantly, toasty warm. Confusion about how she’d gotten here aside, her mind felt sharp and alert in a way it hadn’t in days. Except for the intense hunger that twisted her stomach, she was in far better shape than someone who’d just spent the past few days stranded in the frigid cold with only two candy bars and a snack-size bag of pretzels had any business being.

She lifted the comforter that covered her body, unsettled to discover that she was dressed in a pair of men’s sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. The clothes didn’t belong to her, which meant that someone had undressed her. Like,
really
undressed her—she wasn’t even wearing a bra. She snuck a hand beneath the waistband of the sweats and confirmed that she didn’t have panties on, either. Her rescuer had obviously gotten an eyeful.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the bedroom door opened and a man stepped inside. He stopped short when he saw her. “Oh.”

She snatched her hand from the sweatpants and opened her mouth to say something, but the words caught in her throat. Dark and rugged and handsome, with vivid green eyes she could see from across the room, the stranger pretty much ticked all her ‘perfect man’ checkboxes. He was powerfully built, exuding strength and physical confidence, yet seemed to have as much trouble meeting her gaze as she did forming a coherent sentence. The dog perked its ears and whined at his master, but Katie could only manage a weak nod.

“You’re up.” The man hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his well-worn jeans and nodded at the dog. “I hope Shilah didn’t startle you. I left him here to keep you warm.”

She forced herself out of her stupor. “No, Shilah was fine. And very warm.”

He shivered almost imperceptibly, still not meeting her eyes. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I had an accident.” She pulled the comforter up around her body, slightly uncomfortable with the way he refused to look directly at her. Maybe he was only trying to protect her modesty—though it was a bit late for that, if he was the one who’d undressed her—but his uneasy avoidance seemed to hint at deep-seated guilt. Between his obvious discomfort and her instant, uncontrollable attraction to a complete stranger, Katie felt painfully vulnerable. Determined to act normal, she mustered a polite smile. “I lost control of my car. I was afraid I’d freeze to death if I tried to walk for help, so I decided to wait for someone to find me. But…nobody came.”

“You’d nearly frozen to death by the time I got to you. You were unconscious, then delirious.” The man leaned against the doorway, angled away from her. Almost as though he was ready to bolt at any moment. “Do you know how long you were stranded out there?”

“No.” She gathered the comforter closer. “I lost track of time after the fourth or fifth day.”

“I’m not surprised nobody found you. Your car was almost completely buried under the snow.” He folded his arms over his chest, drawing her attention to his firm, muscled physique. She couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like without his shirt. “It’s lucky I spotted you when I did.”

“Yes, very lucky.” She dragged her gaze from his biceps to his face. The tender concern in his voice was at odds with his distant demeanor. “So where am I now?”

“In my cabin, about three miles from where your car ran off the road.” Hesitating only momentarily, he walked across the room to the window and drew back the curtains to reveal angry, swirling flurries and frozen trees blanketed in white. “Storm picked up again this morning—it’s Friday, by the way. All the roads are closed, otherwise I would’ve taken you into town.”

“Friday,” Katie whispered. It had been almost a week since she’d left Tahoe. No doubt her clients wondered where she was. Not to mention her parents and her older sister.
Oh, God.
Alarmed, she threw the blankets off her body and scooted to the edge of the bed. “Do you have a phone I could use? I need to let my family know I’m not dead—my clients, too. Everyone probably thinks I am.”

The man raised his hand and took a step closer. “I don’t have a phone. Listen, be careful. You’re probably very weak.”

No phone. That meant she was trapped in a cabin in the woods with a strange man, and with no way to let anyone know where she was. A very real feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her, followed by a jolt of stark fear. She didn’t know the first thing about this guy, who had apparently seen her naked already. Desperate to regain at least the illusion of control, she struggled to stand. “How about a computer? With Internet?”

“No, I’m sorry, but—“

He stopped talking and raced forward as she finally pushed up off the mattress, and caught her around the middle when her legs dissolved beneath her. Cradled in his powerful embrace, she felt instantly safe. Protected. The sensation triggered another burst of memory—being held in these arms, surrounded by this scent, his naked skin against hers. A hot surge of lust rocketed through her body and wrenched her back into the present. Gasping, she stared at him in shock.

He took a shuddering breath and carefully placed her back on the bed. Then he stepped away quickly. “Let me get you something to eat. You need to regain your strength.”

Katie wasn’t sure what frightened her more—her strange, uncharacteristic lapse, or the realization that she was completely dependent upon a stranger. Careful not to reveal her unease, she crawled back beneath the comforter and arranged the blankets over her chest. She had no idea whether her body’s memory of this man was delusion or reality, but the way she’d just reacted to his touch rattled her to the core. She’d never felt anything like it before. The fact that the guy acted like he couldn’t bear to be around her only made it worse.

“I know you want to contact your people, but there just isn’t any way to do that from here. As soon as the storm lifts, I’ll take you to town. I promise.” He turned away, but not before she noticed the impressive bulge in his jeans. That he was in a similar state of arousal didn’t comfort her in the least. The man was a stranger. Nobody knew she was alone with him in his home. She was having strange flashes of lying naked in his arms, yet she hadn’t been conscious in days. And apparently she was too weak to walk, let alone fight him off if it came to that.

“Are we all alone out here?” She wrapped her arms around her stomach and tried not to let on how terrified she suddenly felt.

He hesitated. “Yes.” For the first time since entering the room, he made brief eye contact. “But you’re safe here with me, Katie. I swear it.”

When he looked at her, she nearly forgot to breathe. It wasn’t just the impact of those piercing eyes finally landing on her, but also the way they seemed to
see
her in a way that she wasn’t sure she’d ever really been seen before. She knew it was ridiculous to feel this way—not even a minute ago, she’d been worried that he was getting ready to attack her—but that didn’t change how his gaze made her feel inside. He looked at her as though he loved her. As though he would even die for her. She couldn’t fathom what would inspire that level of devotion from a man who didn’t know her at all. It frightened her. So did the sudden realization that he’d called her by name.

“I looked at your driver’s license,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “Your purse is next to the nightstand, on the floor. And your clothes are drying now. I can bring them to you when they’re ready.” He tore his gaze away from hers. “They were soaking wet by the time I got you home. I tried not to look at…you…any more than necessary.”

Katie blushed. “Given that you know so much about me already, maybe you can tell me your name?”

“Rafe Whelan.” He walked to the doorway and paused with his back to her. “I’ll bring you lunch, then leave you alone. I’ve got books, if you like to read, or paper and pencils, if you wanted to write or draw. No television, I’m afraid. No computer, either.”

She doubted she would be able to relax enough to do anything except sit and worry. Her life was literally in this man’s hands. His very strong, masculine, sexy hands—which could be serial killer hands, for all she knew, or those of a sadistic sexual predator. After her reaction to having those hands on her, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d not only undressed her, but also initiated some kind of intimate contact she only vaguely remembered. And now he reeked of guilt and shame. How could she read or draw or nap, especially, with that hanging over her? Afraid to alert him to her growing suspicion, she scooted back against the headboard and pulled her knees to her chest. “A book would be nice.”
 

He nodded and started out the door, but something made her call out to him. “Wait!”

Rafe stopped and glanced back in her direction. “Yes?”

“When do you think the roads will be open?”

“I don’t know.” He turned and stared at her with an intensity that raised the fine hairs on her arms. “Soon, I hope. I want to get you back to your people just as badly as you want to go. Believe me.”

Hearing the sincerity in his words, but unsure what to make of it, she gave him a reluctant nod. She didn’t want him to know that she distrusted him. Not while she was a prisoner in his home. “You saved my life. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Something that looked like regret passed across his face, but he covered it nicely with a smile that made Katie’s stomach flip-flop despite her best efforts to remain unaffected. “If you’re still cold, I can prepare a hot bath for you. And give you privacy, of course.”

She couldn’t think of a worse idea. “That’s generous of you, but I’m okay. Thanks.”

He left with a curt nod, the smile vanishing from his face before he’d even turned away. Katie shuddered as he closed the door. Alone with his dog—Shilah—she sank her fingers into the coarse fur that covered the back of his neck. “Are you here to keep me warm, or to guard me?”

Shilah rolled onto his side and exposed his belly in a clear attempt to solicit a stomach rub. She complied, feeling a little silly about her fleeting paranoia. The dog was just an overgrown puppy. Perhaps his master had a similar soft nature.

There was no real reason to assume that Rafe meant her any harm. So far he had been polite and respectful, and he was clearly trying to keep his distance—even if to an unsettling extent. If not for the guilt in his eyes and the downright disturbing flashes of what might have happened while she was unconscious, she would have no reason to see him as anything other than a hero. But it was obvious that something was off. He seemed overly anxious for her to go, as though he couldn’t stand being around her. Somehow she felt like both an intruder and a prisoner—unwelcome but stuck in his house, unable to leave.

Yet despite all that, her body stirred as she thought about him. Dark-haired with a couple days worth of scruff covering his chiseled face and a leanly muscled body, he was her fantasy man come to life. And those eyes…Katie whimpered as her inner muscles clenched, sending a ripple of pleasure down to the tips of her toes.

For a moment she sat stunned. Then she slowly eased her hand beneath the waistband of her sweats and sought out her labia with tentative fingers. Slick wetness coated her trimmed hairs, her inner thighs, her almost unbearably sensitive folds. She’d never felt anything like it. Gasping, she tore her hand out of her pants and wiped her fingers hastily on the sheets.

This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t
her
.

Had he slipped her some kind of drug? Taken advantage of her when she was unconscious? Even if she had vague memories of wanting it, she hadn’t been in any condition to consent. Had he done something to put her in this state so that if she remembered what he’d done, she would think it was her idea?

Katie closed her eyes and fought to recall the details of her rescue. She’d been so out of it mentally that she’d thought Rafe’s appearance was a dream or even a dying vision—being taken out of the car, carried through the cold, then eventually warmed in his embrace. But it hadn’t been a dream. At least not all of it. That
something
had happened between them was obvious.