The most handsome man ever

After that, it was a series of police officers coming in to ask questions, and the greatest news I'd ever had was given to me. That woman had been taken. According to them, she would be tested for mental issues. If positive, she would be locked in a mental facility forever or until she's healed.

By evening, I was done with all the meetings. The always-smiling nurse showed up with dinner, the same way she did with breakfast and lunch, and I asked the same question I'd asked all morning. 

“Where was the man who brought me here?”

They had told me he stepped out to take a smoke when I woke up, and I wondered how long that smoke would take, forever, possibly.

She smiled. “He'll be back. We haven't seen him since he left. He paid for your meals and promised to return after taking a smoke.” She placed my drink in front of me. “Eat up. The doctor will be here shortly to check on you.”

I nodded and ate my food dutifully. For the first time since Dad died, I was finally being treated like a human. No one was screaming at me, no shoes were being thrown at me and I didn't have to hide in that cramped space anymore, just to escape her wrath. 

This place was like being on a holiday, one I hoped wouldn't end. 

I didn't get to meet the kind man that day, though. I slept after being checked by the doctor. 

....

Murmured words woke me up from a blissful sleep. For the first time in a freaking long time, I didn't have a nightmare. I didn't dream of being chased through a wood by my mother. 

“How is she?” A strangely familiar voice asked. His voice was warm, like a blanket and fire during a blizzard. I felt compelled to rise, just to seek the warmth, to burrow in it, and sleep forever. It didn't sound like a bad way to die.

“She's doing better than we expected. Her mental health is strong,” the nurse who had been taking care of my meals responded.

“Great.”

I peeked and opened my eye, just to see the man, to know who it was that had such a strong warm voice. My eyes started from the shoes, black dress shoes polished to perfection, up muscular legs clad in black slacks to massive shoulders covered in a white linen shirt. The fine, almost sheer, linen shirt clung to biceps as big as his thighs.

I gulped, feeling my face heat, and my breathing pick up. 

What the fuck is going on with me?

Why did I get the urge to jump down from the bed and into his arms, to beg him to take me home?

Confused about my thoughts and trying to make sense of what I was feeling, I chanced a glance at the stranger's face. My heart slammed hard against my ribcage at the sight of the most handsome man I'd ever laid my eyes on. His eyes, the colour of the sky before a storm, the type that promised so many wicked things, seemed to stare back at me. 

I let out a gasp at being caught staring, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from the utterly masculine beauty in front of me.

Pitch-black hair feathered his forehead but didn’t in the slightest soften his features. While his voice promised a sanctuary, one I couldn't always seek refuge in, his eyes and features promised something else. Something that made my stomach flip.

I just didn't understand why I felt tingles all over my body, and why my pussy seemed to clench. I'd never experienced something like this, and I would have checked if I was okay down there if I were alone. 

I couldn't do that not. Not in the presence of this devilishly handsome man. 

“You're awake,” he said, his features softening as he smiled. My stomach tightened, and my nipples seemed to harden.

What the hell is going on with my body?!

Why was I feeling odd when I'd never felt this way before?

Smiling, the nurse got to me faster than he did. I let out a disappointed sigh when she helped me sit up.

“Are you my saviour?” I asked the man who was now standing next to my bed, too close to the nurse for my liking. I didn't like him close to anyone who's not me. 

“Saviour? Is that what you called me?” He teased, still smiling. My heart continued to somersault, and my stomach joined the same game.

“I…” I blushed and averted my gaze. God. Why was I getting affected? Being this close to him, it felt like my heart might leap out of my chest.

“I'm Azeem,” he said, stretching his hand for a shake. “It's a pleasure to meet you….”

“Nina,” I answered, taking his hand while trying not to blush harder than would be considered normal. The second our fingers touched, I felt an electric zap. Had he not held my hand tight, I would have taken it back in shock.

“Nina?” The name sounded like sin coming from his mouth. “I'm glad you're okay,” he continued, sitting on the bed. 

The space instantly felt crowded. 

The nurse still stood, smiling, and I wondered if her cheeks didn't hurt. But most importantly, I wondered what she was still doing here. 

“So, do you have any other relatives aside from your mother? Your ID said you're still a teen —”

“I turned eighteen two months ago,” I responded with a bite, not knowing why I felt offended at being called a teen. Was it because it made me sound like a small kid instead of a young lady?

He raised his palms in mock surrender. “I apologise if that made you feel bad. It's my fault for not calculating the years well. I was just… Well, let's start afresh. Do you have a relative you can stay with until you get back on your feet?”

I shook my head. “No, I don't have.”

He looked shocked at the response. “You don't?”

"Aside from my abusive mother, that is. My dad is late.”