Oriana and the Three Werebears by Tia Fanning Read Free Book Online Page A

You were groggy with sleep. You said your plane broke. My brothers, Jon and Jordan, will see if they can fix it. They’ll be back sometime tomorrow, hopefully with news that they were able to correct the problem.”
    “Oh,” she breathed. “Thank you. That’s really nice of you all, considering I broke into your, um... bomb shelter.”
    “Bunker.”
    “Bunker,” she repeated slowly.
    “Where you able to call out for help?”
    “No, my radio’s broken and I couldn’t get your phones to work. Can I ask you a question?”
    He nodded and waited for her to ask him why they lived in an underground bunker on federally protected land. He had already revealed too much of himself to her when he agreed to the hacker comment, and then affirmed her statement that no information was safe from him.
    “Um, I don’t mean to be forward, but would you mind overly if I took a shower?”
    Surprised by the simplicity of the request, he chuckled. “That’s it?”
    She paused, humor crossing her features. “What did you think I was going to ask?”
    “I thought you’d ask about why we live here in an old government bunker on a wildlife refuge, or something along those lines.”
    Her eyebrows lifted and she looked around, as if taking in her surroundings. She then shook her head. “That’s not my business.”
    The answer was as unexpected as it was pleasing.
    “Do you need me to show you to the bathroom?” he asked.
    “No, I found it when I got up. Fourth door down the hall.”
    “Yeah, that’s it.” Jack turned back to his computer and began closing out the windows.
    “Um, can I ask you another forward question?”
    “Proceed.”
    “May I borrow a shirt or something? I can’t seem to find my clothes.”
    Locking his station, he rose from the chair. “Yeah, that’s my fault. I put them in the laundry. Let me get you something.”
    She stood aside and let him pass.
    After making a quick visit to his room, he returned moments later with an extra-large T-shirt and sweat pants. “There’s a closet in the bathroom where we keep the towels. You’ll find extra toiletry items, toothbrushes, deodorants, and so forth in the drawers. Take whatever you need.”
    Oriana mumbled her thanks and gazed at her feet. She inhaled, then paused, holding her breath and holding back words. So he waited. And waited. When a full minute had passed and she’d done nothing more than occasionally peer at him from beneath her lashes, he moved to return to his chair.
    Suddenly, her hand appeared on his forearm, stilling him, her fingers gently gripping, but stiff with tension.
    “Yes?” he asked.
    She slowly pulled her hand back, as if she suddenly worried that he might be offended. Uncertainty radiated off of her. “I have another request.”
    “Okay, what is it?”
    She bit her bottom lip. “Can you help me bathe?”
     
    Like an old film reel, Oriana watched the expressions flicker across Jack’s face: confusion, indecision, apprehension, suspicion.
    “Do you often ask strange men you just met to help you bathe?” he inquired dryly.
    She forced a small smile. “I didn’t know you were strange. Just how strange are you? Should I be worried?”
    His lips twitched. “That’s not what I meant.”
    “I know,” she conceded with a sigh. “I’m sorry. It’s not my intention to make you uncomfortable, and I swear I’m not trying to come on to you or anything. I know you don’t know me, and I ask that you forgive me for being so intrusive, but I am desperate for a shower. I normally wouldn’t have asked for your help, but I can’t…” Rather than try to explain further, she turned her back to him, then lowered the blanket.
    She already knew what he was seeing. She had seen it herself in the mirror when she went to the bathroom. The skin on her back and ass were mottled in various shades of black and blue.
    “My muscles are pretty stiff. I won’t be able to reach up to wash my hair or bend down to clean my legs,” she explained