Read Online Beauty and the Feast by Julia Barrett - Free Book Online

be and more. His immediate impression was that she was quite possibly the most fuckable woman he’d ever seen, but before Gabe could utter another word, he found his eyes focused on a goose-egg sized black and blue bump above her right eye. Confused, he shook himself and took a good look at her. Blood ran down the front of both legs from knees that looked like raw meat and her palms were scraped and bleeding. Eva began to speak, then she quickly closed her mouth, but not before he’d caught a glimpse of straight, white teeth and a sweet pink tongue. He saw her eyes fill with tears as she tilted her determined chin up, daring him to say one word about her injuries. Gabe dropped the helmet on the ground and reached for her.
    He gripped her firmly by both shoulders. “What happened to you?”
    “It’s…it’s not that bad,” she stammered.
    “The hell it isn’t!” He swung her up in his arms and strode to a nearby bench. He sat her down and knelt in front of her. He studied both knees, his gaze intent, then he reached for her hands and turned them over. Finally, he stood up and assessed the bump on her head. Eva sat through his exam in silence.
    “I don’t like the look of that bump,” he said. “Didn’t you have your helmet on?”
    “Of course I had my helmet on,” she said, her voice defensive. “I always wear my helmet. The rock was just… The rock that hit me was just in the wrong place.”
    The corner of Gabe’s mouth twitched. “What happened? You get run off the road?”
    “Yes,” she said. Gabe could hear her indignation in that one little word. “Some jerk, who probably had too much to drink, was coming down the road the wrong way, and when I tried to swerve, he swerved with me and rode me right into the ditch. And then the asshole kept on going! He didn’t even stop to see what happened. I might have been dead for all he cared. My front rim is trashed. Shit.”
    Eva stood on shaky legs and started toward her bike. Gabe took her arm.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
    “Home,” Eva replied. “I’m going home.”
    “How do you plan to get there?”
    She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “How the fuck do you think? Walk.”
    She’s a pistol, Gabe thought, hiding his grin. “Over my dead body,” he said aloud. “Wait here.”
    “Why?”
    Gabe rolled his eyes at her. “You ask too many questions. Just sit your little ass down on that bench and wait here for a second.”
    Eva stalked to the bench and sat, a scowl on her lovely face.
    Gabe returned to the parking lot and checked out Eva’s bike. She’d removed the front tire and she was absolutely correct, the tire was ruined, the rim bent beyond repair. He picked up the bike and the tire and carried it past her, into the winery. He walked up to the woman sitting behind the information desk.
    “Miss, a woman was nearly hit by a car on the lane leading to your winery. She has some minor injuries and I’m going to drive her to the hospital to get checked out. Would you mind storing her bicycle behind your desk until I can come back for it?”
    The woman looked up at him with some surprise. He could tell that she recognized him. He’d attended plenty of events at the winery. “Is she all right? Do I need to call an ambulance?”
    “No,” answered Gabe. “That won’t be necessary. Would you mind keeping the bike until I can pick it later?”
    “Oh, Mr. Abbott, of course. We’d be happy to watch the bike for you.”
    “Thank you.”
    Gabe leaned the bike and the tire against the wall behind the desk and left the lobby. Eva fidgeted restlessly on the bench where he’d left her.
    “Your knees hurt?” he asked, sympathetically.
    Eva nodded. “I don’t have a way home,” she said, “And I don’t have any money with me.” Gabe detected a slight quiver in her voice. He’d like to get his hands on the stupid fuck who forced her into a ditch. She could have been killed.
    “C’mon, I’m taking you home.”
    Eva