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He pushed his way into my room and laid me down on top of my covers. He turned on the light next to my bed, sat down near my feet, and slipped off my shoes. His warm hands carefully inspected my ankle. “I’m sure it’s just a twist. It should be fine by morning, but you should probably stay off of it overnight.” His thumb continued to massage the balls of my feet, soothing away the ache that had accumulated throughout the long day. Why did he have to be so damn sweet? He made it so hard to resist him. I couldn’t stop the groan of pleasure his touch caused. Humiliated beyond belief by my actions, I flung my arm across my eyes and pulled my legs away. “I’m sorry to be a bother. Thank you for your help, but you can go. I’ll be fine on my own.”

I heard him sigh and felt him rise from the bed, relieved to know that he had listened to me.So why did I feel so lonely and empty?

“What do you sleep in?” His voice came from across the room, and I heard a drawer open and close.

“Wh . . . what?” Startled, I sat up quickly. “What are you doing?” Even to my ears my voice sounded squeaky.

“I said you needed to stay off your foot, and you can’t stay dressed in that all night.” He seemed so nonchalant.

I watched dumbfounded as he opened another drawer that happened to hold my underwear. “You can’t just go through my things like that!” I said to his back as he rummaged through my things.

“Why not? Afraid I’ll find something naughty?” He turned to face me with a huge grin on his face. “Like these?” He twirled a bright red thong around on his index finger.

“Put those back, Tyler!” I’m sure my face turned as red as the underwear he held. He winked at me. “Don’t be embarrassed, Jen. It’s only right to cover that beautiful body of yours with something equally sexy.”

My angry response stuttered to a halt at his words. He thought I was beautiful and sexy? Tyler confused me. Our relationship was built on a rocky foundation of snippy comments to each other. The past few months we’d strengthened it through a genuine care and concern for our mutual friends and had declared an unofficial ceasefire to the swipes. He’d shown me kindness and hints of sweetness, but these words caught me off guard. Were these the kind of comments he made to friends? I’d been wooed by fancy words before, and I couldn’t stop the claw of uncertainty that threatened to rip down the fragile walls I’d put in place to keep me from going down that dark road again.

Oblivious to my turmoil, he dropped my panties back into the drawer and pulled out a dark plum colored nightie. I dug my toes into the carpet and fidgeted with the bed covers.Why did that have to be on top? Where is the plain cotton pajama set when I need it?Not that his selection was anything risqué despite the silky material and lace that embellished the chest, but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted a man I didn’t know intimately to see, either. I simply loved the feel of the slick material next to my skin and the way it moved easily under the covers. Grinning, he brought it over to me.

“Want some help changing out of your clothes?” He might as well have been the Cheshire cat.

“I can take care of myself,” I exclaimed and snatched the wisp of material out of his hands.

He laughed, appearing to enjoy having the upper hand in teasing me. “Oh, how well I know you can. You should probably take something for your foot. I’ll get you some water, and then find you some pain medicine.” He left the room. Moving slowly to make sure I didn’t fall again, I stood up next to my bed. I was careful not to put much weight on my injured ankle and only wobbled a bit, but enough to cause me to swear an oath about my stupidity. I dropped the lingerie on the bed and reached behind my back to unzip my dress, but the damn thing seemed to be stuck. Out of nowhere, warm hands pushed mine out of the way. I froze, but seeing no alternative choice, I slowly lowered my arms and desperately tried not to react to his hands as they slid the zipper down the center of my back, stopping just above the swell of my ass. It might have been my imagination, but I thought his hands lingered an extra few seconds before he took a step back.

“Relax, kitten. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”

His words reminded me of his biggest flaw. Holding my dress in the front so it didn’t just fall off, I whirled toward him. “And that’s exactly why you don’t get to seemygoods,” I hissed. “I won’t become just another warm body to you.”

His eyes narrowed at me, making them look dark and angry. “I meant as a doctor. But don’t worry.” He held his hands up as if in surrender. “I’ve read you loud and clear from the time we met. You want me to be hands off? Fine. But don’t go sniffing and climbing me like I’m your next meal when I try to help you.”

My cheeks burned at his comment, and I wished I could hide my face in the covers behind me. What was wrong with me? Had I hurt his feelings?Of course, you idiot. You’re sending out so many mixed signals tonight it’s a wonder he hasn’t dropped you on your ass and gotten the hell out of here.In response to his kindness, I’d thrown myself at him then accusedhimof being slutty. “You’re right, Tyler. I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

He smiled slightly. “It’s been a long and emotional day.” He hesitated but picked up the purple slip. He pulled it over my head, and once I had my arms safely through the straps and pulled down over my chest, I let go of my dress and felt it slither to the floor. I reached up to pull out the pins that held my hair up in an elegant twist. I heard Tyler make a groan-like noise. I looked at him and saw him staring at my legs. The silky material only came to mid-thigh, and with my arms raised, the material had stretched upward to expose the lace at the top of my thigh-high stockings. Other than nightwear, the one other extravagance I splurged on for myself was pretty undergarments. I didn’t care that almost no one else ever saw them. They just made me feel pretty and special, something no person was able to do, so I permitted myself this indulgence. Apparently, Tyler wasn’t as immune as he’d led me to believe.

“See something you like, Dr. Cranston?” I teased as I rolled the hosiery down and off each leg.

He cleared his throat and moved his eyes away from my legs and focused on my face. “I always have, Miss Mitchell,” he answered.

I stared at him with my mouth half open. He did it again—stopped me dead in my tracks and rendered me speechless. He turned back toward the door and retrieved the glass of water he’d left on my dresser and put it on the table next to my bed. He pulled down the covers and looked at me expectantly. Not having any ideas of what else to say or do, I climbed in. I smiled as he tucked the covers around me. I think the last time someone cared for me like this was my father tucking me in as a little girl.

“Thanks for taking care of me tonight. I’m sorry I was such a bother,” I apologized. “I’m not usually so clumsy or emotional. I guess I was caught up in the celebration, and now it’s over, and I’m just so happy for Kayla and . . .” My rambling explanation came to an end when he leaned forward and brushed a kiss across my forehead.

“It’s no problem, Jen. I’m glad I could help a friend out.”

And there was the defining word. Friend. Had Tyler felt our growing attraction toward each other? Was he setting up his own walls? I certainly couldn’t blame him.

“Do you have some pain reliever? It will help with the pain and minimize any potential swelling.”

“Is that the doctor in you speaking?”

“He only confirms what your friend is telling you.”

There was that word again.Okay, Tyler. Message received. If you hadn’t reset the boundary, I would have.

Wouldn’t I?

“There’s some Tylenol in that drawer,” I answered, using my elbow to indicate the table beside my bed.