Soul Bonded - By Meghan Malone Page 0,3

a strange room. Wood paneling covered the walls, log cabin style. The framed nature photographs hanging from them gave the space a rustic feel, as did the redwood furniture that looked handcrafted. A lamp served as a dim sentry on the nightstand beside her, casting soft light over the large, brown mixed-breed dog curled up at her side. He stared at her with soulful chocolate eyes and then yawned, clearly unmoved by her rising panic.

Heart pounding, she sat up slowly. Where the hell was she? What had happened?

She dropped her head into her hands and tried to make sense of her jumbled memories. She vividly recalled the accident. Her internal debate about whether to walk miles in the desolate cold or wait for help. The four long days huddled in the backseat of her car. Losing track of what was real and what was delusion, dreaming of rescue one minute and death the next.

Then nothing. And now this.

Clearly she had been saved, but by whom? And how was it possible that she’d just woken up feeling so…refreshed?

Improbable as it was, she was in tip-top condition: rested, healthy, and most importantly, toasty warm. Confusion about how she’d gotten here aside, her mind felt sharp and alert in a way it hadn’t in days. Except for the intense hunger that twisted her stomach, she was in far better shape than someone who’d just spent the past few days stranded in the frigid cold with only two candy bars and a snack-size bag of pretzels had any business being.

She lifted the comforter that covered her body, unsettled to discover that she was dressed in a pair of men’s sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. The clothes didn’t belong to her, which meant that someone had undressed her. Like, really undressed her—she wasn’t even wearing a bra. She snuck a hand beneath the waistband of the sweats and confirmed that she didn’t have panties on, either. Her rescuer had obviously gotten an eyeful.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the bedroom door opened and a man stepped inside. He stopped short when he saw her. “Oh.”

She snatched her hand from the sweatpants and opened her mouth to say something, but the words caught in her throat. Dark and rugged and handsome, with vivid green eyes she could see from across the room, the stranger pretty much ticked all her ‘perfect man’ checkboxes. He was powerfully built, exuding strength and physical confidence, yet seemed to have as much trouble meeting her gaze as she did forming a coherent sentence. The dog perked its ears and whined at his master, but Katie could only manage a weak nod.

“You’re up.” The man hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his well-worn jeans and nodded at the dog. “I hope Shilah didn’t startle you. I left him here to keep you warm.”

She forced herself out of her stupor. “No, Shilah was fine. And very warm.”

He shivered almost imperceptibly, still not meeting her eyes. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I had an accident.” She pulled the comforter up around her body, slightly uncomfortable with the way he refused to look directly at her. Maybe he was only trying to protect her modesty—though it was a bit late for that, if he was the one who’d undressed her—but his uneasy avoidance seemed to hint at deep-seated guilt. Between his obvious discomfort and her instant, uncontrollable attraction to a complete stranger, Katie felt painfully vulnerable. Determined to act normal, she mustered a polite smile. “I lost control of my car. I was afraid I’d freeze to death if I tried to walk for help, so I decided to wait for someone to find me. But…nobody came.”

“You’d nearly frozen to death by the time I got to you. You were unconscious, then delirious.” The man leaned against the doorway, angled away from her. Almost as though he was ready to bolt at any moment. “Do you know how long you were stranded out there?”

“No.” She gathered the comforter closer. “I lost track of time after the fourth or fifth day.”

“I’m not surprised nobody found you. Your car was almost completely buried under the snow.” He folded his arms over his chest, drawing her attention to his firm, muscled physique. She couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like without his shirt. “It’s lucky I spotted you when I did.”

“Yes, very lucky.” She dragged her gaze from his biceps to his face. The tender concern in his voice was at odds with his distant demeanor.