“Please don’t leave my Louboutins.” I can’t believe I say that and blush at the frivolous-sounding comment. “It’s just they’re a birthday gift from my mom.”
His eyes soften at my admission.
Instead of pulling me up, he bends down and lifts me into his arms. “Oh! The dress. I came to give it to Braden for Willow.” I point to the garment on the ground that, thank goodness, is covered in clear plastic.
“I’ll send Nikki back out to grab it.” He starts toward the building, his hard body acting as a shield, protecting me from harm.
Not to mention, I inhale how good he smells, my face near his cheek, my hands laced around his neck, as he strides through the clinic entrance.
***
Hudson
I hold Bri close to my chest, my heart pounding out a rapid beat as I bring her inside.
I’d been doing paperwork in one of the back offices when the front receptionist called me to check out what was happening in the parking lot. It isn’t a shock to see Jimmy harassing people for money. The man never means any harm, and I don’t believe him to be violent, but seeing Bri on the ground knocked the wind out of me.
Ignoring the arousing coconut scent of her hair tickling my nose and the feel of her supple body curling against me, I stop at Nikki’s desk. “Can you please grab the dress that fell outside? Jimmy was giving her a hard time, and she scraped her hands.”
“Of course!” Nikki jumps up to head outside, and I walk into a treatment room and place Bri on the examination table.
Though reluctant to release her, I settle her and step back, looking her over from head to toe. Her dark hair falls around her shoulders, stray strands covering her cheeks.
I already know her hands are in rough shape, but I’m not sure about the rest of her. “Talk to me. Are you okay?”
She nods. “I don’t even know what happened. I went to give him money, he grabbed for my bag, and next thing I knew, I was on the ground.” She extends her hands, palms up. “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”
I glance at the abrasions and gravel stuck in the skin. “I’m afraid so, but I’ll do my best to be gentle.”
“I grew up keeping up with four brothers. I’ve had plenty of scrapes, and I can take it.”
I laugh at her serious expression. “I know you can. Let me get everything I’ll need, and we’ll get you cleaned up. Does anything else hurt?”
“Other than my ego?” She grins and shakes her head. “My hip took the brunt of the fall, too, but I think I’ll just have a nasty bruise. Nothing that needs treatment.”
She rubs her right side, but I know better than to ask her to lift her short skirt for a look. If I see what kind of panties she wears beneath, I’ll be hard as a rock, and she’ll notice. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to hide my desire for Braden’s sister, but more than once, my best friend has called me out on it.
“Ice it tonight and tomorrow. Twenty minutes on, twenty off. And if it gets worse, we’ll get you X-rayed,” I say of her hip.
I open the cabinets and remove items to irrigate the wound, clean out the gravel, put antibiotic ointment on, and wrap her hands in sterile gauze to keep bacteria out and prevent infection. Then I get to work, icing the area to numb it as best I can, cleaning and using a tweezer, carefully removing pieces of gravel.
Though she is stoic, I feel every wince and sharp intake of breath when I hurt her and am grateful when I finally soothe the area with Neosporin and wrap her palms down to her wrists in order to secure the area.
After I clean up, I walk back over to where she sits, long, tanned legs dangling from the table, her precious black pumps with red soles tempting me. Fuck-me heels if I’ve ever seen a pair, and considering my mother’s taste and the fact that I come from money, I am familiar with the cost of those heels. Sexy, they have me envisioning Bri’s legs wrapped around my waist, ankles crossed at my back, as I fuck her hard and deep.
I run a hand over my face as if I can wipe away the erotic vision and remind myself she is my best friend’s sister. His twin. And though I have a hunch Braden will be okay with me dating his sister as long as my intentions are good, if things go bad, I’ll lose not only my good buddy but a family I’ve grown to love. One I need because my father, in New York, is a selfish prickwho likes to make demands and pull strings, more so since my older brother, Evan, passed away suddenly last year due to an aneurysm that couldn’t have been detected or prevented.
But there is no denying the woman on the exam table tempts me anyway. “How do you feel?” I ask.
“I won’t lie. It’s uncomfortable, but I’ll be fine.” Her forced smile does little to convince me she isn’t in more pain than she admits.
“Don’t lie to me. I know it hurts, but the best I can offer is Extra-Strength Tylenol or ibuprofen.”
She nods. “If you have some, I’ll take it now, please.”
I leave the room to get the pills and some water and return, watching her take the meds. She puts the empty cup behind her. “Thank you, Hudson. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”
“I’ve never known Jimmy to be violent, but he took things too far.” I step closer and grasp her uninjured wrists in my hands, ending up between her spread thighs. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
