“Muscle cramp?”she asked in a neutral tone.
“It will get better in a minute.”
She glanced at Emily, who was still napping less than twenty feet away.Then she studied Paul’s face.Beneath the suntan, he looked pale.His mouth made a grim line of discomfort.He wasn’t even trying to massage the shoulder.It hurt too much.
Vanessa didn’t wait for permission.She knelt behind Paul and placed her right hand on his collarbone, left on his deltoid.His shoulder muscle made a hard, quivering knot under his skin.With her thumbs, she kneaded the affected area.Her touch was firm, but gentle.She increased the pressure steadily and listened to his ragged breaths.
After a few moments, the spasm eased and the knot loosened.He made a grunting sound, and his spine slumped with relief.She patted his back in sympathy and moved to sit beside him.She angled her body so she had a clear view of Emily, but she didn’t leave.No matter how difficult the circumstances were, or how ornery the patient, she enjoyed her work.She’d assisted grumpier men than him.
“Thank you,” he said in a formal tone.
“Don’t mention it.”
“That was magic.”
“It was basic PT,” she said, though she appreciated the compliment.“You shouldn’t be swimming in deep water.”
“Noted,” he said.
“You’re working too hard.”
He didn’t disagree, so she dropped the subject.Paul struck her as a type-A person who didn’t like to slow down or show weakness.He would do himself more harm, and prolong his recovery, if he continued to overwork the healing muscles.Instead of pointing this out, she stayed quiet.They shared a companionable silence.
The cool dip had enlivened her senses.She was aware of the sun on her head, her wet hair dripping down her back, and the sandy earth beneath her bottom.It all felt bold and bright, like summer, like life.Paul’s presence beside her added an extra thrill.
He wasn’t dull; she’d give him that.
She decided she didn’t hate him.She couldn’t hate a man who played dirty Scrabble and told her daughter silly stories.Plus, he looked fantastic without a shirt.She wanted to peel away more of his layers, to discover the secrets beneath.
“My dad shot someone not too long ago,” she said.“There was a hostage situation at the Crazy Horse Saloon.”
Paul’s brows rose.“Your father was involved in that?”
“Yep.”
“I read about it.”
“The whole thing started because this guy found out his wife was having an affair.She was a barmaid at the Crazy Horse.Her husband came in with a firearm, barricaded himself inside with her, and wouldn’t come out.”She glanced sideways at Paul, who was listening intently.“Guess who she was sleeping with?”
“Your father?”
She made a gun shape with her hand and pointed it at him.“Bingo.”
He smiled at her then, a real smile that devastated her senses.There was nothing funny about her father’s philandering, or hostage situations.Paul’s expression was more of a wry acknowledgment of the vagaries of life.
Vanessa smiled back at him, a little sadly.She felt the pull of attraction between them, stronger than ever.The color had returned to his face.His eyes were a calm gray-blue.Not glacial, as they’d been before.The ice in them had thawed.
She hadn’t forgotten what he’d said before his swim, however.He didn’t want to see her?That was fine.She glanced at Emily, who hadn’t roused.
“Did the guy live?”he asked.
“Yes,” she said, studying his physique.“The bullet went through his shoulder.It was a flesh wound.Like yours.”
Paul didn’t use this opportunity to share details about his own injury.She found his reticence intriguing.Most men bragged about scars and close calls with danger in an attempt to pump up their masculinity.Paul remained silent on the issue.He seemed reluctant to talk about himself, but in no hurry to leave.His gaze lowered to her lips and lingered there.She moistened them reflexively, realizing how close they were.She’d leaned into him as she spoke, and he must have done the same.Their mouths were inches apart.It was as if an invisible thread had tugged her forward.Her pulse throbbed with desire.She wanted to drift closer, until their lips met.He seemed to want that, too.
He dipped his head to kiss her.
Vanessa hadn’t expected the move, but it felt natural, inevitable.Her entire body tingled with sensation as his mouth brushed hers.His lips were softer and gentler than she’d anticipated.His touch was surprisingly chaste.He tasted cool and clean, like lake water and natural elements.She thought he might end the kiss this way—a sweet nothing, quick and meaningless.Then his hand curled around the nape of her neck, her lips parted for his tongue, and the kiss turned from innocent to carnal in about three seconds.
