Claiming Amber by Maree Anderson & Anderson Maree & Anderson Maree

Author:Maree Anderson & Anderson, Maree & Anderson, Maree
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC027120, FIC027030, FIC027020, FIC009050, FIC009010, FICTION / Romance / Paranormal, FICTION / Romance / Fantasy, FICTION / Romance / Contemporary, FICTION / Fantasy / Paranormal, FICTION / Fantasy / Contemporary
ISBN: 978-0-9951399-4-7
Publisher: Maree Anderson
Published: 2022-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Tuck ceased prowling around the fascinating area known as the “kitchen” and stilled. His senses were screaming at him. Something was wrong. He knew it in his bones.

Exploding into motion, he sprinted for the bathing room. At the door he hesitated, concentrating fiercely. The tension drained from his body in a rush when he heard nothing save the gushing sound of running water from the shower. Fool, he berated himself. She did not need his help to perform the simple task of washing herself—much as he would appreciate an invitation to assist her, and—

Wait.

A whimper, akin to that of a wounded animal—

Or a heartbroken, scared young woman, torn from the only home she had known.

He cracked the door a finger’s width, heard another whimper…. And then a series of low, gut-wrenching sobs.

His heart clenched like a fist in his chest. Her modesty be damned, he would not leave her naked and bereft, crying for what she had lost because of his actions.

Because of him.

He pushed open the door enough to slide through, and then closed it quietly behind him. And when he peeked behind the shower curtain, his worst fears were realized.

She crouched on the bottom of the shower, arms wrapped around her bent legs, face buried in her knees. Shudders wracked her slight body. Her wet hair, parted by the strong stream of water, revealed the pale, vulnerable nape of her neck.

Tuck briefly considered coaxing her from the shower, swathing her in a big towel, holding her to ease her pain. Instead, driven again by that powerful drive to protect and comfort, he climbed into the shower, sat beside her, and dragged her into his lap. With one hand cradling her head, the other wrapped around her torso, he shielded her from the stream of water that beat down upon them both.

It was a measure, he thought, of how deeply she was hurting that she simply burrowed deeper against his chest and let him hold her.

Eventually her shudders eased, and she lay quietly against him, spent.

He had no idea how much time had passed before a soft knock on the door floated to his ears. “Everything okay in there?” Fliss asked.

“Not exactly,” he murmured. But he would do everything in his power to make it “okay”, to make it right.

The shower curtain parted and their hostess’s concerned face peeked down at him. “Oh, dear. Poor sweetheart. It looks like everything’s hit her all at once—not surprising after what she’s been through. Do you need a hand with her?”

“I will manage.”

Her penetrating gaze examined his face. And then, seemingly satisfied by what she saw, she murmured, “I’m sure you will.” She leaned in to shut off the water, and in a normal tone said, “I’ll rustle up another pair of pajamas—just leave yours in the shower.”

“You have my thanks.”

Fliss nodded, and left him alone with Amber, trusting that he would do the right thing by her.

Well, then. He would have to be a beast to take advantage of a traumatized girl and turn this situation into something carnal.

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