“Fuck. Hold this.” He thrust the flashlight in her hands. “Point it in front of us.”
Before she could ask why, he bent and lifted her into his arms, against his broad chest.
She couldn’t explain why, but when he held her close and searched her face with tight anger, she burst into tears.
Teeth grinding, Trees settled her closer, angling her face toward his shoulder as he stomped away from the coyote bleeding out on the leaf-riddled ground. It wasn’t long before he broke through the trees and onto the campground. He headed straight for the RV and locked them in.
As soon as he set her down, he flipped on a light, surveyed her with a glance, and cursed.
He didn’t have to speak another word to make her feel chastened.
“Trees…” But what could she say that wouldn’t anger him more?
“Take off your shirt and shorts,” he demanded.
Laila didn’t ask why. Did he want to have sex with her now? Likely, and she didn’t kid herself. This time he would punish her. There would be no toe-curling pleasure or explosions of bliss. He would use his body to punish her, and he would think she deserved it. She could only blame her own stubbornness and desperation.
She didn’t fight him, merely peeled the shirt from her skin with a hiss of pain and lifted it over her head. Bark fell from the material onto the vinyl floor with scattered pings. But Trees wasn’t even looking at her, much less like a man who intended to use or humiliate her. Instead, he pulled back the drape over the dining table and peered out as if he searched for trouble while she shimmied out of her denim shorts.
Laila shivered in the semi-dark, wrapping her arms around herself, terribly aware that she wore only her bra and a tiny pair of panties.
With a curse, he yanked the drape shut and tossed her one of his big T-shirts. “Put this on and don’t say a word.”
She did as she was told. His anger was too palpable to defy him.
The sudden knock made her gasp. She scampered to the shadows and listened as Trees yanked the door open.
“Howdy, we heard gunshots and saw you carrying someone here. Y’all okay?” said what sounded like an older man with a thick Southern accent.
“Fine. My wife went walking and stumbled into a pack of coyotes.”
“They can be a problem around here. She didn’t know?” A gray head appeared in the door, scanning the inside.
Laila shrank back, trying to disappear into the shadows of the bedroom.
“She’s not from around here. Thankfully, she wasn’t bitten, just got a few scratches when she fell. Probably needs some first aid, so if you’ll excuse me…”
“My wife is a retired nurse. I can send her over—”
“Thank you, but we’re fine. She just needs a few bandages and a good night’s sleep.”
“Are you sure?” The old man tried to look like an affable good ol’ boy. “I think my wife would rest a whole lot easier if she got a look at your missus.”
“My wife is very shy and would prefer privacy. But we appreciate the offer.”
“How about in the morning?”
“We’ll be gone early. Good night.” Trees slammed the door.
Laila winced. Since he had done little to allay the man’s suspicions, they would definitely have to flee well before sunrise.
But she stopped worrying about that when Trees stalked down the middle of the vehicle and headed straight for her like a man on a mission.
To punish her for running away?
When he reached the bedroom, she retreated to a corner and watched as he opened a closet and withdrew a black case. “Come here.”
What would he do? How much would it hurt?
Laila had never been a coward, and she wasn’t about to start now. But oddly, it wasn’t his physical show of anger she feared. It was his tongue lashing.
Slowly, arms clutched in front of her, she made her way toward him.
“Shirt off. Lie down. Arms at your sides.”
She shuddered but complied.
With an angry huff, Trees flipped on the bedside light. “Where does it hurt most?”
Everywhere, to be honest. She felt as if her entire body had been abraded by steel wool until she bled.
“M-my thighs.”
Grimly, he nodded. “Stay here.”
He stomped into the bathroom and flipped on the water. Minutes later, he returned with a warm, damp towel. Laila expected him to drag it across her raw, sensitive skin to teach her a lesson. Instead, he gently settled the cloth over her scrapes.
He wasn’t punishing her but rendering first aid?
When she tensed at the sting, he cupped her shoulder. “I know, little one. But we’ve got to get you clean so infection doesn’t set in.”
He repeated the process twice more, pausing to pluck out pieces of bark and splinters meticulously before he cleaned the area. Then he opened the black case and rummaged through first aid supplies to apply antiseptic. It burned like hell, but she endured in lip-biting silence.
He repeated the process everywhere else on her body, his hands moving gently yet thoroughly. He followed that by giving her a couple of ibuprofen and a cup of water. Once she’d swallowed both dutifully, he sat and pulled her into his lap. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I have to reach my sister. She needs me.”
“We’re heading to Louisiana in the morning.”
Shock flared, followed by hope. “I did not know.”
“You didn’t ask.”
True. She should have. “I am sorry if I caused you problems.”
“Since I picked you up in that alley, you’ve caused nothing but problems. If I weren’t so angry right now, I’d paddle your ass.”
Laila reared back. “Because you want to humiliate me?”
“Because the stunt you pulled tonight deserves punishment. I suspect getting the hell scared out of you was a punishment all its own, but if that’s what it takes for you to finally fucking grasp that we’re on the same team…”
She looked away. “Thank you for saving me.”
He took her chin in his strong grip and forced her stare to his. “I’m always going to save you.”
“It is your job.”
“It is. But after tonight, it’s my responsibility. My right.” Suddenly, he set her aside and stood, towering over her. “Or maybe I’m fucking kidding myself.”
“I do not understand.”
“Why did you seduce me earlier?”
Laila stared at him, not sure how to answer.
“It wasn’t because you wanted me, was it? Or because you wanted to know what I feel like. It definitely wasn’t because you would feel safer with me if we fucked. Was it?”
She bit her lip. If she admitted the truth, would he stop talking to her? Funny, in some ways she feared that more than him hitting her.
“Not going to ’fess up to the fact you wanted to make sure I was good and asleep so you could sneak out and run away again? Not going to look me in the eye and tell me that what we did in this bed earlier didn’t mean a goddamn thing to you?”
If she told him it had, he wouldn’t believe her now. Instead, she swallowed, curled her knees up to her chest, then wrapped her arms around them. “Sometimes, Victor or Hector would get too rough with me. I learned that when I gave them orgasms with my mouth, they would calm and go to sleep. I did not expect you to want more.”