Taking Chances by Ann Omasta (best motivational books txt) 📖

Sam. My body was having its usual reaction to his nearness, but I had chalked it up to fear. My breath had quickened noticeably, so I attempted to slow it.

“What the hell are you thinking?” The level of anger in his voice shocked me, and I reared back as if I’d been slapped.

What right did he have to be mad at me? “I’m thinking that I’m cold, wet, and injured; and the last person I want to see right now is you,” I snapped. It was probably a little harsh, but his unjust irritation with me had set me off.

“Well then, I guess I’ll leave you alone.” He turned to make his way back along the boulder path to the shore. The giant, black dog gave me a bewildered tilt of its head before turning to follow its master.

He’s bluffing. I told myself as Sam continued to walk away. He wouldn’t really leave me stranded out here, would he? I began to think he might do just that when he reached the beach and continued on without so much as a backward glance at me.

I was stubborn and pissed off, but I wasn’t stupid. I didn’t want to take my chances out here alone and Sam was quickly moving out of earshot. I cupped my hands and yelled, “Wait!” in his direction. He stopped, but didn’t turn. “May I use your phone to call for help?”

He shook his head as if trying to talk himself out of something, and I began to wonder if he really was going to leave me out here. The rain had begun coming down in sheets, and I was already soaked to the bone. Finally, he turned and walked back down the boulder path to me. The black dog followed a couple of paces behind him.

When he reached me, he just stood there looking down at me. I reached my hand up and said simply, “Phone, please?”

“I don’t have my cell with me. Where are you injured?”

I raised my affected ankle to show him. It was already swollen to twice its normal size. “Jeez, Ab,” was all he said before removing his parka and zipping me into it.

I was basking in the familiarity of the nickname when he wrapped his hands around my waist as if to pick me up. “Whoa! What are you doing?” I demanded.

“I’m carrying you to safety. You can’t walk on that ankle.” At my frustrated look, he asked, “How would you propose that we proceed?”

I rather liked his idea, but I wasn’t about to admit that.  “I was thinking you could call someone for me when you get to a phone,” I answered.

“You want to sit out here freezing in the pouring rain, rather than go with me?” I could tell he was completely exasperated with me. “Fine, have it your way,” he turned before continuing, “I’ll go call my brother and have him come rescue you.”

Shit! I can’t have him call Seth, only to be told that he’s actively avoiding me. How humiliating. “No, will you call my friend Courtney?”

I had barely rattled off her number before he turned, muttering, “Screw this.” He hauled me up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I had never been manhandled like this, and I smacked at him hard. I whacked the only part of him that I could reach and was rewarded with a handful of his firm, mouth-watering ass.

“You like it dirty, huh?” he growled back at me. “I can be a bad boy.” I was sure that he could, and I tried not to picture him being bad, very bad, with me. I couldn’t seem to stop the images from popping into my head, and they were hot.

I was on the verge of struggling for freedom when I decided that this was probably the best-case scenario for my situation. I’d let him carry me to a phone, then thank him and send him on his way.

My body had almost relaxed when I felt him start climbing. “Where are we going?”

“To my house,” he answered, pointing up to the amazing house on the cliff. The dark, angular house suited him perfectly.

“You can’t carry me up this incline. I’m too heavy,” I protested.

His pace didn’t slow as he answered me only with a quick sigh. Rather than fight with him, I watched the big dog loping along behind us as we made our ascent.

He wasn’t even breathing hard when we reached the front porch. I looked at the glider and matching rocking chairs and imagined what a fantastic place this would be to spend an afternoon reading and watching the lake.

He pushed the unlocked front door open and carried me inside and up a set of stairs. “Um, you can set me down now.”

He ignored me and continued on to a huge bathroom. He used a foot to flick the lid closed and plopped me down on the toilet. “I don’t really have to go right now,” I told him as he continued ignoring me and started the tap on the biggest sunken garden tub I had ever seen. He went to a cabinet and retrieved a giant bottle of bubble bath and a couple of fluffy, light blue towels.

I enjoyed watching him move. He was sleek and graceful, and I wondered what he was up to. He took one of the towels and placed it at the back of the tub for a headrest. Then he went back to the tap to test the stream of water and adjusted the temperature before dumping a generous dollop of bubbles into the water. He used a long, tan hand to swirl the concoction around. The scent of the bubble bath was heavenly.

Once he was satisfied, he turned and caught me staring. I looked away quickly and saw that the dog was sitting nearby watching his every move, as well.

“Do you need help getting undressed and into the tub?” he asked me.

All of this was for me? Wow. “I think I can manage,” I responded.

“Happy to help,” he responded with a knowing smile, the first remotely friendly look he’d given me all evening. I shook my head, so he headed for the door saying, “Come on, Miss Dixie. I guess we aren’t needed here.”

I snorted with laughter. He slowly turned to look at me with a questioning raised eyebrow. “That behemoth’s name is Miss Dixie?” I couldn’t help it, the giggles bubbled out.

“Spanking me and laughing at my dog’s name?” he cocked an eyebrow at me. “I might just have to get even with you later,” he promised before slipping out the door with Miss Dixie hot on his heels. She was probably relieved the bath wasn’t for her.

I wondered what he meant by getting even with me later. Was it a sexual innuendo? You wish, I laughed at myself. I couldn’t get a clear read on him. He probably flirted with everyone that way. He was a lady-killer. Besides, I had been with his twin brother.

I peeled off my wet clothes, hopped on my good foot over to the tub, and sighed as I sank into the warm, soothing bath. It felt like heaven and was just what my tired, sore body needed.