His to Protect: Book 1 in the Bound to Him Series Read online

  I knew none of my ribs were cracked or broken because I could breathe normally, and I sighed deeply in relief. Then I reached for my backpack, grabbing out my second bottle of water. Taking a few sips, I put it back and tried to stand. Pain. I fell back against the rocks. My ankle was on fire. No, no, no! I did not need this right now.

  Grunting in pain as I worked my boot off and then my sock, I could see my ankle already starting to swell. Great. There was no way that I would be able to walk on that. I hurriedly put my sock and boot back on before my ankle swelled too much. After grunting as I laced it as tightly as I could handle, I laid back down on the rocks. I needed to think.

  Sitting up quickly, I reached for my backpack and pulled out my cellphone. I sighed in frustration when I realized there was no signal. Perfect. Things just seemed to be getting better and better. Just my luck. I rubbed my temples, feeling the start of a headache and wondering if I had hit my head when I fell.

  I took a few deep breaths and then looked around, studying my surroundings carefully. There were some trees a few yards away, and I really wanted to get off these rocks. They were digging into my ass and the back of my legs. However, I knew it was going to be a lot more painful before this was over.

  Flipping onto my hands and knees, I began a slow and tedious crawl off the rocks and towards the trees. Sharp edges dug into my already aching palms, and I grimaced at the pain in my knees, but I kept moving with my swollen foot dragging behind me.

  By the time I reached the trees, tears were pouring down my face. My ankle throbbed and my hands and knees burned. I collapsed against the cold ground and allowed myself a good cry. Might as well get it out now because I had a feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better.

  When I had no more tears left, I sat up and leaned my back against a tree. I knew that I could not just stay here and hope someone found me. It was highly unlikely that anyone would travel this far off the trail like I had. Somehow, I had to keep moving, pain or no pain.

  I knew that my ankle would not support any weight, and I glanced at my watch. It was already after 2:00 in the afternoon. I just needed to get down this mountain. Hopefully, then I could flag someone down who would help me, or if I got cell signal, I could call for help.

  Slipping my backpack off, I pulled out the extra t-shirt that I had packed. I worked at the sleeve until I heard a rip, and finally, I managed to rip it all the way down the side. I split the other side in the same way. Once I had it in two pieces, I wrapped them around my hands.

  My jeans would at least provide some protection for my knees, but I grimaced at the thought of crawling down the mountain. I had a feeling that I was not going to make it in time for that massage. Moving back to my hands and knees, I began my slow journey back down the mountain.

  Chapter 3

  Ezekiel

  I had been feeling so restless recently. Brady and I had finally managed to get my bathroom finished, and I had been relieved. The shower was amazing, and I was impressed with how it all turned out. Brady was a bit jealous, and I had to laugh when he left in my Porsche once again.

  It had been the least I could do for his help. It had been quite a project, and it took us weeks to complete since we had extended the bathroom off the side of the house. But taking a look at our handiwork, I knew it was perfect. It was everything that I had envisioned.

  Making my way to the kitchen, I pulled the stuff out of the fridge that I would need for a sandwich. It was just me in this huge house, so there was really no point in cooking a big meal. My housekeeper came twice a week, and she always cooked dinner for me before she left.

  Cooking dinner had not been part of our original arrangement, but I was glad now that she did it. Otherwise, I would be eating frozen meals and sandwiches every day. I always gave her a rather large tip for the extra trouble, but she seemed to enjoy cooking and I was fine with that.

  Tabitha was part of our pack. I would not have hired her otherwise. She and three other women from our pack owned their own housekeeping service, and I appreciated the help. This house was huge, and it was a lot to maintain. It was also nice to know that I could be myself when she was around.

  Taking my plate to the dining room, I sat down at the table and opened my laptop. The financial side of our security company was not my favorite, but it had to be done. We had just finished offering private security for Patricia Finkle, a well-known pop artist who had been staying at a local resort.

  Patricia had come to Tucson to do a benefit concert, and we had supplied armed security every time she left the resort. It had been a few busy days following her to and from press events, galas, interviews, and her concert, but she had been good to work for.

  She had been a very humble person, and that made the job even better knowing that we were protecting someone who was having an impact on the world. We didn’t get to protect people like her very often.

  Her deposit had cleared a few days ago, and I noticed the final payment was still pending. Opening my spreadsheet, I got to work. Work kept me distracted, and for some reason, I needed the distraction this evening…even if it was the financials.

  When I closed my laptop, it was just after 9:00 p.m. A run was just what I needed. Making my way to the patio doors, I slipped out of my clothes, stacking them in a patio chair. Switching to my wolf, I headed towards the mountains.

  I never felt more free than when I was in my wolf form. Running through the trees and over creeks, I made my way up the side of the rugged mountain. Suddenly, I came to a fast halt. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my ears twitched, listening for anything that was off. I knew that I was not alone.

  Sniffing the air, I caught a scent that did not belong, and it was human. Humans never traveled this route and usually stuck to the trails. It would not do for a human to catch sight of my wolf. Unfortunately, if he did, I would have to dispose of him. It would be better if I just headed back home. I definitely did not want to kill anyone tonight.

  I turned and headed back down the mountain, but it seemed the scent was getting stronger. Whoever this human was, the scent was leading in the direction of my house. There was no way that I could leave it alone now. Maybe whoever it was had already discovered what I was, and that was something that I could not allow.

  Following the scent, I made my way in the direction of my house. I rounded a hill, and that’s when I saw her. A woman was sitting on the ground with her back against a tree. She had some kind of cloth wrapped around both of her hands, and I could see blood soaking through her jeans just under her knee. The expression on her face was pain, but that was until she saw me.

  Her eyes opened wide in alarm, and she pushed backwards which caused her to cry out and she collapsed onto her back on the ground. Her eyes never left mine, but she froze. I studied her face for a moment and realized that she was beautiful, even with her face contorted in pain.

  Her green eyes shone in the moonlight, and her luscious lips were strained with the pain she was in. That made me smile to myself. She looked so damn kissable, even hurt and bleeding. Realizing the direction of my thoughts, I quickly pushed them away. She closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away from me, but she did not move.

  Whoever this woman was, she was hurt and obviously afraid. I turned away from her and ran. It only took me about fifteen minutes to get back to my house, and I shifted back to my human form and dressed as quickly as I could. Then I headed back to the mountain.

  It took me much longer to reach her on foot than it would have for my wolf, but I could not let her know what I was. When I finally found her again, I could smell the scent of the tears on her face. I felt my wolf shiver as I slowly approached her, calling out so that I did not startle her.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” I asked her once I had her attention. She sniffed then shook her head.

  “I was hiking but got caught in a rockslide. I’m…I’m…I’m lost as well. My car is out there somewhere, but once I lost the path, I c
ouldn’t find it again,” she replied in a strained voice.

  “Okay, well, I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Ezekiel, but most people just call me Zeke. I know these mountains like the back of my hand. Right now, we need to get you safe and warmed up. Can you walk?” I asked her. She shook her head again, and I knelt down beside her.

  “I’m pretty sure my ankle is the size of a cantaloupe right now,” she answered quietly as her big green eyes studied my face. This was going to be difficult.

  “All right. I don’t live too far from here, so let’s try and get you there, and then I can take a look at that ankle,” I told her gently.

  I reached under her arms and helped her to stand on her good foot. Then I caught the scent of her hair. My heart skipped a beat and my wolf whimpered. Even my cock was affected, and I had to think of something else before I was too uncomfortable to walk. I had never responded to a woman this way and just from her scent. My wolf either. She was human after all.

  Picking up her backpack, I threw it over one arm. Then I put her arm around my shoulder and grabbed her tightly around the waist. Looking down at her, I noticed her lip trembling. She was a trooper, and even though I knew that she was in pain, she was trying to hide it.

  It was slow moving because of her ankle and because we were going downhill. My wolf was agitated, and I knew it was because of the woman’s scent. However, I had no idea what that meant. It was about forty-five minutes later that she finally pulled me to a stop. Looking down at her, she dropped her head.

  “I’m Chelsea, by the way,” she whispered, but I could hear her voice trembling. “I don’t think I can go any farther,” she said next, and I heard her choke on a sob.

  “Here, let me help you sit. You need a break,” I told her. Then I reached for her waist and gently lowered her to the ground. A deep sigh escaped her, and I sat down on the ground beside her. She buried her face in her hands, and I just waited, but I let my eyes skim over her.

  Several strands of her long, auburn hair had fallen from her ponytail. Her good leg was bent with her knee up, and her other leg was straight out in front of her. She had shapely legs, but I again noticed the blood on her jeans.

  She probably had a lot more injuries than just the ankle, especially if she had gotten caught in a rockslide. I felt my brow rise in concern. I needed to get her back to the house quickly.

  “Chelsea, I have a different idea. Here, let me help you to your feet,” I told her, reaching around her slim waist and lifting her back to her feet so that she had all her weight on her good foot. I handed her the backpack.

  “You hold this. I’m going to carry you,” I told her, and her eyes shot to mine.

  “You can’t carry me,” she said adamantly, but I just bent down and slid one arm under her legs and the other behind her back.

  She let out a squeal as I lifted her, and then I heard a groan that indicated pain. She squeezed her eyes closed as her arms went around my neck, and she buried her face in my shirt.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her. She let out a shuddered breath and I felt her body trembling in my arms.

  “Just give me a moment, please. I really don’t want to throw up on you,” she whispered. She was in way more pain than she was letting on. When she finally nodded that she was ready, I started through the trees as fast as I could without causing her too much more pain.

  She wasn’t heavy, in fact, she was fairly light, but after thirty minutes of carrying her, I was feeling the strain in my arms and back. It was a relief when we finally approached the house, and I used my elbow to slide the patio door open. Without even thinking about it, I headed towards my bedroom.

  I carefully laid her on the bed and realized that she’d had her eyes closed the entire time. When she felt the bed beneath her, her eyes slowly fluttered open. She sighed as she relaxed against the bed, and I sat down on the edge beside her. There was no fear in her eyes, and I was grateful that she was not afraid of me. But the pain was still there, etched on her face.

  “I’m going to start with the ankle,” I told her as I reached towards her boot. “This is probably going to hurt.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes again. Slowly, I began unlacing the boot, and then I loosened the laces as far as they would go. I worked the boot off her foot as gently as possible. Through her sock, I could already tell how swollen her ankle was. She hissed as I worked her sock off, and then I could see the purplish color surrounding her ankle. This was a bad sprain.

  “Just relax. I’m going to go get some ice,” I told her, standing from the bed. Hurrying into the kitchen, I grabbed a Ziploc bag and filled it with ice from the ice maker. Once I made my way back to the room and had the ice on her ankle, I looked up at her face again.

  She seemed relieved by the ice, and I saw the shiver run through her body. Then she turned her head and her eyes met mine.

  “Thank you. I had no idea how I was going to get out of there. If you hadn’t come along…” She let the sentence trail off. I knew what she was going to say, but it was something that I didn’t want to think about. I was just glad that I had been there.

  “Well, I’m glad I found you, but I have a feeling that the ankle is not the only injury, is it?” I asked her. Her eyes opened wider, but she shook her head. At least she was being honest.

  “Come on. I’m pretty good at treating injuries. Let me take a look,” I told her gently. She sighed again, but this time she nodded. I could not help my smile, and I saw the corners of her lips turn up just a bit.

  “Okay, I know this is going to be awkward, but let’s start with the jeans. You must have a pretty good gash under there with the blood that has soaked through,” I told her, not giving her a chance to process what I said before reaching for her waist.

  She closed her eyes and turned her head away from me as I unfastened her jeans and pulled the zipper down. Then I carefully slid the jeans down her legs. I had already seen the numerous cuts and scrapes on her arms and hands, but she had a pretty good gash just below her left knee. Both her knees were pretty raw as well.

  It was difficult to get the skin-tight jeans over her swollen ankle, and she let out a gasp when I finally pulled them off. Putting the bag of ice back on her ankle, I tried to keep my eyes on her injuries, but the black lace panties caught my attention.

  Pulling my eyes back to her leg, I was grateful that her eyes were still closed. My cock was straining against the front of my pants, and I definitely did not want her to see that. That would be enough to scare her for sure, and I didn’t want to frighten her. She had been through enough already.

  “I’m going to go get something to clean these scrapes. I’ll be right back,” I told her, standing from the bed.

  Walking into the bathroom, I grabbed the supplies that I would need from the cabinet, and then I headed back to the bedroom. When my eyes landed on Chelsea in the middle of my bed, I saw that her eyes were still closed, and her head was turned slightly away from the bathroom. So, I let my eyes absorb their fill of her. She was beautiful, and it almost took my breath away.

  Chapter 4

  I could not believe that there was a beautiful woman lying in the middle of my bed. My eyes swept up her long, toned legs. She must run or work out to get legs like that. The lace panties hugged her hips, and there were several inches of creamy skin at her belly before her shirt covered the rest.

  Even lying down, I could tell that her breasts were the perfect size. They would be a handful. In fact, everything about Chelsea was just the type of woman whom I was attracted to. But then there was her scent.

  My wolf had reacted to her, and that never happened, especially with a human. It definitely made me think. Also, she was right now in my bed in my bedroom. That was something that had never happened before either. I ran my hand through my hair, then hurried to the bed.

  I cleaned the blood from her leg and knees and was grateful to realize that the gash was not deep enough to need stitches. Her breath hissed through her teeth, but other th
an that, she laid perfectly still. I was impressed. When the gash was bandaged, I threw a blanket over her bottom half.

  “Okay, let me see the ribs now,” I told her as I moved my hands to her waist.

  I only lifted her shirt as far as I needed to check her ribs. There were some scrapes and a few small bruises, but I was pretty sure that she didn’t have any cracked or broken ribs. She was breathing too easily. She was lucky, especially considering the rockslide that she told me she had been in. It could have been so much worse.

  Lowering her shirt, I reached for her hand. The t-shirt she had torn and wrapped around her hands had been ingenious, especially since she had been crawling down the side of the mountain on her hands and knees. I knew that she was a fighter. I had no idea how many hours she had been crawling down the mountain, but she had obviously not given up.

  I looked up at her face and found her watching me as I treated the scrapes on her hands. Who knew what she was thinking, but my heart had not stopped pounding in my chest since I had first laid eyes on her. She was somehow drawing me in, and I didn’t understand it.

  Once her hands were bandaged, I lowered her hand to the bed. Now what? I had never been shy in front of a woman before, but for some reason, this was different. She was different, but I didn’t understand how. Her eyes were still watching mine.

  “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble, and this is only day one of my vacation,” she finally said, and let out a deep breath. “I’m not usually so accident prone.”

  I chuckled and noticed that she smiled a real smile this time. My heart skipped a beat, and I swear my wolf purred. What was happening to me? I had never felt like this towards a human before, but for some reason, I knew that I wanted to know her better.

  I needed to know everything about her. It would not be difficult to run a background check on her, but I wanted her to tell me.