I'll drive you home

Damien slipped off his jacket and swung it over the shoulders of the shivering woman standing next to him. The temperature had dropped, but he suspected her tremors were due to adrenaline more than anything. One of the cops had asked them to stand on the sidewalk near Damien’s car until he could take their statements.

“Oh, I’m okay,” she said, trying to pull the jacket off to hand it back.

Damien laid his hands over hers, stopping her. “Keep it on, you’re shivering.”

“But you’ll get cold,” she protested.

He raised a brow. “Your comfort comes first.”

Her forehead twisted into a frown. “Why?”

Damien had only just met her and already she stirred his protective instincts. There was something about having a woman lean on him that filled an empty place inside him, that made him want to be stronger, a better person.

Slightly built, she seemed delicate and yet he could see the strength in her. She hadn’t panicked when she’d come across the accident.

He studied her with a frown. The street light they were standing under pierced the darkness, allowing him a better view. Large eyes stared up from a thin, pale face. Dark, curly hair surrounded her head, giving her an almost pixie-like appearance. She was so tiny, she barely reached the middle of his chest.

How to answer her without sounding like a complete Neanderthal? Had she been Lila or one of the submissives from Club Obsidian, he wouldn’t have had to explain himself; they’d have understood his need to look out for them.

“Just part of the good manners my mum drummed into me, love. You wouldn’t have her ashamed of me by handing my jacket back, would you?”

His explanation seemed to work as she snuggled deeper into his jacket. He liked the idea that his scent surrounded her, marking her.

Bloody hell, what was he thinking? He didn’t even know her name.

“I’m Jessa, by the way,” she said, holding out one hand while trying to keep the jacket on her with the other.

He took her hand in his, holding it for a long moment. “Damien. It’s nice to meet you, Jessa.”

“You too.” She gave him a puzzled smile as she tugged her hand free.

Damien glanced around, trying to find something to distract himself from his growing attraction to Jessa. The EMTs were loading the driver into the ambulance.

The same policeman who had asked them to wait broke away from his colleagues and walked toward them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, pulling out a pad and a pen. “I’m Officer Mast. If I could just get a statement from both of you, along with your names and addresses.”

“Is the driver going to be okay?” Jessa asked in a quiet voice.

“I believe so, ma’am,” the officer answered. “Looks like she banged her head, she’ll be bruised and sore for a while, but she should be fine.”

“She’s bloody lucky, driving around in a sardine can like that,” Damien muttered with a frown, thinking about how small it was to his sister-in-law’s car, and how he had never been happy with Nora driving it.

“An expensive sardine can,” the officer commented, nodding in agreement. “They’ve taken her to the hospital, so we just need to piece together what happened. Is that your vehicle?” He nodded over at Damien’s car.

“Yes, it’s mine. I’m afraid I didn’t see the accident, however. By the time I pulled up, the car was already on its roof.”

“And you, miss? Were you in the car as well?”

“No, I was walking past and saw the accident.”

“Okay, I’m going to call a colleague over to take your statement, miss. Joe,” he called out. “Come over here, will you?”

“Is that okay with you?” Damien asked Jessa as the two policemen spoke to each other. “I can stay with you if you’d rather.” He wouldn’t leave her if she was feeling vulnerable or afraid.

She stared up at him for a long moment. “You’re an interesting man, Damien. I have a feeling your wife must be a lucky woman.”

“I’m not married,” he replied. “Do you need to call anyone? They could come and get you.”

Jessa shook her head. “No. There’s no one to call.” A look of sadness crossed her face before disappearing.

How did someone as beautiful and sweet as Jessa not have anyone worrying over her? Damien opened his mouth to question her when the officers returned and split them up.

As he was answering Officer Mast’s questions, Damien kept an eye on Jessa. She had her arms folded around her body defensively, and she couldn’t seem to meet the officer’s gaze. There was something odd going on, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Right. Thanks, Mr Ashdown. I think we have everything we need, but we’ll get back to you if we need anything else.” Damien nodded to the officer who became distracted as a van pulled up.

“Didn’t take them long,” the cop muttered, turning away to intercept the people jumping out of the van, one of them carrying a news camera. What the hell? He turned and strode toward Jessa.

Jessa could scarcely believe that she’d just lied to the police, giving them a false name and contact details. But what other choice did she have? She couldn’t give them her real name. Nor did she want to tell them that she was homeless. That the reason she’d been first on the scene was because she’d been sleeping in a doorway across the street.

She needed to get out of here. Now.

“Are we finished now?” she asked.

“Yes. Thank you. We’ll be in touch if we need more.”

Jessa nodded, trying not to look guilty as she felt. Did he know she was lying? Did he notice that she couldn’t meet his gaze?

“Jessa, are you okay?” She jumped, whirling to meet Damien’s worried eyes.

“Ahh, yes, I’m fine.” She glanced over to find a man pointing the news camera their way. “I’d really like to leave, though.”

Damien glanced around. “Where’s your car? I’ll walk you to it.”

“Excuse me, Sir, Ma’am, did you see the crash? Did you speak to Cece? How badly hurt was she?”

Damien turned to frown at the man rushing toward them. A shorter man, carrying the camera, followed quickly behind him.

“Cece? The singer?” Jessa said surprised. “Wow. I didn’t even recognize her.”

“I’m with Channel 7. Can we interview you?”

Jessa quickly turned her face away, toward Damien. He placed his arm around her, pulling her tight against him. Immediately she felt safer.

“Unfortunately, we have to get going.”

As though sensing her discomfort, Damien ran his hand up and down her back, soothing her.

“Come on, love.”

Jessa kept her face turned to his chest as he steered her away and toward his car. He had an arm around her, sheltering her.

“Where is your car?”

“Umm, I don’t have one.”

“Then how did you get here?” he asked, stopping by his car and turning her to face him.

“I was walking.”

He stared down at her for a long moment and she had to force herself not to squirm.

“Walking around alone at night isn’t safe, Jessa,” he scolded. Wow, he was good. She had to bite back an apology.

“You’re not my father, you know.”

“Sounds like you could use one.” He opened the passenger door. “Hop in, I’ll drive you home.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” she said. “I can walk…” she trailed off at the stern look on his face. “Or maybe not.”

She climbed in the car.