Page 21 of Mac (Demented Souls #7)

B y the time Mac steered the motorcycle down their street, Elyse's butt and thighs had gone numb. They'd ached for a while when they'd first gotten back on the road, but after a while, the pain had stopped, and she hadn't given them much thought.

Mac pulled into his driveway and eased to a stop in front of the garage door before killing the engine.

"Thanks again for taking me with you." Elyse stood on the pegs her feet had been resting on.

Her thighs screamed and didn't want to move but did, slowly.

It took her a second, but she managed to swing one leg over the back of the bike and nearly fell but managed to brace herself on Mac's shoulders before she lost her balance.

Once she made it off the ride, she tugged her helmet off and shook her hair back into place as she handed him the helmet.

She needed to get home before the ache in her legs became too much and he saw the tears she knew would be falling soon.

"I enjoyed having you along."

She turned and started for her place.

"Wait, are you all right?"

Elyse nodded, not trusting her voice.

"You sure?"

She bit the insides of her lips to keep small sounds of pain from escaping as she continued. Before she knew he'd moved, Mac swept her up into his arms. Surprised by the move, she let out a sharp squeal.

"No, you're not all right. Let me help you get inside.

Where are your keys?" He held her with an ease she had a hard time believing but picked up the purse she'd worn slung across her body all day and unclipped the keys that hung tucked inside.

They got to the door and he held her so she could unlock it then carried her inside.

"What you need is a hot bath, that will help more than anything.

Do you have any Epsom salts?" He carried her into the bathroom and set her down on the edge of the tub.

"Under the sink." Her face heated when he opened the cabinet and revealed the boxes of feminine products sitting beside the bag of Epsom salts. He didn't say a word, just grabbed the bag and brought it back to the tub where he turned on the water and dropped several large handfuls of the crystals.

"Where do you keep your towels? I'll make sure you're all set then I'll leave you to get in and soak away some of your aches."

Elyse pointed to the cabinet at the end of the tub. Mac pulled a pair of towels from the shelf and set them where she could reach them.

"There, I think you're all set. I'll leave you to get in on your own. Where's your phone?"

She pulled it from the pocket of her jacket and held it up.

"Good. Call if you need anything. Do you want me to stay here or leave you alone and go home? Stay in the house in case you need help, I mean."

"I think I'm good." Heat rose up her face, but she hoped it was just steam from the filling tub. "Thank you though."

"You'll call if you need help?"

Elyse looked away. She didn't want him to see how embarrassed she was. She had been hoping to invite him in when they returned home, but not like this. She hated needing help and hated him having to carry her in. More than anything she hated having to ask for help.

Two fingers on her chin lifted her face until her gaze met his, it was hard and held more steel than she'd ever seen from him. The look sent a shiver up her back, but she did her best to keep him from seeing it.

"Promise me you'll call if you need help or I'll sit in your living room until you're through in here to make sure you get out okay."

She scowled, making sure he had no doubt how unhappy she was with his ultimatum.

"Fine," she bit the word off between clenched teeth.

"I promise to call if I need help." She would crawl into her bedroom before she'd call him for help, but she knew better than to say that.

She'd never get rid of him. Elyse stared back at his hard, gray eyes, which couldn't be more than a foot away at the moment and knew there was no doubt how angry she was.

Mac stared back for several seconds before releasing her chin and stepping back and watching her a moment longer, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Something tells me you'd have to be lying on the floor bleeding out before you'd call anyone for help."

Elyse kept her mouth shut. He was more right than she wanted to admit.

"I think I'll just go sit on the front porch, with the door open and the screen closed, just in case."

"In case what?" She tried to keep her mouth shut but her smart tongue just wouldn't be contained sometimes. "I have a hard time withmy panties?" The question came out more biting than she'd planned but she wouldn't take it back. Not now.

Mac took a deep breath and pushed it out in a rush.

"I'm worried you might have trouble walking, even after a good soak. I don't want to leave you stranded or hurting."

It was her turn to sigh. Some of the anger fled with the exhaled breath. She'd assumed he was being overbearing and bossy. It hadn't even occurredto her he was just trying to take care of her, to make sure she was all right.

"All right. you win." She took another deep breath and tried again. "I will call if I need help, but I don't think I will. I think after I rest a while, sitting on a surface that isn't vibrating and making half my body numb, I'll be fine."

"You'll really call if you need anything?"

"I can't without your number." Elyse lifted her phone from where it had been resting on her lap. Mac took it and dialed. A moment later hard rock music came from somewhere inside his vest, then stopped. He handed her phone back.

"There, now you have it. You might want to save it though."

She glanced at the phone and set it on top of the towels he'd gotten out earlier. She'd save the number later.

"I will."

"Can I get you anything else before I go?"

Elyse stared down at her hands a moment, then looked back up at him. "I can't think of anything. Thank you for asking though."

"But you'll call if you need anything?"

"I will. I promise." The anger and animosity from earlier gone.

He watched her a moment, then backed away."You need to sit in that hot water for at least half an hour, an hour would be better, less and it won't do as much good."

Elyse nodded.

"You going to be okay getting out of those boots?" He gave her feet a pointed look.

"Yeah. They zip. They're a breeze to get off." She tilted one foot to the side to show him the zipper up the inside of the ankle.

"All right, I'll leave you to bathe. Remember to call if you need anything.

and I do mean anything." He pulled the door closed as he left, a moment later she heard her front door close and some of the stiffness went out of her back.

She leaned over and turned off the water running into the nearly full tub, then pushed herself to her feet and bit her bottom lip to keep from whimpering as she braced herself on the wall.

Once she was sure she wouldn't fall, she released the wall and started stripping out of her clothes.

First, she stripped out of her jacket, hanging it on the back of the bathroom door before unbuttoning her jeans and pushing them, and her underwear, down to her knees.

Now that the hard part was done, she sat back down on the edge of the tub and tackled her boots, unzipping them both then toeing them off.

Once her boots were gone, she could push her jeans the rest of the way off, then she peeled out of her shirt and bra.

Finally, naked, she swung her legs over the edge of the tub and lowered herself into the steaming water. She couldn't stop the sigh of relief that escaped, and she didn't even try.

Elyse sighed and let her head fall back against the edge of the tub as the heat seeped into her muscles and started to let them relax.

Over the next few minutes, she tried to think of anything else as her muscles twitched and throbbed as feeling returned to her lower limbs.

She bit her lip again and fought tears at the pins and needles sensation that made her want to scream but forced herself to breathe slowly through it.

The last thing she wanted was for Mac to possibly hear her and come thundering back in here.

After about a minute, the sensation passed.

Elyse kept her eyes closed and forced herself to remain still and slowly, she relaxed.

S he didn't know how much time had passed when she woke up, but her bath water had lost most of its warmth.

After pulling the plug, she stood and set her phone aside so she could pick up a towel.

Shedried off then wrapped the towel around herself and made her way into her bedroom in search of clothes.

Even the soft friction of her thighs rubbing against each other made her hiss at the unexpected sting.

Pulling a pair of soft cotton shorts from the drawer, she tugged them up her legs.

The cloth was cool and surprisingly soothing.

After adding an oversized hoodie to complete the outfit, Elyse picked up her phone and padded into the kitchen for something to drink.

The way she felt tonight, and her nap in the tub, she suspected it would take a drink or three before she would be able to sleep tonight, and since she had work tomorrow, she needed to get some sleep.

Luckily, she kept a bottle of Pinot Noir in the fridge for just such an occasion.

Yeah, she knew it wasn't supposed to be served that cold, but that was how she liked it, so she poured a glass and took it into the living room with her.

She stood a moment staring at the dark TV, trying to decide if she might be better off reading, but decided she was more likely to end up with what she called a book hangover if she did.

No, the TV was just the mindlessness she needed.

So she picked up the remote, set her wine next to her favorite chair and plopped down to find something to watch.