Bite Me.

Ch 3

After I recovered from my shock, I quickly grabbed my purse, the six pack of beer, and stepped out of the car as he held the door open for me. I could see the concern in his eyes, but I brushed it off. "You're not stalking me, are you?" I asked at an attempt for humor as we made our way to the house. Surprisingly with his strong presence at my back, I didn't feel the crippling fear I had in the car. Good to know. When he was silent, I glanced up at him but his eyes were unreadable, trained on my face. "Hello? Earth to Heath!" I teased trying to lighten the mood. I don't think it worked.

"Mira, what the fuck is going on?" his deep tone demanded. Sighing in resignation, I picked up the pace to the house, my ankle protesting as I put more weight on it. Suddenly his presence wasn't quite so comforting and I just wanted to get away from the questions. Sensing my reluctance, he grabbed my free hand. It wasn't necessary a gentle grip but it didn't hurt either. We were just a few feet from the door and I prayed that someone would open it to save me from the inquisition I knew was about to happen. "Goddammit, Mira. What the fuck is going on?" he repeated in a worried voice. Looking up into his eyes, I expected to see anger at my pettiness but instead I just saw concern. His eyebrows were bunched together and he had his lip pulled down in a frown like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I looked down at our joined hands. His calloused fingers were drawing rough circles into my skin and a warm feeling washed over me, a calming sensation. "I went into the woods last night and something- "I couldn't finish the sentence. My heart was in my throat and my mind refused to acknowledge what we'd seen. Looking up at him again, I just gestured to my ankle. My jeans covered the bandage and I hesitantly pulled them up so he could see the white gauze. His hand on mine tightened and I squeezed my eyes shut trying to fight the fear. "I got hurt and well, the woods sort of freak me out. Well, I guess that's putting it lightly. I'm absolutely terrified that whatever it was...that it'll come back and I won't be able to. That I won't..."

Now that was one thought I was definitely not going to complete and thankfully I didn't have to. Heath's free hand came up under my chin and raised it to look at him. His stormy gaze softened as it took in the broke expression on my face and he pulled me into a hug. Blinking in surprise that a man I had only met today was hugging me, I hesitantly put my arms around him. My cheek was resting against his leather jacket on his chest. I could hear his strong heartbeat, smell that spicy cologne mixed with that heavy scent of leather. In the two seconds the hug lasted, I marveled at how perfect we fit together. My head came to just under his chin and his arms enveloped me like a protective shield. I almost whimpered at the loss of contact when he pulled away.

Looking down at me, he whispered in an anguished voice, "I'm so fucking sorry that happened to you," like he felt responsible. I patted his chest lightly and gave him a small smile. "It's not your fault, Heath. It's just something I'll have to deal with." My reassurances did little to get rid of the forlorn expression, but he simply nodded and turned to look at the house. "We should probably get inside before Helen thinks we ditched." The mention of my aunt brought me back out of my bubble and I glanced at him, cheeks flushing at how close we still were. "So, you're the old friend, huh?" I said with a smirk.

That earned me a dimpled grin and he slung his arm around my shoulder like it was most natural thing in the world. Sauntering up to the house and ringing the doorbell, he turned to me. "Watch who you're calling old, young lady," he said with a smirk just as the door opened. Helen launched herself at me and before I could even set the beer down or slip out from under Heath's arm, I was attacked in a gigantic bear hug. Seeing my struggle, Heath slipped him arm away and snagged the beer from me, allowing me to fully embrace my crying aunt. I sent him a soundless thank you to which he just grinned and went to shake hands with Phil who was also in the doorway.