I wheeled my chair up to the bed, then maneuvered onto the edge of the mattress. He watched me through a lock of messy hair that fell over his brow, an indecipherable look in his eyes.
I motioned him over. “I didn’t think to bring my elastic leg lifter with me in the rush to get me out of L.A. So, I need you to be my leg lifter.”
He paused before me, his expression turning anxious. “Okay. What do I do?”
“First, side leg lifts. I lay on my side, and you lift my leg up until you meet resistance. Then you go a little higher and hold it for several seconds. We do this about fifteen times.”
He nodded, waiting as I kicked off my shoes and settled on my side. Today I wore leggings and a pink tunic shirt that bunched at my hips as he reached for my ankle and lifted my leg up, up, paused, then slowly lowered it. Since my leg was paralyzed on that side, I couldn’t feel him touching me, but the intimacy of what he was doing sent an unexpected wave of heat crashing over me.
I should say something to break the silence, but my tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth and I couldn’t peel it off.
His gaze focusing intently on his task, he repeated the side leg stretches fifteen times while I laid there and tried to think of something witty or interesting to say. But all I could focus on was the strength in his muscular arms, the wideness of his powerful chest, and the deep concentration on his brow that suggested he took this task very seriously.
Then, as he finished the last leg lift, a small tingle jolted down my hip and into my thigh.
My breath caught. Had I imagined that? Or was it real?
Adrik lowered my leg and looked into my eyes. “Good?”
“Yes. I mean, no. Do it again.”
He hesitated. “Once more?”
“Yes.”
He lifted my leg again, up, up, then down.
Another tiny tingle skewered down my leg.
I let out a startled gasp. “Adrik! I just felt a tingle in my leg!”
His eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yes! Do it again, please.”
Again, he lifted my leg, then slowly lowered it. A tingle exploded in my hip, skewering down into my thigh.
“My nerves are healing! Ohmygod! I’m starting to get feeling back in my leg!”
“That’s great,” he murmured, his gaze filling with delight. “Really great.” He paused. “What’s next?”
“Other side.” I rolled over to my right side, excitement building. I was getting feeling back after five months! That meant I would walk again someday. I wouldn’t be paralyzed forever. And Adrik had been the one to help me with that glorious discovery. I’d had hope before, of course, but now that hope turned into a strong belief.I will walk again.
Adrik gently lifted my left ankle, raising my leg higher, higher, then pausing, before lowering it again. This was the side I still had function and feeling in, so I felt his fingers on my leg just above my ankle sock, his skin warm and lightly callused. This time, I couldn’t ignore the intimacy of what he was doing, and a wave of heat shot straight to my core. His presence was distracting, his touch hypnotic.Hewas intoxicating.
He lifted my leg again, up, up, and down, and up and down, and all the while, I grew flushed, my mind filling with sexual exercises I’d rather be doing with him.
I didn’t know where all these erotic thoughts and feelings were coming from, but now that the dam had burst, I couldn’t plug the leak. My pulse quickened, my breaths turning shallow. I was getting turned on by Adrik—his closeness, his strength, his sexy arms, his scent, his pure masculinity—and he wasn’t even doing anything remotely sexual.
He finished the leg lifts on my left side and gently set my leg down. “What now?”
I jerked my gaze to his. And as I looked into his dark, dark eyes, I witnessed something that sent my pulse racing frantically. Something he quickly concealed by lowering his gaze.
Desire.
Flustered—because I’d just witnessed in his eyes what I was sure reflected back at him from my own—I blurted, “Knees to chest.”
Ohmygod, ohmygod, is he attracted to me too?