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“Here we go.” In one smooth motion, I lifted her into my arms, the whole of her resting against my chest.Gritting my teeth, I buried the groan that formed deep in my chest and carried her down the hall.
Six months I’d managed to contain our distance… and in six minutes, some spilled yogurt managed to decimate it.
“Do you feel dizzy? Lightheaded? I can call Gwen,” I offered and carefully lowered her into my desk chair, remaining crouched in front of her.
Gwen was a local friend in town and a nurse at Carmel General Hospital. She donated her time to Blooms whenever the women needed anything, and she’d be here on a dime if I called.
“No, I’m fine.” Kenzie gingerly pressed her fingers to her head, wincing when she landed on the injured spot.
“Let me,” I said gruffly and brushed her hand aside.My second mindless mistake for the night.Her hair was so much softer than I’d imagined. Spun silk dyed the hue of morning sunshine. As soon as I reached the lump on her skull, she winced. My jaw locked. The way her hair was pulled back probably wasn’t helping. “May I?” I hooked my finger under her hair tie.
“O-Okay.” She kept her eyes averted, staring to the side—to the mess on my desk rather than straight at me.
It was for the best because if she looked hard enough, she’d be able to see that my dick was solid as steel in my jeans.
It was fucked up—being turned on right now while she had a golf ball swelling on her head. But fuck me, I’d just had to hold the woman I’d fantasized about for six months. I could control a lot of things—like my firm decision to never act on my desire—but I couldn’t control my fucking anatomy.
I carefully unwound the tie, careful not to get any of her hair knotted in the process.
“You’re good at that,” she murmured once it was free, the rasp in her voice making my blood thrum.
“Addy and I were partially responsible for raising Eve, so I know my way around a hair tie,” I murmured, sliding the elastic onto my wrist and massaging her scalp for a selfish second, careful to avoid the lump. It was only for a few moments before the first moan slid from her lips, sweet and sticky like caramel the way it clung to my senses.Fuck.
Before she could make the sound again, I released her and moved back. Her head tipped up, her hooded eyes meeting mine before sinking lower. I felt them reach my chest. My abdomen. My waist.
“Sit here for a minute. I’m going to grab a bag of peas,” I ground out and fled to the kitchen, the heat of her stare lingering on my hard dick like it had been seared on there. “Shit,” I muttered.
I needed a breather.No, I needed a cold fucking shower, but that was going to have to wait.I had to make sure she was okay. I went first to the paper bag on the counter, unloading the rest of her groceries for her before pulling a bag of peas from the freezer.
When I got back to my office, she had one elbow propped on my desk, her forehead resting in her hands.
“Kenzie?”
She looked up briefly, a flush stealing into her cheeks.
“You sure you don’t want me to call Gwen?” I asked, handing her the bag of peas.
“I’m fine, really. Thank you.” She gave me a smile and pressed the frozen pack to her head. “I’m sorry about this mess. It’s just been a long day—”
Speaking of…“How many places did you clean today?”
She gulped. “Four.”
I knew it.
“And I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the celebration tonight. I was devastated when they told me yesterday they needed me to do the whole building. Holly and Michelle know how upset I was, and you know I’d really never missed any event at the house… ever…”
“Why did the center want you to stay late?” I didn’t really have a right to know since she wasn’t out past curfew, but I couldn’t stop the question from pushing through my lips.
“They have three events tomorrow, so they needed additional rooms cleaned—”
“Do you think you’re overdoing it?” I rasped, not needing to hear anymore.
Something flashed in her eyes, making them appear bright blue for a second. “No. I need to work,” she declared, her soft-spoken persona cracking to reveal something stronger. “I need to save money, so I can get my own place.”
“I understand, and we want that for you, but we don’t want you to jeopardize your recovery because of it.” I thought sayingwewould create some distance for the way I cared about her well-being. It didn’t. I finished feeling just as protective over her as when I’d lifted her in my arms.
“I’m not. I promise,” she insisted and stood, looking at me like she dared me to try and stop her. “I just need to do this.”
