Destiny Calls Read Online Free PDF Page B

her head back to the pillow and sliding her shoulders lower under the quilt that covered her. She remained flat on her belly and feigned sleep.
    The door swung open, and she shut her eyes. A chair scraped along the pine floor, and the mattress dipped. When the blanket pulled off of Destiny’s shoulders, she gave up her pretence of sleep and reached for the covers. A heavy hand pressed into the back of her head and forced her back down to the pillow.
    “Stay put. I’m going to clean out your cuts.”
    He removed his hand from her head, and she heard the soft trickling of water. Turning her face to the side, she watched him ring out a wet cloth over a steaming pot placed on the chair he had pulled next to the bed.
    “This may be a little warm, but I need to get any dirt out of your wounds and hot water is all I have. Hopefully the scrape isn’t infected already.”
    She hissed through her teeth as the hot, wet cloth touched her tender skin.
    “Sorry.”
    His apology took her off guard. Why was he suddenly being nice to her? She wished she could find comfort in his nurturing, but it only made her more suspicious of his motives. What if he was preparing her for some sort of sacrifice to get even with her for killing his twin?
    He bathed her back in silence. The longer he continued his ministrations, the cooler the water became. Her nipples pulled tight against the mattress, and she began to relax much like one does while getting a massage. The dried dirt and blood washing away was like heaven. The slight sting was worth feeling somewhat clean again.
    The blanket pulled lower, and he shifted his weight. The cool air of the room touched the V at the top of her ass and, with the realization that she wasn’t wearing any pants or underwear, came a wave of mixed sensations. Had he removed her clothing? Who else would have? Unless she had, but she had no memory of doing so. The last she recalled she was being carried through the woods.
    Water trickled over her rounded hip, and he brushed the damp cloth over the soft curve of her behind. She was suddenly very aware of her nether regions. She should have been having anxiety about this stranger, possible-serial-killer-slash-mountain-man touching her, and she was, but that didn’t negate the reaction her body was having from the intimate contact. Destiny blamed her recent, unwanted bout of celibacy. Nothing like a thirteen-month dry spell to heighten the attractiveness of a kidnapper. Stockholm’s anyone? She just prayed that she didn’t lose her head and moan.
    “This really isn’t too bad. I wondered if you would need stitches, but it’s really just a couple scrapes.” It hadn’t felt like scrapes.
    “Is this helping with the pain?”
    “Mmm…” The drowsy moan filled the back of her throat before she could stop it. His hand stilled, and she cleared her throat. “Yes. Thank you.” Blessedly his hand continued to move, and he seemed not to notice the reaction he was causing.
    The weight of the quilt covered her back again. “Stay here. I’m going to grab the other pot of water from the fire and dump this dirty one.”
    He was back in a matter of minutes, but she was so relaxed she had almost dozed off again. He sat beside her once more and pulled the cover off of her shoulder. He carefully reached for her arm and began washing the dirt away from her fingers and her palm. She sighed, too relaxed to care what he thought.
    He repeated the process on her other hand, working up her arms and over her shoulders. He moved her hair over her shoulder and massaged the warm water into her neck. The pull against her scalp told her he was removing dried blood from her hair. “What’s this?” he asked, pressing a finger into the place where her hairline met her neck.
    “What’s what?”
    “You have a mark.”
    “Oh, it’s my stork bite.”
    His fingers gently pressed into the birthmark. “Stork bite?”
    She sighed. Nothing like a cute guy obsessing over a blemish. “Yeah.