Bear Exposure (Highland Brothers 3) by Meredith Clarke, Ally Summers Page B

to help muscle it open.
    He couldn’t tell if the driver was breathing. Her long blond hair covered her face.
    “Ma’am?” he called. She didn’t move.
    He crouched to check her pulse. Her heart was still beating. He sighed.
    “Thank, God.”
    He unhooked her seatbelt and carefully lifted her from her seat. He took a few steps from the car, turning for the street. His vehicle was big enough he could lay her across the backseat.
    He pressed the woman to his chest while he searched his trunk for a white sheet. He usually kept one in the back for photo shoots. He grabbed it and opened the car door to slide her in the back. As her head rolled to the side, her hair fell from her face.
    Striker almost staggered. His heart raced. His pulse thickened in his veins.
    He couldn’t stop staring. She was exquisite. He shook his head. He knew he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. Her eyelashes were long and he desperately wanted to see the color of her eyes.
    She breathed quietly against his chest. He stretched her body onto the seat and realized the other side of her cheek had been cut. It was bleeding, soaking the sheet he had placed underneath her.
    He pulled his phone from his pocket.
    “Hell,” he growled. There was no reception here. He would have to drive her to the house to make a call for 9-1-1.
    Who was she?
    “Can you hear me? What’s your name?” He gently rolled her arm, trying to nudge her awake. She sighed.
    Shit. He looked over his shoulder at her car. There had to be identification for her inside. The driver’s door hung open and he saw a purse and phone on the floorboard. He grabbed them and noticed two suitcases in the backseat.
    As he looked up he saw smoke curling from the hood of the car.
    “Shit,” he growled.
    He pulled the suitcases and quickly tossed them into his car. His windshield was coated with ice as the sleet mixed with rain and froze on the glass. He could barely see as he turned onto the gravel road.
    “Almost there,” he tried to calm her. But he looked over his shoulder and she was still asleep.
    He wondered if there was anything at the house other than a few Band-Aids. She would need something on that cut.
    He steered the car through the winding road that led to his family’s retreat.
    He parked close to the front steps, not bothering to use the garage code. He scooped the girl in his arms and raced to the porch. It took a second to fit the key into the lock. He kicked the door open and walked in.
    The house was dark. The rooms cold. He took her to the living room, placing her on the couch. He didn’t want to leave her in case she woke up when he was gone, but he needed to find something for her face. And they needed a fire.
    It looked like he had made it to Highland House before an ice storm. There was a chance he would lose power tonight.
    He tucked a quilt to her chin, then raced up the stairs, looking for a first-aid kit.
    A few minutes later he returned to the living room with antibacterial ointment and a bandage. He took his time, cleaning the side of her face. Her lips were full and red and he could only imagine what they would feel like against his.
    His fingers worked diligently while he pressed the wound together and applied a butterfly bandage. It should hold the gash together.
    Satisfied he had stopped the bleeding, Striker began cleaning out the fireplace. He needed to get her warm. He stacked logs one on top of the other and struck a match against the hearth.
    Within minutes the room began to glow from the warmth. His chest eased. The adrenaline had begun to fade. The fatigue began to settle in his muscles.
    He sat on the couch across from her. He would wait for her to wake up. Just sit here, while she slept. He stared at the softness of her face, the pink of her cheeks. He started until his eyes were too heavy to stay open. Striker slumped on the couch, while the fire crackled next to him.

4
    Presley
    P resley felt the pain in her cheek. It throbbed