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And he was saving that in case someone else needed it. Cass gripped his wrist tight to steady his arm and drew out the first piece of the splinter. She was going to have to fish a little for the second piece, which had been driven deep into his arm.
She so hated hurting him but he was trusting her to have the nerve to do it. Trusting that her hand wouldn’t shake and make things a whole lot worse. She steadied herself and pressed the tweezers into the raw skin, trying not to hear his sudden intake of breath.
‘Sorry...’ She had nothing to make the pain any better and Cass fought the urge to dip her head and kiss it away.
‘That’s okay. Got it all?’
Cass carefully examined the wound. ‘Yes, I think so. Can’t see anything else.’
‘Antiseptic, then.’
She applied a generous measure, making sure that the wound was disinfected. ‘Are your tetanus shots up to date?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then we’re nearly done.’ Cass leaned forward, stripping off his T-shirt, and Jack chuckled.
‘What now? Is this all part of the technique too?’
‘Just making sure there’s nothing else you haven’t told me about.’
She would have preferred to touch instead of just looking, but that would be a step too far. Cass found herself ignoring the scrapes and bruises and concentrating on the smooth contours of his shoulders and chest. Very nice. And, what was nicer still, he had the confidence to just sit there and meet her gaze without sucking in his stomach or trying to flex his shoulders. He was perfect, just as he was.
‘Finished?’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘Yeah. I think you’ll do. Do you want me to dress your arm?’
‘We’ll clean up first.’ He gave her a bone-melting grin and stood up, picking his T-shirt up and throwing it over one shoulder. ‘Stay there.’
He picked up the bag and disappeared around the corner, towards the showers. Then the sound of gushing water came from the only cubicle that contained a bath. He wouldn’t. Would he? If he did, then she just might. Even thinking about it was sending shivers through her tired limbs.
‘Come on.’ He was back again, catching up two of the largest towels in one hand, and Cass followed him. When he opened the door of the cubicle a gorgeous smell hit her. Bath oil foamed in the steaming tub and there were candles propped on the window ledge and the vanity unit.
‘You’re not going to fall asleep in here, are you?’
She wondered what he’d say if she asked him to stick around and make sure. But he’d put one of the towels down on the rack and now he was halfway out of the door. It seemed he had no intention of staying.
‘No. Just keep talking.’
‘Right you are.’ He closed the door behind him and Cass heard the sound of the shower in the next door enclosure.
She turned her back on the partition wall between her and Jack before pulling her sweater off and unbuttoning her shirt. As she slipped off her jeans, she caught herself instinctively glancing behind her as if his gaze, or perhaps her own fantasies, had the power to dissolve the partition while she wasn’t looking.
When she stepped into the steaming water, sinking beneath the bubbles, she felt the warmth seep into her bones. Cass lay back, rubbing the ache out of her shoulders. Bliss. This was pure bliss.
* * *
Okay, so he’d been tempted. Jack would admit to that. But it was worth needing to apply a little self-control to have seen her face when she’d walked into the cubicle. When he’d found her slumped at the kitchen table, he’d known this was exactly what she needed.
‘Still awake?’ he called to her as the hot water drummed on to his shoulders, making the various scrapes he’d picked up over the last couple of days smart a little.
‘Yes. You?’ Cass’s voice was clear, drifting through the gap between the top of the partition and the ceiling.
‘Yeah, I’m awake.’ Wide awake and trying not to think thoughts that he shouldn’t. ‘I’m sorry about your house.’ He’d been meaning to say it for a while now, but Jack wasn’t sure how to do it without hugging her. The partition between them rendered that now unlikely.
The sound of her moving in the water. ‘It’s okay. There are more important things.’
Yes, there were, and what had happened with Ben had underlined it. But that didn’t mean that the loss of her house was nothing. Jack wondered when it was going to hit Cass, and renewed his promise to himself that he’d be there when it did.
