Rio took a step toward her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Diego is going to take a look at you. I thought you might like a shower first. I have a shower and a tub. Wi ~C;Fronted a bell you be okay on your own or do you need help?”
Heat singed her cheeks and for a moment her lips went numb. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? Even if she couldn’t bloody well get herself into and out of the shower, she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask him to come in with her.
“I can manage,” she said in a low voice.
“Okay, then I’ll show you to the bedroom where you’ll sleep. After you get out of the shower, Diego will check you over and by then I’ll have you something to eat. You have to be starving.”
She blinked in confusion. It had been so long since she’d eaten a normal meal that she’d forgotten what it was like. She’d lost weight and she could feel her ribs protruding against her skin. She probably looked like a damn gaunt scarecrow.
She rubbed over her slim abdomen as she stared down, almost as if expecting some sign of life from her belly. Truthfully the idea of food didn’t appeal to her at all, but she knew she should at least make the effort.
“Come on,” Rio said gently.
She let him guide her through the living room and down the hall past a series of rooms. At the end, he opened a door, flipped on the light and gestured her inside.
It was a large room. Huge, in fact. And it looked masculine. It was then she realized that this must be his room. She shook her head and took a step back.
“I can’t take your room. Surely there’s another one I can have.”
Rio smiled and shook his head. “Nope. Taken by the other guys unless you want to bunk with one of them.”
Her forehead crinkled and he laughed, making her realize her expression had reflected her horror over that idea.
“I’ll take the couch. I just need a blanket. Not even that really. The couch will feel like heaven.”
“Grace,” he said, lightly touching his finger to her lips. “Shut up. You’re staying here with me.”
Her eyes widened and her legs started to tremble.
“Don’t look so afraid. I’m going to be camping on the floor next to the bed. The others will be just down the hall. I want you to feel safe and you will be. We’re going to do all we can to make sure you’re protected.”
“You can’t sleep on the floor,” she fretted. She pulled up her hands to wring them. Somehow the image of him lying on the floor while she slept in such wonderful comfort made her feel guilty. He was already doing so much for her.
Rio smiled again. “Honey, the floor of my house is far superior to a lot of the places I’ve slept in the past. I have some pretty damn fine linens. A down comforter and a few down pillows and I’ll think I’m staying at a five-star hotel. Now stop arguing with me and get into the shower. I’m sending Diego in after half an hour, so if you don’t want him seeing what he shouldn’t, you need to hurry it up. I’ll be in right behind him with food.”
Her eyes watered suspiciously and she swiped at one with the back of her hand. A hand that was dirty and shaking.
“And don’t you dare cry on me either,” he warned. “A woman who’s survived all you’ve survived doesn’t cry. She holds her head up and dares the world around her to f**k with her.”
Her lips trembled upward into a smile, but his gentle reproach just made her want to cry all the more.
To her surprise, he gently gathered her in his arms and hugged her. His big arms surrounded her and his chest was a soliestbed. Td wall of support. He held her there, smoothing a hand up and down her back to comfort her.
“It’s going to be okay, Grace.”
Such simple words and yet so powerful. Full of promise and encouragement. She hadn’t realized just how badly she needed them. She closed her eyes and rested her head just below his chin. Then she carefully slid her arms around his waist and pressed herself more fully against him, enjoying the comfort of another’s touch.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He ran his fingers through her hair and then gently pulled away, his hand still stroking her hair away from her face. “Go on now. Get cleaned up and feeling human again. I’ll put out something for you to wear.”
What she wanted to do most was to lean back into his arms and wallow in the warmth and comfort of his embrace. She was starved for touch. Affection. Human contact that wasn’t forced on her.
She missed her sister, and here, standing in front of this man who’d hugged her, she felt the loss of her sibling more keenly than ever before.
“You say you promised Shea,” she said huskily. “So you know her. You’ve seen her and talked to her. How is she? Is she safe?”
Rio’s eyes softened and he once again touched her as if he knew just how much she craved it. “How about I promise to tell you all about it once you’ve been tended to and had something to eat. Better yet, we’ll talk over dinner.”
Grace nodded and slowly turned toward the bathroom. She fumbled for the light switch and trudged inside. She barely took in the gorgeous bathroom. All she wanted was a shower and bed. She spared a glance at the huge tub but decided it would take too long.
She leaned into the large shower stall, turned on the water as hot as she could stand it and then stepped back to strip out of her tattered clothing.
She looked like something out of the zombie apocalypse.