Shafted Read Free Page B

and hadn’t been able to get up off the
ground yet, he probably had reason to think her coming across him
wasn’t so lucky.
    “Can you tell me your name?”
    He reached up and rubbed his hands over his
face – beautifully shaped hands with long strong fingers – so she
didn’t catch his answer at first.
    “Mmm, Ter Nandrs, atter zvise.”
    Either he had to start to annunciate more
clearly or her ears were freezing up. “Sorry?”
    He pulled his hands away and looked up at her
with sink-into-forever dark eyes which, to her disgust, sent her
stomach off into a little jig.
    “Teran Anders, at your service.”
    Oh crap, he had a voice to match the rest of
the package, deep and velvety with a sexy as hell accent she
couldn’t quite place.
    He started to stand and faltered. “Hold on
there, let me help you.” Callie instinctively dove in, ducking
beneath his arm and leveraging her body to support him - bringing
her up close and personal. He was a good foot taller than her; rare
for a woman of nearly six feet tall and she couldn’t help notice
the mix of fresh air and his personal scent had her mouth
practically watering.
    Oh yeah, the Universe was definitely messing
with her.
    He stumbled again, his lips had a blue tinge
and his face was alarmingly pale. “Okay, come on. The path up to
the top is this way. We need to get you somewhere warm. Then we’ll
decide if you need a doctor. Do you live close by? And how did you
end up out here in the first place?”
    He went stiff and seemed to expand, then with
a deep breath, he dropped his head forward effectively hiding his
face behind a curtain of black silk and was back to leaning on her
as they slowly struggled toward the pathway she’d come down less
than an hour before.
    “I, uh, remember getting into a fight with my
brother and deciding to have a couple of drinks to cool off. Yeah,
uh, guess I must’ve indulged too much and like an idiot thought
some fresh air would fix me up. I think maybe, I must’ve fallen
asleep, but don’t really remember.”
    Something in his tone didn’t ring true, but
it really wasn’t any of her business so Callie chose to leave it
alone. Besides, they’d started their climb up the hill and she’d
need all her breath to get them both to the top. By the time they
were in sight of the welcoming lights of the B & B, he was
doing better and could manage under his own steam.
    What did it say about her that she missed him
leaning on her? Idiot, that’s what. Before she could beat herself
up anymore, she noticed he wasn’t beside her anymore. He stopped a
few feet back and was looking down the lane-way toward the main
road.
    “I guess I should be on my way, I appreciate
your help but I don’t want to be any more of a pain, so if you’ll
point me in the direction of the nearest town and tell me how far
it is, I’ll leave you with my thanks.”
    Cute did not make up for stupid. Another
argument for her ‘who needs a man’ stand.
    “Are you nuts? First, how is it you don’t
know how far the nearest town is? It’s the only one around here for
miles. Second, unless you have a car hidden under that duster, you
aren’t going anywhere. It’s already below zero and dropping fast.
Third, you’re lips are blue for heaven’s sake. You need to warm up.
I didn’t drag you all the way up that hill so you could freeze to
death a mile down the road.”
    The stubborn ox wrinkled his brow and crossed
his arms over his chest, appearing to puff up more than her jacket.
“I can assure you, I’m tougher than I look at the moment. I’ll make
it if you point the way. It’s not that cold yet.”
    “Argh men!” She grabbed her hood with her
mitten encased hands but found it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as
pulling her hair. “Look don’t be an idiot, I’ll drive you in once
you’ve warmed up and had something to eat, unless there’s someone
you’d rather I call to come pick you up.” Night had fallen but it
wasn’t dark enough yet to miss