“I’m pretty sure you’ve gotten all the blood off,” Trevor said from above her.
She jerked her hands away as if he were on fire. Which, she guessed, he kind of was. Because she was definitely going to get burned if she kept playing this game. And he definitely hadn’t missed her unprofessional grope fest.
She didn’t dare look up at him as she took out a handful of sterile pads and a roll of gauze bandage from her first aid kit. Knowing she was probably blushing furiously, she kept her head down and focused on wrapping the stretchy gauze tightly around his ribs. But focusing was harder to do than she imagined, because she was getting turned on as hell. She was more aroused than she’d been in a really really long time.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She’d never been the kind of woman to go all gaga over a guy, no matter how hot his abs happened to be. Yet here she was in front of her partner, telling herself it wasn’t okay to hump his leg or yank open his belt buckle.
She determinedly forced her hormones back under control. Thankfully, Trevor had no idea what he was doing to her. She would have been mortified if he’d known how turned on she was.
Alina finished the wrap, then added some surgical tape to keep everything in place. Whether she wanted to or not, it was time to stand up and look her partner in the eye.
“I think we’re good here,” she said softly as she rose to her feet.
Trevor stood there, barely a foot of space between them, his naked chest and shoulders so close that it was hard not reaching out and touching them. His dark eyes were thoughtful, and Alina waited for him to say something snarky…or teasing.
He didn’t do either of those things. Instead, he stepped a little closer so all those spectacular chest muscles were mere millimeters away from her breasts.
“We certainly are good here, aren’t we?” he said, his voice warm and smooth, like melted chocolate, almost making her melt in return.
Alina’s breath hitched. Trevor was going to kiss her. Just like he had back in that club in Baltimore. Except this time, there wasn’t anything to interrupt them.
Chapter 8
Alina didn’t care that kissing her partner was crazy. Telling the tiny rational voice in the back of her head urging her to be cautious to shut the hell up, she placed one hand on that beautiful chest of his, licked her lips, and prepared to meet his lips head-on.
Then the door to her apartment opened, immediately followed by the sounds of running doggy feet.
Trevor had already stepped back a few inches by the time Molly rounded the corner and raced into the kitchen in her exuberant fashion. Catching sight of Trevor, she stopped cold with the oddest expression Alina had ever seen on her dog’s furry face.
“You decent in there?”
Kathy came around the corner…and stopped cold with the oddest expression Alina had ever seen on her friend’s nonfurry face.
“O-kay, apparently not,” Kathy said after a few moments, one brow arched high as she took in Trevor’s naked chest, Alina’s sexy dress, the bandages around his torso, and the scant distance between the two of them.
“Should I come back later?” she asked coyly. “Like in the morning, with two cups of coffee and a box of doughnuts?”
Alina forced out a laugh. “Very funny, Kathy. But it’s not like that.”
Kathy nodded slowly, still looking pointedly at her. “No?”
“No,” Alina insisted. “Trevor got a little nicked up while we were working tonight, and I was applying some first aid.”
“Uh-huh,” Kathy said, giving her a knowing look.
That was when Alina realized her hand was still resting casually—even possessively—against Trevor’s chest. Refusing to let her friend see her squirm, she slowly took her hand away from all that muscle.
“You two have obviously figured this part out, but to make it official, Kathy, this is my new partner, Trevor Maxwell. Trevor, this is my best friend, neighbor, and long-term dog sitter, Kathy McGee.”
“That’s Kathy with a K,” her friend said, not even trying to hide the fact that she was blatantly ogling his naked upper body as she stepped forward to shake his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you finally. I’ve heard a lot about you. Though I must admit, in the stories Alina told me, you were fully clothed.”
“Kathy!” Alina said. “Are you trying to embarrass me to death in front of my partner?”
Her friend held up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I’m just having a little fun. Sheesh. Remember, I work from home, so I don’t get a chance to see half-dressed men that often.”
