“You’re going to need someone with tweezers to pull out all the little pieces of glass,” he said in a businesslike manner. “Let me help you.”
“Okay.” And there I was, feeling all gooey about him once again.
It felt very intimate being in Cynthia’s tiny bathroom with him. There wasn’t much room, and I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as I bumped him with every move I made.
My breathing suddenly did that shallow thing again. There was a washrag hanging on a towel rack behind him, so I leaned around him to retrieve that. It gave me a chance to smell his clean, spicy-soapy scent, as I was nearly body to body with him while doing that. Then I reached for the kit under the sink, and my butt bumped his hip. A naughty voice made her presence known in my head, wanting me to rub on him, which came out of nowhere. Who was that? It wasn’t me. I wasn’t a sexual person. Was I?
I turned to give him the surprisingly heavy rectangular metal kit, and the back of his hand grazed my breast.
That one made me suck in air with the sudden flash of pleasure that zinged my sex with heat. Our gazes held. I could feel the sexual awareness wrapping wispy tendrils around us, working its magic. The room was feeling hotter. His eyes seemed to deepen into a darker green and they dipped to the breast he’d accidentally touched. The nipple was peaked, as though looking for attention, and I could tell he wanted to respond to that invitation by the way his hands tightened on the metal box. My heart kicked up a notch, wondering what that would feel like. I had a feeling it would feel pretty damn good.
Ryder reluctantly, but decisively, turned his attention to the kit, ending the moment, though it remained uncomfortably quiet for several seconds. I was glad to note that he needed to adjust his stance and take a deep breath as he dug through the metal container, so it wasn’t just me who was affected by that highly charged moment. I was dying to look down for some visual confirmation, but I didn’t want to be too obvious or embarrass him. Instead, I leaned a hip on the counter and watched him select and discard various items.
Before long, there were a few things pulled out and stacked on the counter. He found tweezers, some antiseptic spray, gauze and Band-Aid strips. He appeared to be very comfortable with cleaning up wounds, as he laid the medical supplies out in an organized fashion. Then he washed his hands, all very quickly and with little fuss. So thorough. Wow. I would have just started the cleanup.
“Always need to beware of infection,” he muttered in his deep voice, as though explaining why he was being thorough.
“Right. Thanks.”
“Now turn around. Bend over.”
I merely raised an eyebrow at Ryder’s commands before complying, though I couldn’t shake the Skinematic feel of the moment, which made me blush. Then he got to work.
The glass cuts stung, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t felt them when I sat on the glass initially. Of course, they were pretty small. I should have checked the driver’s seat before sitting, but I was upset and the adrenaline was pumping at the time. Each one that came free made a light clinking sound as he set it next to me on the sink.
Luckily, there were only a few, and before I knew it, he was spraying the canned stuff on me. And get this. The moment I hissed with discomfort, he blew lightly on my skin to ease the burn. And through it all, I’d been absolutely conscious of his big hand resting gently on my thigh while the other removed the small shards. In spite of the discomfort of the glass, I felt suspended in a haze of growing arousal, confused that my body was reacting so strongly.
Why now? Why hadn’t this happened with any other guy before? Ronny had been a nice, handsome college boyfriend with a good, fit body, but I’d never experienced such a strong bodily reaction to him. Now I was feeling shaky and needy. I didn’t know what to do with this.
“So what happened?” Ryder had just finished putting gauze and tape on the affected areas. His hand gave a final lingering squeeze to the back of my thigh when he stood up. He towered over me once again, which I was absolutely coming to be turned on by. No more average-height guys for me. The poor Ricos of the world would have a harder time getting a date with me in the future.
Ryder suddenly glared at me and stepped back to lean against the wall.
“You asked what happened?” I wasn’t sure why he was giving me that look. “My car was broken into.”
“Your car?”
“I know, right? I have this lousy little compact, but it’s my lousy little compact, and someone smashed the window. I was so upset, I must not have noticed that there was glass on my seat too.”
“When did this happen?”
“When I was at the gym just now. I was only there for like an hour, doing my kickboxing class, but then I went out to my car and saw the window busted in.”
He stared into my eyes with sudden intensity, searching, kind of like what Cynthia was doing earlier, which had also been really weird. As though satisfied by what he saw, he nodded almost to himself.
Okay, then.
“Did you call the police?”
“No. What was the point? There was nothing stolen. People’s cars get broken into all the time, and mine’s a junker anyway.”
“Are you sure nothing was taken? Absolutely?” Again, he watched me searchingly.
“I’m certain. I never keep anything in my car. It just bummed me out because it’s something else I’m going to need to pay for. Busted window.”
With a sigh, I leaned my butt against the counter and crossed my arms. In the sudden silence, I saw that the movement had drawn his eyes like a magnet. Following his line of sight, I saw that my cleavage was pushed up enticingly against my sports-bra shirt. When I looked back at Ryder, his pale eyes had, again, gone heavy lidded with heat. Quickly, I dropped my arms, not wanting him to think I was trying to be a tease, but it was too late. The damage was done. And if I were being totally honest, I would admit that maybe I was excited to see what he would do next. Anticipation is an amazing aphrodisiac.
He took a step forward, which brought him close enough to me in this tiny space that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. What to do? What did I want to do? Desire swamped my senses. Nerves had me feeling quivery. I was alone with this big, strong man whom I was attracted to. What was I supposed to do next? I wasn’t really sure... Can anyone say “in over my head?”
Ryder took the final step, and his arms boxed me in against the sink, the length of his body inches from mine. I could feel his anger, as though he didn’t want to be attracted, which gave me a hit of power. I thrust my chin up in defiance, some of which was bravado, and just stared at him, daring him to try something, without feeling any fear. I could make this large, imposing male want me.
My heart pumped with a mixture of lust and some anxiety, not knowing what was about to happen. I could feel my pulse in my throat and found my eyes feasting hungrily on his sensual lips.
“You don’t get it, do you?” This was said in a soft, gravelly tone that made tingles spread through my body.
“Get what?” My voice was all breathy Marilyn Monroe.
“Your impact.” His voice sounded deep and foreboding.
“My impact?”
His eyes narrowed on me. He kept his silence for a moment, and I could only stare helplessly up into his eyes, not knowing what to say or do. He raised his hand and traced a gentle finger down my cheek, but wore an accusatory glare as he looked down at me. Even his voice sounded frustrated. “You’re actually so innocent. How did you get to be this age, living on your own, and still know so little about men?”