"It's all right. You had the wind knocked out by the fall, but you're getting it back now. Does any place in particular hurt?''
"No-"
Ten went down on his knees next to Diana's head. Her eyes went wide and she dragged raggedly at air when he reached for her.
"Easy now, honey," he murmured. "I've got to check you for injuries. Just lie still. I won't hurt you. Be still now. It's all right."
Dazed, helpless, Diana fought her fear and held on to the black velvet of Ten's voice, remembering the moments when he had soothed the panicked horse and held the injured kitten so gently. It was the same now, hands both strong and gentle probing her scalp, her neck, her shoulders, his voice soothing, directing, explaining; and all the while debris was being pushed away, revealing more of her body to Ten's thorough touch, his hands moving over her with an intimacy that she had never willingly allowed any man. All that kept her from panicking was the realization that his hands were as impersonal as they were careful.
"I can't feel anything broken and you didn't flinch anywhere when I touched you," Ten said finally. "Any numb spots?"
"No-I felt-'' Diana sucked in air as much from the emotional shock of being touched as from the force of her recent fall. "Everywhere-you touched-I felt."
"Good. Wiggle your fingers and toes for me."
Diana did.
"Hurt?"
"No."
"I'm going to check your neck again. If it hurts, even a little, you tell me quick."
Long fingers eased once more around Diana's neck, working their way through her hair, taking the weight of her head so slowly that she hardly realized when she was no longer supporting it herself.
"Hurt?"
"N-no."
Ten's fingers spread, surrounding the back of her head, and his thumbs glided gently over the line of her jaw. Diana's breath came in and stayed, trapped by the sensations shivering through her. So slowly that she realized it only after the fact, Ten began to turn her head to the right.
"Hurt?"
She tried to speak, couldn't, and shook her head instead. His smile flashed for an instant in the gloom.
"If shaking your head didn't hurt, you're okay. Let's see how you do sitting up. We'll take it slow. If your back hurts at any time, tell me. Ready?"
Diana didn't need Ten's assistance to sit up, but she got it anyway. His left arm was a hard, warm, resilient bar supporting her shoulders and his right arm rested across her chest, preventing her from pitching forward if she fainted, which she nearly did at the pressure of his forearm across her suddenly sensitive breasts.
"I'm fine," Diana said in a breathless rush.
"So far so good," agreed Ten. "Dizzy?"
She was, but it had nothing to do with her recent fall and everything to do with the powerful man kneeling next to her in the shadows of an ancient kiva, his arms supporting her, his face so close to hers that she tasted his very breath.
"I'm not-dizzy."
"Good. We'll just sit here for a minute and make sure."
While Ten studied the broken ceiling overhead, Diana studied him. For the first time she was struck by how truly handsome he was with his black, slightly curling hair, broad forehead, widely spaced gray eyes, thick lashes, straight nose, high cheekbones and a beard shadow that heightened the intensely male line of his jaw.
It was more than the regularity of Ten's features that appealed to Diana so vividly at the moment; it was the certainty that his abundant masculine strength wasn't going to be used against her. The relief was dizzying, telling her how much of her energy had been locked up in controlling her fear of men.
Then Diana realized that Ten was looking at her. The clarity of his gray eyes was extraordinary. The lean curves and angles of his mouth made her think of touching him, of finding out if his lips tasted as good as his breath.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "You look a little dazed."
"I am." Diana took a ragged breath, then another. "Having the world jerked out from under your feet does that."
Ten's smile flashed again. "Yeah, I guess so. Ready to try standing up?"
"Um."
"We'll take it nice and easy. Just onto your knees at first. Here we go."
With an ease that would have terrified Diana only yesterday, Ten lifted her into a kneeling position. His eyes measured her response, his hands felt the continued coordination of her body as she took her own weight on her knees, and he nodded.
"Ready to try standing? I don't want to rush you, but I'll feel a lot better once we're out of this kiva."
For the first time the nature of her surroundings sank into Diana.
"A kiva! I fell through the ceiling of a kiva?"
"You sure did, honey."
"We have to mark the site and be careful not to do any more damage and-"
"First," Ten interrupted smoothly, "we have to get the hell out of here. It's dangerous."
The voice was still black velvet, but there was the cool reality of steel beneath.
"Ramrod," she breathed.
"Ready?" was all Ten said.
Ready or not, Diana was on her feet a few seconds later, put there by Ten's easy strength. She braced herself momentarily on his hard forearms, feeling the vital heat of his body radiating through cloth. She snatched back her hands as though she had been burned.
"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Really. I can stand alone."
Ten heard Diana's uneasiness in the sudden tumble of words and released her. He didn't step back, for he wanted to be able to catch her if her knees gave way.
"No dizziness?" he asked.
There was, but it came from Ten's closeness rather than from any injury she might have received in the fall. Diana had no intention of saying anything about that fact, however.
"No," she said firmly. "I'm not dizzy."
"Sure?"
"Where have I heard that question before?"
A smile flashed in the gloom, Ten's smile, warm against the hard lines of his face.
"Feeling feisty, are you?" he asked.
Diana looked away from Ten, afraid her approval of him would be much too clear. She didn't want that. She didn't want to give him any reason to expect anything from her as a woman. With narrowed eyes, she examined the hole in the ceiling that was their only exit from the kiva. If she stretched up all the way on her tiptoes she might be able to brush her fingertips close to a cedar beam. And then again, she might not.
"Actually, I'm feeling rather intimidated," she admitted. "Some women would be able to get out of this hole alone, but not me. In gym classes I was a total disaster at chinning myself on the high bar."
Ten measured the distance to the ceiling and the cedar beams. "No problem. God made men with that in mind."
"He did?"
Ten nodded and kicked aside a bit of loose rubble, giving himself stable footing beneath the hole. He braced his legs and held out his arms to Diana.
"Okay, honey. Up you go."
She looked at him as though he had just suggested that she teleport herself out of the hole.
"Don't worry, I won't drop you," Ten said. "I handle heavier things every day. I'll lift you up. You balance yourself on the cedar poles until you can scramble from my shoulders to the ground."
"What about you?"
"That's where God's design comes in. He made men stronger than women." The smile faded, leaving only the hard male lines of Ten's face. "It's all right, Diana. I won't hurt you. Trust me."
"I-" Her voice broke. She swallowed and forced herself to take the two steps toward Ten. "I'll-try. What do I have to do?"
"First, put your hands on my shoulders."
For a few moments Diana was afraid she wouldn't be able to force herself to do it. Silently, fiercely, she closed her eyes and fought old fears.
Ten watched with narrowed eyes, feeling Diana's fear as clearly as he had the soft feminine curves of her body while he checked her for injury.