Page 18 of Unbroken

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he headed out to the living room. Not bothering to look through the peephole, he threw the door open—and froze.

Maya’s bright blue eyes greeted him on the other side.

They dropped to his chest, then lower, before jumping up to meet his again. He couldn’t help his body’s reaction to her. Unspoken desire for the woman standing in front of him made every cell in his body tense.

“Maya.” His voice was harsher than he intended when he spoke. “What are you doing here?”

Her mouth dropped open a fraction, then snapped shut. She gave her head a single tiny shake.

“I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”

She whirled around before he could say another word and started to stride away.

“Maya!”

He moved before he even realized what he was doing, reaching out and wrapping one hand around her wrist.

With a gasp, Maya yanked herself from his hold. She stumbled under the motion, eyes wide with terror.

He froze, wanting to reach for her but knowing it would only make things worse.

He stood there, feeling frustrated and helpless.

Maya had pulled completely into herself the second he’d touched her, and her chest rose and fell on unsteady breaths as she rested against the wall behind her.

“I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t nearly enough. He never should have grabbed her the way he did, especially not from behind.

In retrospect, he saw it clearly. But at the time, all he’d been able to think about was not letting her walk out of his life again.

Now he’d probably ruined whatever semblance of trust she’d felt with him.

“I…”

What?

He knew it was wrong—he knew it was—but that didn’t stop him from spilling the words on his tongue.

“Please don’t go.”

Those giant eyes of hers met his, and she blinked once. Twice.

They were no longer filled with fear, and for that he was grateful.

Her arms were tightly wrapped around her middle, though, an obvious sign of her nervousness. Not wanting to spook her, he stayed silent and waited for her to open up to him.

She had come to him.

Why?

As if reading his thoughts, Maya’s gaze skittered away and her teeth cut into her bottom lip.

“I didn’t know where else to go.”

He couldn’t begin to understand what was going through her mind at the moment, but he didn’t want to push her one way or the other. Grasping the knot of his towel with one hand, he leaned back against the doorjamb and studied her.

“My door is always open.”