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Her eyebrows rose. “A word of caution from you? When you’ve done nothing but tease and torment me since the moment I met you?”

“Tease and torment?” He snorted. “Honey, you have no idea.” He pressed the sopping swab to the cut. She cried out and tore away.

“Jeez, Ethan. That hurts.”

“Sorry.” He dropped the now red pad into the trash can and inched closer to her.

“I need to have a good look at this, so hold still.” He brought his hands to her head and tilted it so the light hit the area of the gash.

The cut ran vertically along her hairline, from below her temple to where her ear started.

Shit. It was deep, but she might be able to get away without stitches.

“Is it bad?”

“It’s pretty deep. Do you know how you got it?”

“My head hit the window when my car hit the tree.”

“And it didn’t knock you out?”

She brought her fingers to the spot. “No. I was in too much of a hurry to get away.”

Adrenaline. His hands dropped to her bare shoulders, debris littered the thin material of her tank top. He scooped a lock of her hair in his hand, and found tiny pieces of glass tangled in the strands.

“You need to wash up. You have glass in your hair.”

Her lips parted. She took the strands from him and looked down. The blood drained from her face. Her hand shook as she picked out the pieces.

“Hey, you’re okay. It’s just glass.” He spoke softly and slowly.

She nodded wildly, but didn’t look at him. He took her elbows in his hands and hauled her to her feet. Her eyes shot to his face, mist hovered in her dark lashes. She dropped her face to his chest, her hands fisted between them.

His heart wrenched in his chest. He closed his arms around her and pressed one hand to the back of her head, the other to the small of her back. She trembled against him. Her teeth chattered.

Sonofabitch, she was probably still in shock.

He reached over and cranked the hot water on.

He lifted her in his arms and set her on her feet in the shower, then stepped in with her.

Steam billowed around them. He pulled the curtain shut and backed her up under the hot spray.

Carefully, he shook his hand through the strands of her hair, freeing the glass.

“Don’t move, I don’t want you to step on glass,” he whispered in her ear. She said nothing, her shoulders twitched against him. After a few minutes, she pulled away. Her eyes focused, her lips tense.

“Sorry. The glass freaked me out, I don’t know…”

He cupped her jaw. “You don’t need to apologize.”

Her lashes lowered to rest on her cheeks. She sniffled, the sound so soft and vulnerable coming from her.

His thumb moved to the bruise on her lip, gently stroking.

She lifted her gaze. Heat seared from her green orbs. She rose up on her tiptoes, which still left the top of her head below his chin. Her hand reached around to the back of his neck, her lips met his, warm and moist.

His body tightened and his nerve endings sizzled. His hand at her back pressed her into him, crushing her pelvis to his. His dick grew hard, pressing against the tight confines of his shorts. Her tongue glided through his teeth, wet and slick.

A growl rattled in his throat as he angled her head back, allowing him deep access to her mouth.

Her teeth grazed his tongue as he delved into her.

Christ. She moved out of his hold to grab the hem of her soaking wet shirt and pulled it over her head.

Her fingers found the snap of her shorts and she shuffled them down her legs, revealing her soft pink panties and bra.

The breath left his lungs. His hands grasped her hips, her palms landed on his chest.

“Now you,” she wheezed.

He groaned. God, he loved this side of her. Hot, ready, and so damn sexy he could barely keep his thoughts straight. But she’d just been in an accident, and no matter how much he wanted to see where this moment went, he couldn’t risk her getting hurt.

His fingers flexed on her cheek. “Afraid not, honey. Let’s get you taken care of and fed, all right?” Every male atom in his body begged for her to refuse, for her to insist.

Instead, her eyes grew small and she made an audible swallow. “You’re right. I just…”

“Need a distraction?” he offered.

A smile touched her lips and she shook her head. “You’re more than that.”

He chuckled, god he liked hearing those words from her.

But what did it mean? Something arced between them, and had the moment he’d laid eyes on her when he pulled up to the house he rented more than two weeks ago.

Sleeping with her now would create all kinds of chaos and at the worst, would put that damn armor back around her and a brick wall between them.

He threaded his fingers back into her hair and worked out the rest of the glass. “I think you’re all clear now. Why don’t you finish and I’ll heat up some food?”

She nodded, but her hand went to the back of his neck, stopping him. “Thank you,” she whispered. Her lips sealed over his, wet from the water that coursed over her cheeks.

The faint tinge of saltiness tickled his senses.

His muscles pulsed with the force of an electric current, his fingers ached to touch her, to peel away her wet bra, to drag his tongue over her skin and taste her.

Her fingers curled into his sopping wet shirt and ever so slowly, she broke their connection and lowered to her feet.

He cleared his throat. “Don’t mention it.

” He stepped out of the shower, secured the curtain closed, and peeled off his wet clothes, leaving his boxers on.

He strode to the bedroom, his erection strained against the soaked, thin material, causing a deep ache and emptiness inside him.

He tossed his clothes in the laundry room, and then scrubbed his hands over his face as he retraced his steps to the bedroom for dry clothes.

Riley was going to be the death of him.