Read Online Reckless Rescue by Rinelle Grey - Free Book Online

under the bulky clothes, her curves suggested she’d hit womanhood.
    “Um. Marlee? Is that your name?”
    “Yes?”
    “Do you have a bathroom?” She looked at him blankly for a moment, so he repeated his request. “I need to use the toilet.”
    Understanding dawned on her face. “Oh, of course. Here.” She held out a small round earthenware pot to him.
    He took it, looking at her incomprehensibly for a moment. Then he felt a flush steal across his face. “I think I could probably get up…”
    “Are you sure?” she asked doubtfully. “The bathroom isn’t far,” she said, and waved to a curtain against the side of the wall, “but I’m not sure how much help I could be.”
    Tyris was torn. The idea of taking a fall in the bathroom, his pants around his ankles, wasn’t appealing. But neither was the pot. “I think I can manage.”
    Marlee nodded, and stood near the bed. Tyris took a deep breath, ignored the pain in his head, and swung his legs over the side. He was glad of Marlee’s presence as he struggled to his feet, clutching at her shoulder as the world tilted.
    “Are you okay?”
    He nodded then immediately regretted his actions as the world spun again. “Yes, just give me a minute.”
    She stood beside him patiently as he closed his eyes, waiting for the spinning to stop. By the time he’d taken three steps towards the curtain covering the bathroom, he was regretting not using the pot. When Marlee pulled aside the curtain and he saw the wooden toilet seat above a low bench, he regretted it even more. He braced himself for the smell, he’d used enough camp toilets to know what to expect, but there was none.
    Marlee waited at the door, and Tyris used the walls of the room to steady himself as he sat down and did his business. When he came outside again, Marlee helped him back to the bed, and gave him a bowl of water and a washcloth.
    Feeling much more comfortable, he could think about more than just the immediate necessities. This time, when Marlee wordlessly picked up the bowl of water, he put a hand on her arm, surprised to find it was far slimmer than the bulky clothes indicated. “Marlee?”
    She froze for a second, looking down at his hand. And he wondered if he had committed some social blunder. As he looked up, she coloured slightly, but met his gaze. “Yes?”
    Suddenly, he couldn’t remember what he had been about to say. “I’m Tyris,” he said instead.
    “Hello, Tyris.” A smile transformed her face, and he stared at her, holding his breath. It was wide and unaffected, and her eyes sparkled. He’d thought her plain and dowdy, no doubt partially because of the shapeless clothes she wore, but he’d been wrong. The clothes hid her attractiveness, but they didn’t detract from it once he’d noticed it.
    He was left with just one question—why had they left an unknown man alone in a house with a beautiful young woman? There was something wrong about the whole situation.
    His hand was still on Marlee’s arm, and he withdrew it self-consciously. A million questions rocketed around in his brain, and he couldn’t even figure out where to start. Since he remained silent, Marlee smiled at him and left the room with the bowl.
    Maybe he was wrong, and someone else lived here with her. The nurse, a parent, or a husband. There were no obvious signs of other occupants, but then again, the room held very few personal touches. Very little at all, actually, other than the bed. A double bed, he noted.
    Was this someone else’s bed, or hers? Discomfort tugged at his thoughts. He shouldn’t be in a strange woman’s bed, even if he had been injured. What would Milandra think? He decided then and there that he wouldn’t tell her about this. She didn’t need to know.
    Whatever was in that bitter brew, it seemed to work. The headache had almost disappeared. The pain that returned when he sat up was only a shadow of what it had been.
    Marlee came back into the room holding a steaming bowl. A rich,