Genevieve’s first instinct was to deny his claim, but then she studied him closely. His color was up, and he sat a lot easier now than he had at first. Part of his motivation was no doubt the desire to get away from the dreaded bedpan and her assistance with things like brushing his teeth, but he probably could make it on his own.
She felt equal amounts of satisfaction and sadness. The quicker he healed, the faster he would walk out of her life. He was fun and funny, and he had slipped right under her guard. “Okay, you win. Let’s give it a try. Here, let me take off your bandage first.”
She peeled it off him, pleased to see the wound’s edges coming together nicely. The various scratches and bruises were almost nonexistent now, the bump on his head slightly visible. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn he’d been convalescing for a few weeks.
“What are you thinking?”
“That I’m pretty freakin’ awesome.”
He laughed and tested his arm’s health with a slight rotation. “I’ll second that. Now, scoot, I’m going to see if your awesomeness extends to my being able to walk.”
With a minimum of assistance, he pushed his body off the bed and stood. When he was upright, his chest and legs did all sorts of muscular things that didn’t happen prone. “I need to find you some clothes.”
“It’s so warm in here, I’d think you could walk around naked in the dead of winter and not feel a thing.”
Nice thought. “My mom made sure the cabin was well-insulated.”
He staggered a bit before he straightened and raised a hand to keep Genevieve from helping. The determined expression on his face told her he wanted to try to do this on his own. “I’m okay. Just caught me by surprise. Point me to this shower of yours.”
He walked stiffly and she was sure it wasn’t as easy as he tried to pretend. She led him to the back door and couldn’t resist laying a hand upon his arm when he entered. He didn’t protest the support since he was too busy looking around. “A sunroom? Was this added on to the structure? The front looks older.”
She nodded and looked around the large room with its one wall of glass and comfortable chairs and furnishings facing the light. “Right before I was born. The bathroom too.” She gestured to the wooden door to the right and smiled. “Mom said she didn’t want her baby growing up with an outhouse.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure that’s a sentiment most parents share. This room’s really pretty. If I were you, I’d live out here.”
Genevieve shrugged. “Sometimes I do.” She led him to the bathroom and started the shower. When she turned around, he was leaning against the vanity for support. His boxers were at his feet and she was treated to one hell of a full frontal.
Her face flushed, and he looked amused. “Sorry. You’ve been touching me for days. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
He’d been wearing something all this time though, whether it was boxers or a sheet. Plus, he’d been lying down. A bolt of lust arrowed through her. Genevieve had to fight to keep her eyes from skimming over his rangy legs, taut abs, long, thick…
“Get in the shower.” She ignored his chuckle. Everything reminded her of sex all of a sudden, the showerhead, the mirror above the vanity, his big fingers as he grasped the shower wall for support. As he turned, she received the best present she’d ever gotten—her first look at the world’s finest ass. Hard and carved out of muscle, they were two perfect globes of sexy, droplets of water from the shower dripping down to crest over the brown skin.
“Genevieve?”
“Hunh?”
His cheeks flexed, and the spell was broken. She looked up to find him grinning at her over his shoulder. “You want to touch?”
No, she wanted to bite. Nom, nom. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Here, let me adjust that nozzle spray for you.” Without getting into the tiny cubicle, she stretched up so the water slicked over his head instead of his abdomen. A bit of the water ran down her arm, but she didn’t care too much.
He made a low utterance of pleasure as the water cascaded over his hair, plastering the short strands to his skull. Genevieve tried to shake off her spell and leave, but he caught her gaze. “Can you help me soap up?”
Argh. Was he trying to come up with ways to drive her mad? However, the suggestion made sense. What if he fell? What if his marvelous ass got just a wittle bit bruised? No, let his ass remain in her hands. “Sure.” She grabbed the bar with such enthusiasm it almost slipped through her fingers.
“Do you want to take your clothes off and come inside so they don’t get wet?” His tone was so innocent, had she not become accustomed to the naughty sparkle in his eyes over the past couple of days, she might have been fooled.
“I’ll manage.” Genevieve set the soap on the vanity, rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and picked up her shampoo bottle. “Let me do your hair first.” Safer.
Or so she thought. The coarse strands were practically begging for her to linger, though she kept her motions brisk while she washed and rinsed his hair.
Once that was done, she worked the soap into a rich lather and started at his shoulders as he braced himself on the shower wall. Had she not been touching him, she would have missed the fine tremors of strain running through his body. Not for the first time, she was impressed by his strength of will.
Just as she had seen his body before, she had certainly touched it as well, but this time felt different. Perhaps it was the slickness of his flesh beneath her palms, or the steam the shower generated, but by the time she had reached his ass, her touch had shifted from caring nurse to exploring lover.
When she knelt outside the small shower stall to wash the backs of his knees, her panties were already well on their way to soaked, her heartbeat accelerated. The water that splashed onto her didn’t matter; she welcomed it as a reminder to keep her head in reality. She finished and took a deep breath, trying to speak past the need in her throat. “Turn around.”
He turned, took one look at her kneeling at his feet and leaned back against the tiled wall. “Get up. Please.”
