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Three
Needing to clear his head so he could focus on work, Kasim decided to take advantage of one of the hiking trails near his office. Early autumn was beautiful in the city, so colorful and vibrant, and he wanted to enjoy it today. And it would help his thoughts from straying towards a certain leggy, green-eyed brunette who kissed like a sin. He couldn’t possibly want a woman whom he couldn’t trust, and her animosity towards him helped. A lot.
But that kiss was too hot to forget, no matter how hard he tried, so he hoped the great outdoors would do something for his grumpy disposition. The color of changing leaves soothed his overworked brain and gave him something else to focus on. At least until he’d seen a full tree, refusing to succumb to the cooling weather, with branches full of green leaves that were the exact shade of her eyes. “Dammit,” he cursed himself for being unable to control his thoughts when it came to her. He cursed nature for reminding him of her, and he cursed Charla for invading his mind when he didn’t want her there.
Did this really work for people?As a champion boxer Kasim knew all about using physical activity to work out frustration and usually he was all for it. But this…it wasn’t working.
Kasim turned, too busy banishing thoughts of Charla to notice the exposed root that took him down. “Dammit to hell!” His deep voice was a roar in the early afternoon as pain shot through his ankle. Every effort to stand failed thanks to the searing pain he’d self-diagnosed as a sprain. “Help!” He cried out every few minutes, hoping some unsuspecting hiker would happen by and offer assistance. Denver was filled with hippies, outdoorsy types yet none of them apparently used the same trail he had. “Help!”
An hour passed and he still couldn’t stand and he was completely alone in the middle of the woods. Finally he heard some rustling in the distance and stilled. The steps drew closer but he couldn’t make out a figure until he caught a glimpse of a pair of long toned legs encased in red. “Hello!” The sound he heard was almost certainly music, which meant the woman with the great legs couldn’t hear him.
“What in the hell,” she shouted when a rock nailed her in the arm. “Who threw that?” He saw the sneaker clad feet turn and he waved. “Un-freakin’-believable!”
Kasim groaned at the familiar voice with the thick southern twang. “I need some help, please.”
“And you thought the best way was to pelt me with a rock?”
“Sorry,” he sighed, feeling drowsy thanks to the pain shooting up his leg and his bloody hands. “I yelled and you didn’t hear me. You’re the first person to pass by in more than an hour and I couldn’t let you get away.” He hated to sound so weak, especially in front of her.
Charla’s demeanor quickly changed and she made her way to him, falling to her knees at his side, soft hands gliding up and down his body in search of injuries. “Where does it hurt?” Reluctantly he told her, wincing only slightly when she touched it. “I won’t take that shoe off because we need to get you down the trail and to the hospital.”
“I don’t need a hospital,” he argued.
“Okay,” she agreed, helping him stand without another word aside from directions to move this way or that. “Lean on me as much as you need, I can handle it.”
He froze at her words, his heart taking them much too seriously. Swallowing with effort he nodded and flung an arm over her shoulder while she wrapped her arm around his waist. Damn those curves fit me perfectly, he thought as her full breasts brushed his side teasingly.
“Take your time,” she told him gently, occasionally sending a smile his way.
Four hours and two arguments later, Charla wheeled Kasim through the automatic hospital doors and back to her Jeep. “I could have just gone home, you know.”
“Oh I know, and it’s a good thing,” she told him, eyeing the brace on his ankle and the crutches in her hand. “Stupid stubborn man,” she muttered and opened his door, giving him just enough room to maneuver on his own but staying close in case he needed her.
She was entirely too helpful. Maybe this is how she does it, makes herself indispensable. “Let’s go,” he barked.
Charla looked at him and shook her head with a small smile before closing his door and walking around the back of the car before reappearing at his side.
Kasim was annoyed and he couldn’t say why. Well other than the unbearable pain shooting up his right leg, that is. Charla had sang along with the radio rather than talk to him, and she kept stopping and hopping from the car without answering any of his questions. People didn’t ignore him, especially not women, dammit. “Are we heading home now?” He’d grunted the question which was met with an answering chuckle.
“As soon as you put your address into the nav system.”
He heard the amusement in her voice and refused to respond to it, saying nothing at all until she pulled up outside his home. He was proud of the house he’d purchased because it wasn’t ostentatious like the palace back at home. Instead it was large but simple and sophisticated. Beautiful. A quick glance at Charla showed her as indifferent as ever.
“Keys?”
He handed her his keys and watched her incredible backside as she climbed the stairs carrying several bags and pushed it open. She repeated those moves several times until all the bags were in the house along with Kasim. “You don’t have to do any of this.”
“I know,” she told him as she breezed back into the room carrying a pair of sweats. “Put these on. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
His mind swirled, wondering what on earth her angle was. He’d been pretty rude to her since that day in the hospital, but here she was helping him like they were old friends. What more proof did he need that she was after something? “What are you doing in there?”
The bell rang and she came out and glared at him. “Feel free to count the silver before I leave.”
He smiled and shook his head, Charla wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met. She didn’t take his crap and she didn’t fall at his feet. How could he resist the challenge she presented?
“Oh my goodness Kasim, what happened?”
He groaned. “Don’t worry Rabiya, I am fine. Just ask your friend.”
