Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

“Thank you for telling me about the baby. I was afraid to ask and no one thought to tell me. They only told me about my head, my leg, a million other injuries, and . . .” She trailed off and stared up at the ceiling, blinking, tears welling in her eyes.
    “Andrew,” he supplied gently. “I’m sorry, Emma. We both have to live with what happened. And we both have babies to raise by ourselves.” He flashed a small smile. “I have the feeling you’ll be much better at the parenting part of it than I will.”
    “You’ll be a good father,” she reassured him absently. “Don’t worry so much.” How in the world was she going to take care of a baby?
    Jake picked up Emma’s hand from where it lay quietly under his, his thumb moving along the back of it. His touch was achingly familiar. “Have they said when you can get out of here?”
    Emma shook her head. “Where would I go?” The thought of her apartment, her home with Andrew, was too much for her to contemplate. She couldn’t face going back to their home and trying to pack up Andy’s things.
    “We’ll deal with it later, when you’re feeling stronger,” he assured. “I called my lawyer and asked him to look into insurance for you and a settlement of some sort. I hope you don’t mind, but I at least wanted to get the ball rolling for you. I know you don’t want to think about money, but it will be important when you have the baby.”
    Emma lifted her lashes, allowing her gaze to drift over his face. There was something about him that haunted her, commanded her, drew her like a magnet when she wanted to be left alone, to simply disappear. No one else compelled her as he did. She could simply go inside her mind and stay there, not face life without her beloved Andy. But once this man entered the room, he seemed to steal her will.
    She knew him. The memory of him nagged at her, yet she couldn’t place him.
    She could remember the events leading up to the accident, sitting in the car, so excited, the news of her pregnancy on the tip of her tongue. But she was holding back, determined to wait until they were at the restaurant and she could see Andy’s expression, watch his eyes and his mouth when she revealed they were going to have their first child. He’d died without ever knowing. She hated that. Her gaze flicked again to Jake’s face.
    She didn’t remember the crash. She remembered after, when there was pain and fire and Jake staring at her, stopping her from following Andy. His eyes fascinated her, pulled at her, a predator searching for prey. His focused stare made her uncomfortable, yet in some strange way comforted her. Maybe if her head ever stopped throbbing and the doctors backed off the pain medication she could think more clearly, but right now his personality was too strong and she couldn’t think.
    “How do I know you? I can’t recall that we’ve ever met, but when I look into your eyes, I feel like I know you.”
    “I’m the man who pulled you out of the car.” He looked down and withdrew his hand from hers to rub at his temples, as if he had the same headache she did. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to your husband. The fire was everywhere.”
    She saw burns on his hands and her heart jumped. She reached out and caught his wrists, turning the scorched palms over. “Is this from pulling me out of the car?”
    Jake drew back, something inside him shaken from the touch of fingers on his skin. It wasn’t sexual.
    He responded to women in a sexual way as a rule and he didn’t mind relating to them in a physical way. He controlled women easily when they had a mutual attraction, but this was something altogether different and he didn’t trust the feeling at all. “Yes.” His voice came out gruffer than he intended.
    She let out a small sigh. “I’m sorry you were hurt.”
    “Emma,” Jake said softly, “what matters is that you and the baby are safe.” He regretted pulling away from her when she’d voluntarily reached out to him.
    Chelsey popped her head in the door. “You need anything, Emma?” she asked, but her gaze devoured Jake.
    Emma’s face closed down, her eyes going vague. When she didn’t respond, Chelsey frowned and looked at Jake. He rose and patted Emma’s limp hand.
    “I’ll get you a few things from your apartment, Emma,” he said deliberately. “I’ll be back this evening.” He nodded toward the hallway and Chelsey followed him out. “I’ll need her key and the address,” he told the