Free To Know Her (Erotic Romance) by Renee Burke Page B

hand.  Two small pills, one white and one yellow, lay in his
palm. 
    “Take these.”
    “I couldn’t.”  She didn’t
make a move to obey.
    “You can.  They’ll keep
you well.”
    She lowered her eyes back to
the pills.  “What are they?”
    “An antibiotic I had on hand
will help the cut, and a pain pill for your headache.”
    Her eyes flew back to
his.  “How do you know I have a headache?”
    He smiled gently.  “Don’t
you?”
    She nodded. 
    “There’s a tension.”  He
gestured with two outstretched fingers.  “Here, around your eyes.”
    She took the pills from his
hand but didn’t immediately swallow them.  “Will I be staying here?”
    “Let me show you some options.”
    When she rose, he picked up her
glass and led her further through the living area.  A split stairway stood
before them.  When she stopped, unsure which one to take, his hand rested
on the small of her back before urging her up the stairs. 
    “Is your room up here?”
    “Yes, the last door on the
left, but there are several others also.”  He opened the first door and
showed her inside.  The bedroom was small and sparse.  She didn’t
make a move to enter.  It was a cold, stark room, and she disliked it
immediately.
    He led her toward another room,
larger this time, with a private bath barely visible through a sliver in the
door.  She immediately relaxed as she looked around the space.
    “This one it is.” 
    “What?”
    He smiled wryly.  “You
just seem more comfortable here, Sara.”  He handed her the glass and
nodded toward her closed palm.  “You should take those now before your
headache gets much worse.”
    He watched her, waiting until
she finally lifted her hand and put the pills in her mouth.  She swallowed
the lemonade to wash them down before handing him the glass.
    “Good enough.  You want
something to sleep in?”
    She nodded.  “Please.”
    His eyes held hers for a moment
before turning to leave the room.  He returned quickly with a large
t-shirt. 
    “Thank you.”
    He reached to touch her face
gently, pushing the curls back from her forehead.  “This might help with
the bump you’ve got.”  He held the compress she’d seen earlier, wrapped in
a thin cloth.  He gave it to her before stepping away.
    “It’s late.  Get
comfortable before that pain pill kicks in.  I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Sara watched him leave the
room, waiting a moment before trailing after him to close the door and lock
it.  She lifted the t-shirt to take a closer look and found a military
slogan stamped across the chest.  The fabric was soft and it smelled of
warm, sexy man.  Derek.  Memory or no memory, she could admit that to
herself.  She was with a stranger, a gorgeous stranger, who was taking
tender care of her.   There were lots of questions.  Everything
was a question from where she stood.  Tomorrow would be soon enough to run
down answers.   
    She shed her clothes, noticing
several blood droplets on her shirt, before slipping on the borrowed t-shirt
and sliding between the cool cotton sheets.  She gingerly laid the
compress on her forehead for a few minutes before dropping it to the floor and
falling into a deep sleep.

Chapter
Two
     
    When she opened her eyes,
sunlight shone through the two windows in the room.  She’d made it through
the night.  Safe. 
    She sat up and her head gave a
throbbing pulse.  Still there.  She rose from the bed and stretched
before entering the bathroom.  Her first thought was that the
accommodations were first rate.  Second, was that she was an idiot. 
Another door stood open across the tile.  It led to a second
bedroom.  HIS bedroom, if she had to guess.  The bed was obscenely
big.  Just like him.  The décor was masculine and rich.
  Also just like him, if she had to guess. 
    She turned to face herself in
the mirror.  She shook her head and frowned at the unfamiliar
reflection.  She hadn’t thought to check for other