Maximum Witch - By Jodi Redford Page 0,3

leaving him a clipped, desperate message to haul his ass over there with his medic kit pronto, Max hung up and hurried to the front door. He slowed his frantic pace just long enough to jam his feet into a pair of sneakers and snagged his key ring from its hook before barreling outside. Beeping the alarm on his Jeep, he hopped behind the wheel and powered up the engine. Heavy-metal music blared from the speakers, and he quickly flicked the volume down as he rammed the gears in reverse and roared out of the drive.

Traffic was nonexistent, making it an uneventful trip back to the spot where he’d left the woman. If you could call his heart thudding hard enough to beat a hasty exit from his chest remotely uneventful. He pulled snug to the side of the road to avoid a potential accident from oncoming motorists and jumped out of the Jeep, double-checking to ensure he spotted the sailboat mailbox in the distance. Satisfied he was in the right location, he jogged across the dunes, the dry, crispy tufts of grass snapping beneath his feet. Winded and frantic, he reached the bottom and spied the scattered footprints he’d earlier left in the sand.

His heart in his throat, he dashed toward the curtain of sea oats. He pushed them aside, and his pulse slowly eased to normal when he spotted his girl.

Surprise flickered through him. His girl. Where the hell did that come from? Grunting, he sat on his haunches and gathered her into his arms. Her head lolled back on his biceps, her damp hair sending wet rivulets down his skin, but she didn’t wake. She’d been out of it for at least thirty minutes. Was that normal? Worry once again kicking him into high gear, he clasped her to his chest and barreled up the dunes to the road and his waiting Jeep. Freeing his left hand, he tugged the rear passenger door open and bundled her onto the bench seat, carefully positioning her so she wouldn’t roll off and hit her head.

He climbed behind the wheel and stomped on the gas. Adrenaline was running rampant through his veins, making his fingers shake and his stomach clench. Somehow he kept the vehicle on the road and made record time reaching his house. Boone hadn’t shown up yet. Praying his friend wasn’t working a double at the animal clinic, Max rushed inside with the female, beelining for his room. He settled her on the bed and stared at her, suddenly uncertain what he should be doing.

His focus drifted to her waterlogged blouse and capri pants. “Shit.” Now she was lying in a big wet spot. He probably should have removed her clothes first.

“Dumbass.” Cursing his slow thinking, he unbuckled the straps on her sandals. Her ankles felt incredibly tiny in his big, clumsy hands. It occurred to him that he was spending way too much time touching her bare skin. He dropped her legs, and she bounced on the mattress. Yeah, like that’d help get her closer to dry and comfortable.

Come on, Truitt. Get your fuckin’ shit together. Growling beneath his breath, he slipped off her shoes and reached for the zipper on her pants. The metallic rasp of the teeth separating sounded inordinately loud in the room. Shifting his focus to the right so he wouldn’t be staring directly at her crotch, he tugged the soaked cotton down her legs and let the garment plop onto the carpet. Next he set to work on her top. He fumbled with the dainty shell buttons, attempting to pop them through their holes. Finally he freed each one and eased the top off her shoulders. The sides fell open, revealing a flesh-colored nylon bra. The wet transparency of the fabric made it all too easy for him to see the rosy outline of her areolas. Her nipples were puckered.

He probably shouldn’t be noticing that.

Clearing his throat, he lifted her enough to tug the shirt from her arms. After tossing the garment on top of her capris, he moved her to the other side of the mattress. Before he could stop himself, his scrutiny fell to her nearly invisible bikini and the triangular patch of glossy brown curls covering her mound.

Feeling uncomfortably like a huge pervert, he swallowed hard and shifted his focus away. He grabbed the blanket folded at the end of the bed and tucked it around her securely. Satisfied that he’d done as much as he could to