Page 7 of Deserving Lara
He let go of her as soon as she was on her feet but stayed near. Lara realized that he did that all the time. Stood by her side just in case she got dizzy, or wobbly, or if she panicked.
This man had definitely become her rock, and she couldn’t help but want to please him. To make sure he knew how much she valued his presence…and his advice.
Once he was sure she was steady on her feet, he turned to head toward his bedroom.
Lara’s hand shot out and she touched his arm.
Owl froze, only his head turning to look at her. Both of them understanding the importance of this moment.
It was the first time she’d ever initiated any kind of contact with him—withanyone—since she’d been rescued.
“I’m sorry about what you went through,” she said gently.
Owl’s piercing green eyes bore into her own. “Thanks.”
“And…I’ll talk to Henley.”
The relief she saw in his gaze was intense.
“Thank you,” he said again.
“Will you…” Her voice trailed off.
“Yes.”
Lara felt herself smiling, even though there was nothing funny about this conversation. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“Doesn’t matter, sweetheart. You want or need something from me, I’ll bend over backward to give it to you.”
The tingles were back.
“What if I asked you to put on a Bigfoot costume and slink through the woods, making sure to be caught by those cameras you said were out there, just to make everyone else freak out?”
The chuckle that rumbled through Owl made Lara feel as if she’d won the lottery. He was a serious man. He didn’t laugh a lot. So being the one who’d elicited that kind of reaction felt oddly amazing. It was the first time in months that she’d felt anything other than fear or worry about her own situation.
“I’m totally doing that now. I can’t wait to see Tonka’s face when he sees Bigfoot tromping around,” Owl told her.
“Well, now that the idea’s out there, I’d love to see the Bigfoot thing too. Maybe we could get two costumes and I could tromp around with you.”
“Deal,” Owl said with a smile.
The moment felt charged. Different. As if they were simply a man and a woman, rather than a broken sexual assault victim and her savior. That thought brought back the question she wanted to ask him.
“I’ll talk to Henley…but will you be there with me when I do?” she asked.
The easygoing expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a frown. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I understand if you don’t want to hear about everything that happened,” she started uncertainly.
Owl shook his head. “It’s not that. Don’teverthink that. I just want you to feel as comfortable as possible opening up to Henley, and it might be awkward if I’m there. You might not want to be as truthful.”
“Withoutyou there, I probably won’t be as willing to tell her anything at all,” Lara countered. “I feel safe with you. I don’t know Henley. I mean, I’m sure she’s wonderful, but telling a stranger everything that happened isn’t…it’s not…I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Maybe Cora would be better,” Owl hedged.
“No. Absolutely not. She’s my best friend. She’d get pissed off and want to go hunt down Carter on her own. She’s amazing and wonderful, and I know I’m the luckiest woman in the world to have her, but she’s not exactly the most calming presence.”
Owl’s lips twitched, but he stayed serious as he studied her.
