He took the same care with her knee that he had with her palm. When the bandage was in place, he turned his attention to her ankle. When he reached to touch it she instinctively moved it away. Her hand and knee were one thing, those were flesh wounds. Her ankle was another.
His eyes lifted to meet hers.
“It hurts,” she explained.
A cocky grin tilted on his lips. “I told you, I’d never touch anything I don’t know I can fix.”
“Do cheesy lines like that actually work for you?” Sarcasm dripped from her and she hoped it concealed the fact that very intimate parts of her body were screaming that they needed to be fixed.
His smirk grew wider as he began examining her ankle. “I don’t need lines.”
She let out a small huff of false disgust to disguise her impulse to agree with him. His ego was big enough without her stroking it. Besides, if she were going to stroke anything, it wouldn’t be his ego. That thought had her palm tingling and it wasn’t from the antibiotic ointment. It was from the image of her holding his heavy shaft in her hand, squeezing her fingers around it and pumping him until he…
“It’s just a sprain.” His diagnosis brought her back to reality.
She cleared her throat. “Thanks, Dr. Kade.”
He filled the sink with water and ice before one of his large palms rested on her hip and he shifted her body so he could place her foot in it. Then he went to the fridge and grabbed her a can of soda and handed her two ibuprofen tablets. He cleaned up the Band-Aid wrappers and put the first-aid kit back together before returning it to its home above the fridge.
“Stay there,” he instructed gruffly before walking out of the room.
She did as he asked because hopping down might hurt and she wanted to see how this played out. Having Kade’s undivided attention was not a bad way to end the day and watching him play doctor was going to give her plenty of inspiration for new rescue fantasies.
He returned with an Ace bandage and after gingerly drying off her foot and calf with a dish towel, he wrapped her ankle. “You need to elevate it when you sleep and stay off of it as much as possible. Ice it a couple times a day and keep it wrapped.”
Ali saluted him, trying to tease him and relieve some of the sexual tension she was feeling. “Yes, sir.”
It backfired. His emerald stare darkened, increasing the tension. “Damn, I had no idea a sprained ankle would make you agreeable.”
“You like a yes woman, huh?” She knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care. At this point she was burning up anyway.
“I like you,” he said with a serious tone that caused her chest to expand and her breath to catch.
Kade was standing in front of her, his hands resting on either side of her thighs as he stared into her eyes. No part of him was touching any part of her but she felt trapped. The walls of arousal were closing in on her causing her to feel the now familiar claustrophobia.
“Well, I think I’m good now. Thanks.” She carefully placed her hands on the edge of the counter to hop down but when she lifted her hips a searing pain shot through her left palm. Her butt landed back on the tile counter as she hissed through her teeth.
Kade lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her Band-Aid. She wasn’t even certain that she actually felt it through the bandage, or if seeing it tricked her mind into thinking she did. But whatever the case, she felt it. Everywhere.
She sucked in a shaky breath as he moved his mouth so that he kissed the outline of her Band-Aid. His lips brushed against the sensitive skin of her wrist and she trembled under his attention.
“Better?” he asked when he’d covered the entire area.
Unable to speak, Ali nodded. She didn’t know why she was going down this road with him. She just knew that she was, and there was no getting off the path now that she’d started.
The energy between them was crackling with electricity Ali was sure had to be visible to the naked eye. Kade stood in front of her staring at her with a look of tenderness, possession, and desire. He wanted her. She was sure of it. She’d never been more sure of anything in her life.
“Is there anywhere else that you need me to kiss and make better?” He asked in a low, raspy voice.
The challenge in his tone was evident.
The absolute sureness in his voice, even when asking a question, sent a tremor running through her. Maybe “tremor” wasn’t the right word to describe it. Earthquake. Yeah. This was The Big One.
He lowered her hand and lifted his arms, softly brushing her hair back off of her shoulders, causing goosebumps to rise all over her exposed skin. He stepped between her knees, parting them as he did. He was standing so close to her now that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. She could feel his breath fan her shoulder as he asked, “Does it hurt here?”
Her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear the blood rushing to her head. She nodded once and felt his lips touch her bare skin. He then gently planted kisses on her neck and along the ridge of her shoulder. When she felt his teeth nip at the area just below her ear, her inner muscles clenched.
He moved his hand lower, grazing her collarbone. “What about here? Does this hurt?”