High Country Rebel - Lindsay McKenna

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looked torn and ragged. She had to stop the bleeding and get him to see and hear her instead of whatever held him prisoner.

      Slowly getting up, she called Zeke over. She guided the dog over to Talon.

      “Talon? This is your dog, Zeke. He needs you to pet him. He’s worried about you.”

      Zeke began licking the blood off Talon’s arm, whining and anxious.

      Holding her breath, Cat watched Talon slowly blink a few times. His mouth opened and then closed. His eyes became harder and more focused on the dog sitting between his legs. The dog was thumping his tail against the pine floor, the only sound in the room. Talon slowly released the fingers of one hand from the mattress and he laid his hand on the dog’s broad skull. A little fear left her and she slowly unwound from her crouched position.

      “Talon? I’m going to fix your arm. Is it okay if I touch you?” Cat stood uncertainly, her own senses telling her that if he wasn’t yet here with her and Zeke and if she touched him again, he might lash out at her. She had no experience with soldiers or anyone with PTSD. Druggies, yeah. But not this. And she knew enough to go slow, to allow Talon to process her request.

      Zeke whined, reaching up, licking Talon’s bearded cheek.

      “Yeah...go ahead,” he rasped thickly, his gaze fixed on his dog.

      Relief sped through Cat. She went to her medical bag, drew out items and then walked to his side. Putting on a pair of gloves, she cleaned the area inside his right arm and quickly patched it up, halting the bleeding. There was a bowl of water on the dresser and she took the washcloth and wiped away the blood left on his arm and hand. When she crouched down to gently pry his fingers out of the mattress, she felt the heat of his stare on her. Her skin prickled and her heart took off in an unsteady beat. He turned his large hand over for her and she saw the many calluses across his fingers and palm. After wiping his hand free of blood, she placed Talon’s hand back on the mattress.

      “You okay?” she asked, meeting his eyes. There was clarity now in them. Huge gray eyes with large black pupils staring intently at her. For a second, Cat’s imagination took off. He was the hunter. She was the prey. Oddly, she didn’t feel threatened. Instead, she felt her womb contract. Felt the heat of his intense stare, the utter masculinity of him, the power of him as a man. It excited her and simultaneously scared her.

      No man had ever made her feel hot, needy and achy in her lower body. But Talon did. In spades. Gulping, Cat stood up and quickly moved to the dresser to rinse out the bloody washcloth. What the hell was going on with her? Licking her lip nervously, Cat cast a glance over her shoulder. Talon had lain back down, drawing the blankets haphazardly across his lower body. His eyes were closed.

      Zeke lay down by his bed.

      Watching the dog helped Cat understand what was going on with Talon Holt. He’d also ripped off the cannula that had given him extra oxygen and it lay on the floor next to the broken IV line. She picked them both up and shut off the IV. Did she dare sit down beside him as she had before? No, she couldn’t. Her throat went tight and she found it hard to breathe for a moment.

      As she worked near the bed, she felt his eyes open and focus on her again. Looking up, he was watching her. Cat muttered, “I’m cleaning up.”

      He barely nodded his head.

      Her hands were shaky. Cat removed the IV and placed it in her medical bag. She wrapped up other equipment.

      “I remember you.”

      Cat froze for moment. Talon’s voice was deep and hoarse. But he was awake and alert. Considering his medical condition, she was stunned by the strength of his tone and the clarity in his eyes. “What do you remember?” she asked.

      “How beautiful your eyes were after you stopped to help me and Zeke.”

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CAT WAS BRINGING Zeke back from a potty break an hour later. She pushed open the bedroom door. Talon jerked and suddenly sat up, tense, breathing harshly. His hands were curled into fists, raised as if ready to strike. Surprised, Cat anchored just inside the entrance. The man’s narrowed eyes went black. Instantly, her heart started to pound. What was going on?

      “Talon? It’s me, Cat. It’s all right,” she managed, her fingers tightening around Zeke’s leather collar. The dog whined, his gaze riveted upon his master.

      Talon stared hard at her. His breath came in gasps, his chest heaving with sudden exertion. Slowly, he lowered his hands and unfisted them. “What the hell are you doing?” he snarled.

      Stung and shocked, Cat kept her anger closeted. “I just took your dog out.”

      Talon wiped his face and uttered a curse under his breath. It was a bad idea to wake him suddenly, as if he were still in the middle of a nightmare. “Yeah...okay...thanks,” he muttered and lay down on the bed, throwing his arm across his closed eyes.

      What had just happened?

      Shaken, Cat released Zeke. The dog instantly trotted over to the bed, wagging his tail. She quietly closed the door, her heart banging away in her tightened throat. The expression on Talon’s face scared the hell out of her. He looked savage. Lethal.

      As she moved closer to his bedside, she could see that Talon’s color was better. He dragged his arm off his face, opened his eyes and stared grumpily up at her.

      “I need to listen to your lungs and take your temperature,” she offered by way of explanation.

      “Do it,” he rasped, closing his eyes again, his mouth a single line.

      Zeke whined and then sat down next to the bed. Cat gathered the equipment from her medical bag at the end of the bed. She hesitantly sat down, her hip brushing against his. His eyes snapped open, a fierce look in them. She recognized an adrenaline surge when she saw one. Cat felt badly. The man didn’t need any more shock or trauma than he presently had.

      “I’m sorry I startled you,” she murmured, holding his dark, turbulent-looking gaze. Even his nostrils were flared, and he was still dragging in and releasing short, sharp breaths. Yeah, she was no stranger to adrenaline, understood its effects from her firefighting duties.

      “Whatever you do from now on,” Talon growled, “don’t ever come over and touch me while I’m sleeping.” He dug into her gaze. “I could hurt you very badly, Cat, and that’s the last thing I want to do.”

      She chewed on her lower lip, regarding his warning, searching his eyes. “Is this because you were a SEAL?”

      “Yes,” he said. Talon held up his hands. “I know how to kill a person fourteen different ways with these. They are considered lethal weapons here by U.S. law enforcement. Please—” and his voice lowered with emotion “—no surprises. If you need me awake, stay at the door and call my name. I’ll come up in a hurry, like I did just now.”

      Her heart contracted with pain. “Got it.” As she pulled the blanket down to expose his chest, she saw more than anxiety in his narrowed eyes. Maybe fear? She wasn’t sure. Talon was still breathing hard. Labored. Cat warmed the stethoscope between her palms so it wouldn’t feel so startlingly cold to his flesh. Gently, she placed the stethoscope against his chest, listening. She tried not to be influenced by his warm, hard flesh. As she grazed him, his skin tightened, the muscles leaping beneath. The man’s chest was powerful.

      “Can you move your head to one side? I need to put my ThermoScan into your ear for a moment and take your temperature,” she said.

      He nodded and turned his head slightly so she had easy access.

      Cat felt shaky inside. Talon was a sensual, dark, dangerous and exciting man. She wasn’t used to feeling this way.

      She looked at the ThermoScan. “Thanks. Your temperature is really going down. It’s a hundred degrees now. That’s good news.”

      “How about my lungs?” he asked. “I feel like an elephant’s

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