Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
She raised her gaze to mine, and the desire in her eyes changed the clear blue depths into a stormy hurricane. My heart quickened, and, without taking my gaze from hers, I slowly peeled off my shirt, hearing a small gasp escape her lips.
Her eyes widening, she quickly pointed to my shoulder. “Whoa… your shoulder’s bruised. That looks painful.” We both knew she was trying to distract herself. A moment later, however, her gaze wandered from the bruise to roam over my chest again.
Her lips parted. “Damn.” She swallowed, still staring.
Was she going to start drooling?
Coming to her senses, she snapped her lips shut, and swallowed again before shaking her head. Without meeting my gaze, she motioned with her hand. “Uh… you’d better turn around and let me take a look at your back. That’s where the blood was coming from.”
A primitive wave of anticipation sent tingles skating over my skin, and I could hardly wait to feel her fingers on my bare back. I turned, closing my eyes as her feather-light touch brushed my skin. It was easy to imagine what her bare breasts would feel like pressed against my back while her hands roamed my chest.
I breathed in her scent, grateful she couldn’t see my face… or that I was getting hard under my jeans. Her hands roamed over my back, pausing at the smaller cuts and bruises.
“It looks like you got thrashed pretty good, but I don’t think you need stitches on any of these cuts. I’ll clean up the biggest one and put some antiseptic on it before I bandage it.”
Opening my eyes, I caught her vivid-blue gaze in the mirror. Shit, the mirror. Was it too much to hope she hadn’t seen how much I enjoyed her touch? Holding back a groan, I fought the sudden urge to throw self-restraint to the wind and pull her against me.
She was seriously messing with my control. “Fine, just hurry it up.” My voice came out gruffer than I intended, but her nearness made me want to know her in all the sexiest ways.
She huffed and got to work, wetting down a piece of gauze and wiping the wound. I held still, leaning over the sink with my head down so she couldn’t see my face, while she applied the gel.
Once she’d taped the bandage on, she pulled back. “That should do it.”
“Thanks.” A little calmer now, I turned to face her, not bothering to reach for my shirt. I wanted to make her feel as crazy as I did. Her eyes darkened, and I couldn’t resist teasing her. “See anything else that needs a bandage?” Just as I’d hoped, her gaze roamed over me. Her hand rose to touch my bruised shoulder, and I held my breath in anticipation.
At the last moment, she dropped it to her side and stepped back, flustered and red-faced. “Uh… I’ll wait in your office while you put your shirt on.”
She’d have to pass me, first, and I wasn’t ready to let her go. “Do you think I need an ice-pack for my shoulder?”
“Uh… yeah. That’s a good idea.” Her brows drew together and she shook her head. “What happened, anyway?”
I raised an eyebrow. “A bomb. Did you think I made that up?”
“No, but how did the bomb get there? How did you get there?”
Smirking, I pushed through a burst of pain in my head. There wasn’t any reason to keep her in the dark. “A contact messaged me and said he was in trouble, so I went to help.”
“And?”
I tilted my head and let out a slow breath. Maybe asking me all these questions while I was half naked was a turn-on for her. Liking that idea, I leaned towards her to see how she’d react. Her eyes widened, but she held her ground.
“He was meeting someone in a condemned office building and told me he needed backup. It wasn’t far, so I went.”
“And that didn’t seem unusual to you?” Her brow quirked.
“Nope.” Mouth twisting, I shook my head. “The meeting was supposed to be in an office on the top floor, but when I got there, it was empty.” My jaw tightened, intensifying the ache in my head. I needed some pain killers. “I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t know how wrong until I heard the ticking. I barely had enough time to duck behind an old desk before the bomb went off.”
“Oh my gosh.” Her eyes widened. “You’re lucky the bomb-maker used a timer.”
“No kidding.” I grimaced.
“So the blast did all of this?” She gestured to my chest and shoulder.
“Hardly. Let’s just say the fire escape was a little rickety.”
“Jeez.” Her soft lips pursed, drawing my gaze to them. “No wonder you’re so beat up.” Her fingers skimmed across a bruise on my chest, and my skin rippled under her touch. Gasping, she snatched her hand away. “Sorry…. I was just wondering about broken ribs. I’ll go find that ice pack.”