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She called out, “Those are for you, if you’d like to hose off.” He smiled.
A few minutes later, he emerged, rosy from the hot water, and wearing baggy shorts and a t-shirt. He dropped his bag and leg next to the front door.
Antony walked over to the couch. On the table in front of him was a huge mug of coffee, steam rising off it in lazy swirls. Next to it was a couple of ibuprofen on a saucer.
“So, you know many amputees?” he asked.
Lesley continued whisking the eggs. “Yeah. My cousin. I watched Hollie go through her surgery and recovery and learning how to walk. Most people don’t even know she’s a double when they see her.”
“How old were you? Rather, how old was she?”
She smiled. “We’re actually a day apart in age.” She thought for a moment. “We were four when she had the surgery. She had some genetic thing. Bones didn’t develop correctly.”
“I saw kids that age racing all over the place when I was in rehab,” Antony said. He released the catches on the crutch and set it next to the couch, stretching his leg out and flexing the knee. “They are better adapted to this kind of change.”
“You seem to have managed just fine,” Lesley said.
Antony nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been lucky.” He unconsciously rubbed a scar further up his leg. “The damage was pretty extensive, but it was mostly contained to my foot and around the ankle bone, so they had a lot of area to work with. I’m a good healer, too, was up and walking on crutches in a few days.”
Lesley came over and looked down at him, focusing on his leg. No pity showed on her face, only calm observation. “Doesn’t look too bad,” she said. “Little red and puffy, but no sores.” She laid her hand down on his stump and he jumped a little. Her hand felt warm and soft, and he didn’t want her to move, ever.
He shook his head and answered roughly. “No, it’s not too bad. Thanks, though. It’ll be fine soon.”
She leaned down and quickly brushed her lips over his before going back to the kitchen to finish breakfast.
The woman could cook. She made a quesadilla, something Antony had never thought of as a breakfast food. He’d been wrong. She covered half of it in green sauce and the other half in red. He still didn’t know which one he liked better.
As he pushed the plate away, he groaned. “I’m done. Tapping out. Damn, woman, that was amazing.”
She beamed at him happily. “I’m glad you like it. I needed some chile this morning.”
“I’ve missed it. We used to get it in Seminole all the time, being so close to New Mexico,” he said, closing his eyes and leaning back and pulling her to him. She’d stoked the fire back up, and between the full belly and the warmth, it wasn’t long before he was out again.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Antony woke to soft kisses working up his jaw. The warm hand on his chest was sliding up toward his neck, pressing slightly.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, tightening his arm around her. “I keep falling asleep on you.”
“I’m not,” she whispered against his neck. The little puff of breath was warm. “But you were snoring.”
“Was not,” he said, gripping her with both of his arms and turning toward her. She balanced herself against his turn and instead moved her way further on top of him. She threw one leg over his thighs.
“Just a little,” she said, grinning.
Antony shifted his weight back to balance her on his lap. Her face was level with his and she lowered her lips, brushing them against his before settling in. He let her set the pace, and she took things slowly. He wrapped his arms loosely around her, running one hand up and down her lower back. She buried her fingers in his hair, which he kept just at the edge of regulations. He scooted his hand under the edge of her hoodie, stroking the soft skin around her waistband. She responded by moving a little against him and deepening their kiss.
When she raked her nails over his scalp, he made a noise low in his throat and moved his other hand down her hip to cup her ass. She ground against him, and he dug his fingers into her flesh, adjusting her to fully straddle him.
Lesley had worked her fingers down to his waist and she was moving her hands underneath, skimming along his skin before grabbing the hem of his shirt and dragging it up. Antony leaned forward to help, and once she got it over his head, she flung it onto the floor behind him.
She leaned forward and ran her teeth lightly over his shoulder to the base of his neck and further up. Her mouth was at his ear, and her breathing was fast. He felt the tip of her tongue touch his ear and he clenched his jaw. Her fingers grazed his nipple. He hissed, and she bit down on his earlobe, causing him to grab her harder and press upward. She ground down along his length and back up again, and he was painfully hard with the heat of her.
Antony ran his hands up her legs and under her shorts. She was bare underneath.
“Two pieces of clothing,” he murmured.
“What?”
