Page 56 of Stone
He refused to let go, constantly splashing the burn.
“I’m okay,” I managed a minute or two later, although wincing when I tried to put my weight on the leg.
Saying the words didn’t make them true. I crossed my arms, burying my nails into my biceps to create a different level of pain.
His breathing was as heavy as mine. Dear God, we were a hot mess together.
“No, you’re not okay, Dani, and it’s my fault. I can’t believe I hurt you.” His dark tone slid through every pore, resting deep within my core. “Yeah. You should be afraid of me. You need to stay away from me.”
The tears burned my eyes. When he noticed them, he cursed under his breath.
“No, Stone. I’ll never be afraid of you.”Because I love you.I stopped short of telling him.
As I nuzzled against his chest, my thoughts drifted to ones that were completely inappropriate for the moment.
Very slowly he turned me around to face him, keeping one arm around my waist and cupping my face with the other. “You need to believe me that I would never want to hurt you. Not in a thousand years.”
He was so close his heated breath tickled the skin on my neck. There was no reason to be nervous around him, but I was and had been since he’d crashed his way into the warehouse. I placed my hand on his chest, trying to smile even though I knew I’d done a piss poor job of making the incident seem like no big deal.
“It’s okay. Really.” He was dangerously close, enough so our rapid breathing now had little to do with my injury or his outburst. His gaze was locked with mine and for a few seconds, we were entrenched in a quiet moment that neither one of us knew what to do with. “I think you can turn the water off now.”
My suggestion broke the spell and he nodded, still holding onto me as he leaned over and turned the spigot. “Let’s get you into some clothes. I’m taking you to a doc-in-a-box.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am and you’re not arguing with me.”
“I’ll argue with you if I want since I’m an adult.”
At least he allowed a momentary smile before his expression returned to a more serious look of concern. “Well, this is my house, which means if you won’t cooperate, then I’ll take youjust like you are in your cute little fluorescent pink PJs. It’s entirely up to you which you’d prefer.”
He just had to look sexy with his tousled hair and unshaven face, so I couldn’t refuse him.
And I had no chance of shutting the lid on Pandora’s Box ever again.
“Fine. I’ll get changed.”
CHAPTER 16
Daniella
“You’re lucky it’s only a second-degree burn, Ms. Vale.” The doctor was kind but wore a patronizing expression as if I’d been careless when holding a cup of coffee in my hand.
“What do I need to do, Doc, to take care of her?” Stone asked. He’d insisted on coming with me into the examination room. What did he think I was going to do, tell the doctor he purposely burned me or was he afraid I’d try to escape off the island? “She’s a bit hardheaded and won’t take my advice.”
Talk about adding insult to injury.
I stared at him incredulously. “I’m right here and last time I checked, I am an adult. I think I know how to take care of myself.”
The doctor threw one of those looks toward Stone, which meant the two of them knew each other. I should have known when he offered a Hawaiian greeting to Stone as soon as we walked in. The doctor issued his instructions directly to my caretaker.
What was this? An old boys’ club?
“Gently cleanse the burn once a day and change the dressing. Watch out for any change including signs of an infection. You’ll need for Miss Vale to take some Tylenol for the pain probably for a couple of days and most important,” the doctor said and took a purposeful hesitation while finally turning in my direction, “do not get into the ocean under any circumstances.”
“What? I thought salt helped with the healing process.” Oh, my God. I was whining like a little girl.
The doctor shook his head. “That’s an old wives’ tale like putting butter on burns. There’s a much greater risk of infection and will slow down the healing process. A freshwater pool is fine but avoid chlorine as well.”
