He snorted and shook his head. “I’ll never understand, but I don’t think I’ll get tired of watching either.”
“Stop. I’m in a wet suit, and I’m about to put on a show if you don’t watch your mouth.”
He laughed again and tipped my chin up for one more kiss. “Can I drag you away now, or do you want a little while longer?”
Peeling away my rash guard, I dropped it on my board. “I’m very done. I stayed out longer than I should have. Kent’s gonna have my balls in a vise.”
He slung his arm around my neck, not caring that he was getting wet. “Let’s get going, then, before he finds a reason to blame me too.”
Creek took care of dinner while I showered. He put together a dinner Tameron had made. It smelled heavenly when I crutched into the kitchen. I’d all but forgotten how much of an appetite I worked up when I was out in the water.
Creek gave me an appreciative, slow up-and-down before setting my plate at the table, and I dropped my crutches to the side before immediately digging in. It was a simple lemon pepper chicken pasta, but in that moment, it was the second-best thing I’d ever put in my mouth.
The first was sitting across from me.
Creek blushed like he could read my mind. “So. How bad is it?”
I frowned.
“Your leg,” he clarified.
“Oh.” I ran my hand over the end of my stump. It was tender but no worse than after a long day at work. “I thought it was going to be bad, but I think it’s okay. Ask me again tomorrow.”
Creek chuckled as he took a long swallow of his water. “Felt good, though?”
I polished off my plate in record time, then sat back and stretched my arms behind my head. “It was amazing. I had no idea how badly I needed that. I’m still afraid Kent’s going to rip me a new asshole if I push it, but I think it’ll still be worth it.”
Creek rolled his eyes as he pushed his plate away. “You mean the guy who’s taking you on a motorcycle trip?”
Ah, and there was that anxiety again. My fingers trembled a bit, and I hid them under the table. “That’s different. He’ll be there to mother-hen me the whole time.”
I was trying for a joke, but Creek’s eyes were narrowed on me, and I knew then he hadn’t missed my little burst of panic. “Baby,” he said very softly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He answered me with a silent, flat look.
In two seconds, I cracked. “I’m afraid. I’m afraid the universe was trying to tell me that riding a motorcycle is a bad idea, and if I do this, it’s going to happen again.”
He made a soft noise, then stood up and held both hands to me. “Come on. Get your crutches.”
I obeyed, following him through the living room and into the bedroom. The sight of my bed was welcome to my aching muscles, and he carefully took the crutches off me, then bustled me beneath the comforter before he began to peel away his clothes. In moments, he was down to his boxers, which felt a little off-balance since I was still in sweats, but he fixed that a second later by peeling away my pants and then going for the hem of my shirt.
He trailed kisses up my torso as he flung the shirt behind him, then stepped back to roll down the sleeve of his prosthesis. His stump released with a slight pop, and he groaned softly before pressing his knee to the bed and crawling forward.
“What’s happening?” I asked, knowing full well but wanting to hear it.
He grinned widely. “I have a surprise for you.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. I tugged him into a kiss as he settled his sizable thighs over mine. He kissed me back with deep, lush pushes of his tongue. God, I could get lost in his kisses for the rest of my life and die content that way.
“Darlin’,” he said softly. “Do me a favor and lie on your stomach.” I waggled my brows at him in spite of the fact that I wasn’t even sure I could have sex. Every muscle in my body was overworked. He just snorted and cuffed me on the bicep. “Not for that.”
I was intrigued. Rolling over, I felt him slip off the bed as I starfished over the cool sheets, and a moment later, he was back. His weight jostled me, and then I felt him sling his leg over my thighs and settle against me.
“Honey,” I started.
“Hush up and enjoy.” There was the sound of metal scraping glass, like a lid twisting off a jar. Then, there was the smell of something like eucalyptus and lavender. I sucked in a breath, then let it out on a heavy groan when his powerful hands began to knead my muscles.
