Tender Loving Care. Susan Mallery

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СКАЧАТЬ fragrance of magnolias drifted into the room. Was she angry? Would she leave him now?

      “I was wondering where you’d run off to,” he said as he held his fists tightly against his sides. He’d suffer whatever was necessary to avoid embarrassing either of them again. Her words still echoed in his ears: reacting to the blindness.

      She sat next to him and touched his arm. “I was thinking. We need to talk about a bath.”

      He wanted to jerk away from the contact but couldn’t. By kissing her, he’d broken all his own rules. When she’d explained away the intimacy, he’d reacted with anger and hurt pride. But in his world of blackness, he felt isolated. Her voice and gentle hands provided a guide through this difficult time; she was his anchor. He needed her.

      Wiser than he, she’d apparently decided to ignore his outburst. “Am I the biggest jerk you’ve ever known?” he asked quietly.

      She hesitated. “I once knew this guy who was about two inches taller than you.”

      “Very funny.”

      She laughed. “Now about cleaning you up…”

      “If you mean a sponge bath, you can forget it.”

      “Isn’t this where I came in, Logan?”

      “Don’t change the subject. I’ll take a shower.”

      She sighed. “You can’t get your bandages wet.”

      “So we’ll cover them.”

      “You know that wouldn’t work. I can’t very well tape up your face.” She touched the gauze around his head.

      “Okay. What’s the compromise?”

      “You take a bath. I saw a huge tub in your bathroom. I bet you’ve never used it.”

      Actually he had, about a year ago. If he recalled the night correctly, it had involved a redhead and several bottles of champagne. But he didn’t want to remember that now. It was enough that Melissa had returned their relationship to its comfortable footing.

      “Okay to the bath,” he said.

      “I’ll go run the water.”

      He felt the mattress shift. Her fragrance lingered in the room, then faded. Logan swung his legs over the side of the bed, then rose and started toward the bathroom. He was almost at the door when something…or someone ran into him. Putting out his hands to keep them both from falling, he grabbed Melissa’s soft arms.

      “Yikes! Where did you come from?” she asked.

      “Scared you?” He ran his thumb in circles on her skin, then stepped back when he realized what he was doing. No touching…at least no sexual touching. He’d be damned if she was going to acquiesce simply because he was her patient. When he took Melissa to his bed, she’d be burning up as much as he was….

      Where had that come from? No relationships, that was his rule. She’d barely been in his house twenty-four hours, and already he was having thoughts he had no business thinking. He leaned against the wall and brushed back his hair.

      “The water’s ready,” she said. Taking his hand, she led him into the bathroom. “The towel’s right here, and there’s the tub. Do you need any help?”

      He could still feel the lingering hardness from their recent encounter. “I’ll be fine.” He started untying his robe.

      “Call me when you’re done and I’ll shave you.”

      “I don’t think so.”

      She sighed in exasperation. “Do you have an electric razor?”

      “Do I look like the kind of guy to use an electric razor?”

      “Logan, you can’t shave yourself. End of argument. Get in the tube before I throw you in myself.”

      “Cheap talk.”

      “Lo-gan.”

      He held up his hands. “I’m getting, I’m getting. Shut the door.”

      He was still laughing when he heard her pull it closed with a bang.

      

      “Hold still.” Melissa glared at her patient, but it didn’t seem to do any good.

      “This isn’t my idea of a good time.” Logan moved again on the chair.

      “I have a very sharp razor in my hand. Now we can complete this operation with or without blood. The choice is yours.”

      He mumbled something unintelligible and was still. Melissa tilted his jaw toward the left and began to work. The burns from the sandblast were healing nicely, but he flinched as the sharp steel slipped over the welts.

      “I know,” she said. “I’m being careful.”

      He was still damp from his bath. Droplets of water clung to his chest hair, individual prisms catching and reflecting the light. A white towel was wrapped casually at his waist. The contrast between the soft terry cloth and his tanned skin made her nervous. Part of her wanted to rip away the barrier and plead with him to take her; the other part wanted to get into her car and drive until she’d forgotten that Logan Phillips ever existed.

      “Have you ever been married?” he asked.

      “Didn’t I already answer that?”

      “No. You said you weren’t married now.”

      “Fair enough. I’ve never been married.”

      “How old are you?”

      “Twenty-eight. Why are you so interested in me and my personal life? I promise, it’s not the least bit exciting.”

      “I feel strange having you know so much about me, physically I mean, and I don’t even know what you look like.”

      She finished shaving him and wiped his face with a damp washcloth. “You’ll see me in about five days. I think you can contain yourself until then. Here.” She thrust some clothes at him. “Get dressed. Then we’re having lunch in the kitchen. Afterwards, if you’re very good, I’ll let you call the office again.”

      He stood up and looked down at her. Even with the bandages, he was intimidating. What color were his eyes? she wondered. Green like Wendi’s? Or maybe blue or brown? She had to wait the same five days to find out.

      “Who died and left you in charge?” he asked.

      “Mr. Anderson. He’s signing my check.”

      

      Logan turned toward the house when he heard another burst of laughter. A breeze had sprung up in the late afternoon and was chasing away the heat of the June day. The French doors leading to the living room and kitchen were open. He couldn’t hear the entire conversation between Melissa and his daughter, СКАЧАТЬ