Jaymie Holland Read Online Free PDF Page A

“We’ll let Louis know he doesn’t need to wait.”
    While she waited, Colton called Louis to let him know they wouldn’t be coming down. Drew felt a moment’s embarrassment, wondering what Louis might think about Dane and Colton spending the night. But then she decided she didn’t care. She just didn’t want to be alone.
    “Why don’t we get you into the shower?” Colton said when he ended the call.
    She pushed her hand through her hair that had long ago lost its clip. “I do need to get out of these bloody clothes and into a shower in the worst way.”
    Dane took her hand and led her across the apartment. There were two closed doors—the one on the right was her bedroom, the door on the left led to Megan’s old room. Colton opened the door to Drew’s room without hesitation. She wondered how he’d known which room was hers, but figured they must have seen her come out of the room when they were over to install the security system.
    When he opened the door to her bedroom, she half expected them to invite themselves in to take a shower with her, but they left her at the door.
    “Call us if you need us.” Dane released her hand. “We’ll be right here.”
    She offered them a smile and was furious at herself when her lips trembled. “I’ll be out in a few.”
    Colton reached up and lightly tugged a lock of her hair, giving her a gentle smile in return. “Take your time.”
    “Okay.” After a moment, she turned away to head toward the bathroom when she heard the sound of her bedroom door closing. She looked over her shoulder, feeling bereft of their presence.
    The night had sure changed since the moment she’d entered Spirits earlier. She would never have dreamed that she’d be mugged and then end up in her apartment with two of the hottest men she’d ever known. Two men she wanted more than anything.
    How could she even remotely think about sex when she’d just been mugged?
    As she stripped off her clothing, she glanced at herself in the mirror and froze. The skin around one of her eyes was purple, a thick white bandage was taped over her cheek, and she had a Band-Aid on her forehead. Her hair was a tangled mess and her skin pale. Her stomach clenched as she looked at her reflection, and the fact that she could have been killed hit her hard.
    The white top she was wearing had dark blotches of blood, and she stripped the shirt away and tossed it into the hamper. Some of the blood had leaked through the Spandex to her bra and she threw that into the laundry, too.
    She took her time showering as Colton had suggested, washing away the remnants of blood and the sense of violation that came from being mugged. She hadn’t been raped, but she’d had something taken from her—her feelings of independence, confidence, and safety. Now she knew how naïve she’d been and that all of her previous feelings had been an illusion. She’d never feel completely safe again.
    A tear rolled down her cheek and with frustration she wiped it away with the back of her wet hand. She was careful not to wet the bandage over her injured cheek. Her stomach twisted. She must be more vain than she’d thought she was, because the idea of a scar on her face made her depressed and more tears wanted to spring forth. She couldn’t afford a doctor, so whatever happened, happened. She was glad she was alive, and that was truly all that mattered.
    When she finished taking a shower, she slipped on a comfy extra-large T-shirt and her favorite old gym shorts that hung loosely from her waist.
    Her skin felt cool and clean at first, but then the warmth of her bedroom reminded her of why she’d been sleeping in the living room. She headed out of the bedroom and stepped into the living room, and felt a refreshing burst of cold air from the single air conditioning unit that the men had turned on.
    She also caught the smell of eggs and toast. Her stomach rumbled. “That smells so good.”
    “Thought you might be hungry.” Colton glanced