Aiden lifts me into his truck, his touch surprisingly gentle. He reaches around me to fasten the seatbelt. I try not to cry out when it rubs against some of the sore spots, but he notices, anyway. “Sorry, Rosebud. We’ll get you taken care of as soon as possible.” He shuts the door and goes around to the driver’s side.
He climbs in and sits there quietly for a minute. Without turning his head towards me, he asks, “Rose? Either I take us back to the cabin and check you over myself or… I can take you into Carterville where there’s a small hospital and a nurse can do it.”
“Why…Why would we go to a hospital? Do you think it’s that bad?” I’m scared now and shivering, even though the night is warm.
“No, I don’t.” He answers softly. “But, it means taking your clothes off in front of me. I’ll need to check you over completely. This is a long way from a professional situation. If you’re not comfortable with that, I completely understand.”
“No. I mean, I’d rather it was you.”
“You sure?”
I nod, but then remember he’s not looking my way. I’m still not sure why. “Yes, I trust you, Aiden.”
He mutters something that sounds like ‘glad one of us does’ but I may have misheard. His jaw clenches as he starts the engine and pulls away from the bar and shopping center. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stop here again. Definitely not at night.
Aiden notices my shivering and turns on the heat a little. I’m still clasping my elbows tight, trying to hold everything together. The drive back up the mountain is silent. When he parks the truck, he finally turns towards me briefly, “Wait here.” Then he’s out and unlocking the cabin. He leaves the door ajar and comes back to the truck. He carries me inside like I weigh nothing and heads straight into the bathroom where he sets me down on the counter.
I watch as he turns on the small wall heater and then briefly leaves returning with a folded t-shirt and some extra washcloths.
“We’re going to start at the top and work our way down, okay?”
“Okay.” I cast my eyes towards the floor, embarrassed and miserable that he’s having to take care of me like the little girl he’s been claiming I am.
His long elegant fingers loosen my hair and then do a survey of my scalp. When he finds the big lump he whistles softly, “That one is going to hurt for a while. I’ll get you some ice for it in a minute.” He leans over me to look at the back of my neck. I breathe him in and something in me relaxes just a smidge.
Aiden reaches in the drawer of the vanity and pulls out a pair of scissors. “Sorry, Rose, but this shirt is already toast.” I nod and he cuts it off of me. I could have pulled it over my head, but my shoulder is already hurting and I’m not sure what that would do to it. He reaches behind me and unclasps my bra, pulling it off and folding it neatly on the vanity next to my hip. I’m now officially naked in front of Aiden McBride and the world hasn’t ended. Yet.
He dabs carefully at the abrasions on my front, gently lifting each breast to check the skin underneath. Thank God that’s mostly fine, as I don’t think I could take him touching me even more right there. He turns all of me slightly on the vanity so he can see my back more clearly. He sucks in a breath. “Sorry, sweetness. You’ve got several splinters back here that need to come out.”
He reaches into the drawer again, pulling out a pair of tweezers and sets to work. Even though it stings and occasionally downright hurts, the pressing of his fingers on my bare skin has my pussy fluttering with excitement. I try clenching my thighs to stop it, but that only seems to make things worse.
“Rose, have you had a tetanus shot lately?”
“Um, two years ago, I think?”
“You think or you know?”
“I know I’ve had one after I left for college, and I think it was two years ago.”
“Well, that’s some good news then. Okay, I’ve gotten everything I can for right now. There might be a few small ones in deep that will work their way out in the next few days. I’ll have to check again tomorrow. The good news is you can now put this shirt on and cover up. The bad news is it’s time for your lower half.”
I appreciate he’s at least trying to make light of it, and he helps me slip his t-shirt on over my sore shoulder. It’s huge on me, and I’m guessing that’s why he didn’t try to find one of mine.
“Arms around my neck, okay?” I’m going to lift you up and slide your skirt and panties off.”
I do as he asks, clinging tighter as I feel the air on my bare ass. He slides a folded towel onto the vanity before lowering me down and turning to my legs. There’s more actual scratches here, and he carefully cleans each one, even checking the soles of my feet.
“Are you sure nothing happened, Rose? He didn’t rape you?”
“No, he didn’t have time.”
“Will it be okay if I take a look? I’ll feel better.”
I half-smile at that, but I part my legs and lean back against his arm when he tells me to. He’ll see I’m wet, so very wet, but that’s because of him. I can tell when he notices because his arm at my back tenses and he draws a swift breath in, but he says nothing. A few seconds later and he pushes my knees together. “Okay, just one more thing to check, then you can go to bed.”
He helps me down and directs me to bend over, my face cradled by my folded arms on the towel. My shoulder is screaming at me, but I don’t think this will take very long. He runs a hand down each buttock, checking for lumps and splinters. If his hand lingers a little, I’m certainly not going to say anything.
“Okay. You’re all set. Do you want to sleep down here tonight? I can take the loft.”
“Actually… Can I sleep with you?”
“Rose…”
“I know… but I don’t want to be alone right now. There’s not really anyone else to ask.”
He sighs heavily, “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you this was a bad idea.” For the first time tonight, I feel a genuine grin coming on.
“Go get in the bed, I’ll bring you an ice pack for your head.”
“I’ll just brush my teeth first.”
He nods and exits the small bathroom. I brush my teeth and swipe a comb through my hair, wishing I could braid it.
It’s easy to see which side of the bed Aiden’s been using. The stack of still unread medical journals is on the small nightstand, his sexy reading glasses perched on top. I get in on the other side of the queen-size bed, hoping his body heat will be enough to warm me up so this damn shivering can stop. It’s not a big bed, I’ll bet he has a bigger one at his place, but since I know nothing is going to happen, I don’t think it really matters. I don’t take up much space.
He comes into the bedroom with a bag of frozen peas and a small smile. “This will probably work better, just try not to sleep on them or we’ll have peas everywhere.” He places it on the top of my head and I grimace at the cold seeping into my scalp. I’m not sure I can last five minutes with that. Seems like a waste of vegetables.