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“Are you all right?” he asked.
She swallowed hard. “Yes. Fine.”
He glanced down at the glass shards scattered across the balcony. “Do you make a habit of smashing glasses?”
“No.”
Despite the distance from her chair to the doorway, he loomed over her...an overwhelming presence that sent a shiver down her spine. She tossed aside the blanket draped across her lap and stood. A sharp pain stabbed the bottom of her foot and she fell back into the chair with a hiss.
Adrian uttered something in Spanish and rushed over. “Little fool!”
“You know I can hear you, right?”
He ignored her as he took her bare foot in his hands, wrapping his fingers around her ankle with the utmost care. A stinging throb warred with the warmth of his grasp.
“Let go.”
“There’s a piece of glass stuck in your foot. Wait here.”
As much as she wanted to argue, she stayed seated, biting her bottom lip to offset some of the pain pulsing in her foot. He disappeared into the bedroom and reemerged with bandages and a wet cloth in one hand and ointment in the other.
“Are you always this prepared?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“I own a winery that hosts parties. Sometimes they get raucous. The housekeeping staff keep necessities in all of our guestrooms.” He knelt before her and took her foot in his hand once more. “Stay still.”
He cradled her foot and slowly pulled out the piece of glass. The initial removal sent an electrifying sting up her leg. Her fingers tightened on the arms of her chair, but she didn’t let out a peep. Adrian placed the offending glass on the table and started to wash the wound.
“I fell asleep in my chair...jet lag,” she said.
“And then what?” he asked.
She struggled to keep her face impassive. “What do you mean?”
“Something startled you?”
“Just an accident, that’s all.” She wasn’t about to share the intimate details of her nightmares with him.
“Don’t play games with me, Everleigh.”
“I’m not the one who plays games.”
He sighed and set the cloth aside. “I overreacted. To you dancing. I’m sorry.” He dabbed ointment on the cut.
Stubbornness demanded that she refuse his almost apology. But logic overruled. “Well...thank you.”
He nodded, his eyes trained on her foot as he wrapped it in gauze. The sight of his tan fingers against her skin made her thighs clench. If he noticed her reaction, he ignored it. He tossed the glass in a nearby waste basket and went back inside, reappearing a moment later with a broom and dustpan.
He made quick work of sweeping up the mess before sitting down at the patio table opposite her. His eyes zeroed in on her, pinning her in place with the dark intensity that made her think very sensual thoughts.
“What were you dreaming about?”
Everleigh rolled her eyes. “You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“Tenacious? Yes. You’re hiding something from me.”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
Adrian’s eyes softened, and the abrupt change threw her off-balance. He reached across the table and before she could jerk back he grabbed her hand, his thumb rubbing slow circles on her palm.
