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After collecting towels, wash cloths, and the only soap she had, which was honey vanilla, she crossed the hall to where she heard stuttered movements. Standing in the doorway, she inhaled a short breath before knocking on the open door.
“In here, I need your help.” That voice sent chills through her body but in a different way this time. Her pulse raced beneath her skin and her heart thumped painfully with the need to be in his presence again. Inching closer, McKenna peeked into the bathroom to find him sitting on the lid of the toilet with frustration and exhaustion etched on his handsome face.
This was the first time she had seen him up close and under the bathroom lights, McKenna was completely taken by his handsome features. Carter’s face was square and the lower half was covered in a jet black sheen of hair that had her fingers aching to move across it. His low set, hooded eyes were thin and small sitting above a full nose and lips.
With thick bushy brows that hovered above his eyes, his appearance was a blend of edgy and manicured, softening the hard persona she had been experiencing since he’d barged into her personal space. His voice snapped McKenna out of her inspection and when he motioned to his left arm, she followed to see what the issue was.
“It hurts like hell to bend completely. You mind?”
Her line of vision trailed down to his shoes but she didn’t move right away. After a brief moment she placed the items in her hands on the counter, noticing the gun positioned on the edge of it. Her eyes quickly shot up to Carter before she kneeled down to help. First his shoes then his jeans. Unbuckling them as she kneeled then hesitantly helped him out of them.
She sucked in a deep breath when he was down to just a pair of black briefs that did little to hide the thick mass pressed against his thigh. Carter was amused when McKenna did her best to look everywhere except below his waist, even hurrying in an attempt to leave the bathroom, gathering his belongings in her arms, stopping under the doorframe.
“That’s all I have. Sorry.” She motioned to the body wash and his eyes followed before he offered a head nod.
“Don’t worry about it.”
With one last look and arms filled with his clothes, McKenna stepped out of the bathroom, only stopping when she heard his voice again.
“You think I’m good to get these wet?”
She turned to find Carter looking down at the bullet wounds.
“Yes, I mean you should be. They have to be cleaned anyway. Just try not to get the area drenched.”
With those being her final words, she left the bathroom, struggling to pull the door closed behind her. As soon as she was out of the guest room, she pressed her back against the wall, dropping her head back on the sleek surface at the same time her eyes closed.
“How the hell is this my life?” she breathed out before regrouping enough to head through her house to the kitchen where she dropped his things on top of the dryer. She quickly located a trash bag and dumped everything inside, yanking the handles to close it.
By the time she made it back to her room, she sat on the foot of the bed again, looking around the space like it was now foreign. In a sense it was. The presence of the stranger under the same roof changed everything about the feel of the home she claimed as her own. Sitting quietly for what felt like forever, McKenna became lost in her thoughts until she heard that voice again.
This time from a distance, summoning her once again. She closed her eyes briefly before standing, feeling the exhaustion settling into her shoulders after being pulled from her sleep in the middle of the night. The twelve hour shift she’d worked the day before was settling into every inch of her body as she left her room, crossing the hall to peek into the guest room. There she found Carter, sitting on the side of the bed, holding a washcloth to his shoulder.
“You have anything to patch this up with? It’s bleeding again.”
His voice conveyed his declining energy levels as he held firmly to his shoulder, not bothering to look toward the door where McKenna was standing.
“I… uhh, maybe, I have a first aid kit but it’s a cheap one.”
He chuckled, slightly shaking his head, lifting exhausted eyes in her direction. “Figures.”
She clamped her mouth tightly, straightening her spine.
“Chill, McKenna. I don’t mean shit by it. Just that you’ve made it very clear you’re not a nurse so why would you have supplies.” A low rumble of a laugh vibrated through his chest before it filled the room. “I totally missed the mark on this one.”
“Yeah, I guess you did,” she muttered, rolling her eyes, leaving the room to track down her first aid kit. Returning minutes later she placed it on the bed wide open and sucked in a deep breath.
Her eyes moved to the area where he held the washcloth to his shoulder before dropping down to the towel that circled his waist.
“There’s not much in here but this should be enough for now. I’ll have to get some stuff—”
“Tell me what you need and I’ll send someone to get it. You can’t leave.”
“What?” McKenna’s head whipped in his direction.
“You heard me. You can’t leave. Not right now. Give me a list of what you need and I’ll have it brought here.”
“I don’t want your people in and out of my house. Someone shot you—”
