Set Me Free by London Setterby Read Free Book Online Page A

added stupidly.
    Owen slung an arm around my shoulders and sat me down on the blanket too quickly for me to register my surprise. I didn’t flinch away from him the way I usually did when someone came too close to me these days. I held perfectly still, hardly breathing.
    He knelt beside me and unbuckled the ankle strap. His big, scarred hands were surprisingly gentle, sliding across my ankle and instep, making my heart patter. Without a word, he put the shoe on the blanket next to me.
    “Thanks,” I whispered, feeling incredibly silly. “I like these shoes.”
    “Got any napkins or tissues or anything?”
    “No. Just my sketchbook paper.”
    Owen dismissed this suggestion with a grunt. His hands moved to the buttons of his flannel shirt.
    “Oh, no,” I said in alarm, “you don’t have to—”
    “It’s all right,” he muttered, tugging the shirt off. His muscular arms were lightly furred with golden hair. A white undershirt stretched taut across his broad chest and shoulders.
    Good Lord.
    His cheeks flushing, he placed one hand across my thigh. With his other hand, he tied his shirt carefully around my knee. “You have no idea how you did this?”
    “No idea.”
    “You weren’t attacked by a wild animal or something?”
    “I’m pretty sure I’d remember that,” I said, with a shaky laugh.
    Owen cast me a quick, lopsided grin. “How’s that feel?”
    I knew he didn’t mean his hand, curling over the sensitive skin of my thigh, skimming the hem of my sundress. “Good.”
    “It doesn’t hurt?” He met my eyes, but I looked away, blushing.
    “No.”
    “Closest walk-in clinic is in Bellisle, about twenty minutes away. Think you can hold out ‘til then?”
    “I can’t—I mean, I’m sure I don’t need a clinic visit.”
    “You probably need stitches…”
    “No, seriously, I’ll just go home. Think I’ve got some Band-Aids.” I probably didn’t, but you never knew.
    “Don’t you live all the way across town?”
    I was surprised he knew where I lived, since it was only my second week at the house. But word got around fast on an island this small. Besides, he and Andy had been friends since high school.
    “Better come to my place.” Owen sighed. “It’s the closest thing around.”
    “Oh, no, I don’t want to impose—”
    He frowned, eyes flashing in the sunlight. “It’s the least I can do if you won’t let me take you to a doctor. Can you stand?”
    I nodded and got painfully to my feet. I could feel the cut now, and it ached more with every step. We made slow progress down the path, with Owen carrying my things for me and helping me down the steeper parts. At the base of the mountain, we reached a narrow, wooded street. It was a different street from the one I’d taken this morning, and I no longer knew quite where I was.
    Owen led me up the road to a red house with a massive attached garage. When we went in the front door, I wasn’t sure what to expect—a Viking beer hall, perhaps—but it certainly wasn’t this spotless farmhouse kitchen. I stared at the big book on French cooking on his kitchen table with a sudden, overpowering lust. He cooked , in addition to being gorgeous.
    “We should wash that up before we bandage it.” He reached for my elbow, but I jerked out of his reach involuntarily.
    What the hell was I doing in this man’s house? Especially injured and limping. No one in the world who knew where I was, apart from the two of us. I hardly knew where I was.
    My heart thumping, I looked up at Owen, expecting to see his usual gruff expression. Instead, his dark eyes were solemn and steady.
    It’s all right, I told myself. Owen was all right.
    I nodded at him to show me the way. Without a word, he led me through a tidy living room into a small bathroom. I couldn’t help noticing there were no women’s hair products or extra toothbrushes or any other signs of Jenny staying the night. Strange. Unless maybe Jenny was just as neat as he was?
    I sat down on the edge