Page 25 of Chasing Grace
His hips pressed against her knees, he toweled her dry. Face, hair, shoulders, arms, he was thorough about the mop-up, and her skin warmed at the attention. Content with her current lot in life, she drifted as a new wave of drowsiness enveloped her.
“Wake up, Gray.”
She groaned. “Fuck. What?”
“Come closer. I need to look at your head.”
“Can you hurry this up?” she grumbled as she leaned forward.
“Almost done.” His breath whispered against her cheek as he poked and prodded.
She wrinkled her nose. “You stink like peanut butter.”
“I like peanut butter.”
“Peanut butter’s gross.”
“Everyone likes peanut butter, baby.”
“Not me.”
“Figures.” He pushed her knees apart with his body and positioned himself between her legs. His proximity made her tingle in places that were off-limits to his type A, control freak, married-to-the-military kind.
“Are you always this forward with strange women?”
“Just the ones I find at the bottom of ravines.” He slid his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head and holding her where he wanted her. “This is gonna sting.”
The smell of antiseptic filled her nose, and Chase pressed something wet against the cut on her forehead. The burning sensation caused her to suck air through her teeth. “Ow.”
“Suck it up, cupcake.”
“Shut up, dickhead.”
He laughed. “I have to glue your head back together.”
“Have-at-er, Florence.”
“Hold this.” He plucked her hand from her lap and pressed her fingers to the dressing against her head. She didn’t have the energy to keep it there, and her arm started to obey the laws of gravity straight away. “You’re not much help.”
“I’m tired. You done?”
“Almost. How’d this happen anyway? Was it the swan dive off the north face?”
“Nah, I was run over by a Mack Truck in a parking lot.”
Chase snorted. “Becker?”
“Who?”
“The dead man.”
“Oh, you mean No-neck. Yeah, great guy. Introduced my head to the gravel then wanted me to make nice.”
“Make nice?”
“With his little friend Dick.”
The grip on the back of her head tightened, and Chase growled, “I’m guessing he didn’t get too far with that.”
