CHAPTER 16
“You don’t have to do this. I can manage.” Ali wobbled as she got out of Keaton’s car.
He placed his arm around her for support. Support she needed thanks to her not-so-graceful tumble outside the restaurant. They were saying goodbye and she’d hugged him, turned, and tripped over her own feet, landing face-first on the sidewalk. On impact, she thought that her palm and knee had taken the brunt of the fall, but when she attempted to stand up she realized very quickly that she’d twisted her ankle on the way down.
She didn’t have her car since she’d walked to work that morning and had gone directly from work to Santino’s, so Keaton had insisted on driving her home.
As she hobbled up the path to the house and leaned into Keaton’s strength, she waited to feel something. Anything. A spark of attraction. A tingle of excitement. A shudder of arousal. But there was nothing.
His smile made her feel calm and his support made her feel nothing.
Not that she’d want to date Keaton even if that wasn’t the case. It would be complicated with KJ being his student. But, her body obviously didn’t discern between what was complicated or not. If it did, she’d feel the same way about Kade that she felt about Keaton.
“Thanks, again.” She balanced on one foot as she dug in her bag for her keys.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go and get that checked out?” Keaton asked for the dozenth time.
“I’m good. I’m going to ice it and it’ll be good as new.” She hoped.
She hadn’t heard a snap or pop when she fell, so she was fairly certain that she hadn’t broken it. But it was hurting like a sonofabitch.
As she jangled her purse hoping to hear her keys, the door opened. Kade stood before them looking like a modern-day warrior ready for battle. His hands were taped, and his sweats were hanging low on his waist. His T-shirt was damp, clinging to his skin.
“Hey.” She managed to croak past the tightness in her throat. “I was just lookin—”
“What happened?” he cut her off, his voice was low and menacing.
The intensity in both his stare and question felt like a physical blow. It knocked the wind out of her and her answer came in a breathy exhale. “I fell.”
Kade reached out and gently held her hand so he could see her palm. His touch was featherlight. As the roughened pads of his fingers brushed her sensitive skin tingles spread from head to toe. Her heart pounded wildly as she watched him study her scrapes and tenderly turn her wrist. A moment ago all she could think about was her throbbing ankle; now another part of her body was throbbing and demanding her attention.
“Okay, well. It looks like you’re in good hands.” Keaton slowly dropped his arm from her waist, giving her time to gain her balance.
“Thanks, again,” she said as she clutched Kade’s forearm. “For everything.”
“No problem. See you guys later.” He smiled and she saw the disappointment in his eyes as he left Kade and Ali on the porch.
She watched him leave and wished things were different. He was a good guy. He was smart, funny, attractive, successful, and in ridiculous shape. He was going to make some woman very happy one day. She just wasn’t that woman and today wasn’t that day.
Before she’d even turned around, she was being lifted off the ground as Kade swooped her up in his arms.
“What are you doing?” she gasped as her arms wrapped around his neck.
He didn’t answer her, just stalked into the house. He shut the door behind them and carried her into the kitchen. Her breaths were coming in shallow pants as she clung to his neck. Being in his arms, smelling the musky scent, feeling his heart pounding against her ribs, seized her with overwhelming stimulation. Every cell in Ali’s body came to life with awareness. She felt more alive than she had in a very long time.
Warning bells sounded in her head. A caution sign flashed. Danger: Falling Deeper In Love Ahead.
Without a word, he sat her on the counter and turned on the faucet. Even through the cotton of her dress, the tile counter top was cold beneath her thighs and a shiver ran through her. He tested the water before placing her hand beneath it.
This entire scene was playing out like one of her McKnight-in-Shining-Armor fantasies. In one he rescued her from drowning and gave her mouth to mouth on the shore which leads to them making love beneath a blanket of stars. In another he saves her from a burning building, risking his own life to bring her to safety where they make passionate love on a blanket of soft grass.
But those were different. One because she was in actual peril in them but also because those scenarios were safe. They’d been in her imagination. In reality, giving up control, letting him “rescue” her, was a lot scarier. This might just be him cleaning her up but emotionally she felt like she was relenting power. Power that she needed to survive so she could save herself when he wasn’t around.
Needing to take some control back, Ali snatched her hand away “I’m fine. Thanks.”
He didn’t react. Instead, he ripped off his hand wraps and reached above the fridge and grabbed the first aid kit and hydrogen peroxide. He made quick work of dousing her cuts before blowing on her sensitive skin. His breath was cool but it caused her entire body to burst into flames of hot lust.
Ali watched as he covered her injury with Neosporin and placed a large bandage over it with a gentle touch. Then, without asking permission he lifted the hem of her dress up and the material bunched on her bare thighs. She sucked in a startled breath feeling exposed as he bent and examined her knee and ankle.