Page 75 of Anything But a Duke
“Just as you requested, miss.” The housekeeper entered the conservatory with a bowl of ice and a handful of rags, but she jerked to a stop when she noticed Aidan cupping Diana’s hand.
“Shall I call for a doctor?” she asked pointedly.
“Perhaps you should,” Aidan told her.
“No, you should not, Mrs. Rudd. The ice will take down the swelling and I’ll have a fearsome bruise. No doctor required. Thank you,” she told the older woman to stop her from gaping.
When the housekeeper retreated, Aidan leaned closer and ran his fingers gently along the edge of her hand. “Does it feel as bad as it looks?” Her nail had begun to discolor to a bluish plum shade and the skin of her entire thumb was still flushed a bright, angry reddish pink.
“It does hurt a bit.”
Aidan seemed to admire her attempt at stoicism, but he didn’t look as if he believed a word. “So what you’re saying is it’s agony?” he asked lightly.
“Yes.” Diana pressed her lips together to keep from smiling.
“I have a flask in my carriage if you’d like me to retrieve it.” When she simply offered a quizzical look in reply he added, “Whiskey. To help with the pain.”
“I’ll be fine. The pain is beginning to wane.” The throb had grown duller, but Aidan’s presence was a welcome distraction too. Focusing on him allowed her to fixate less on the pain. The gentle back and forth stroke of his thumb against the base of hers was soothing. She was grateful for his arrival, but it begged the question. “What are you doing here?”
He looked taken aback by the question, as if he hadn’t expected it or hadn’t prepared an answer. “I wished to see... how you’re progressing with production. If you needed help, I intended to offer my services.”
A strangled chuckle burst from her lips and he looked momentarily affronted.
“What services do you have to offer, Mr. Iverson?”
He narrowed one green eye at her. “A great deal fewer for a lady who addresses me so formally.”
“And if I call you Aidan?”
He slid his gaze over her face and leaned an inch closer.
Diana forgot the pain, forgot to breathe. He was going to kiss her again and she wanted him to. Desperately.
One inch closer and his knees bumped hers.
She lifted her uninjured hand to touch his cheek, to feel the rough brush of stubble, the hard edge of his jaw. He waited, seeming not to breathe, until she lowered her head and pressed her lips to his.
Aidan responded instantly but gently, allowing her to take the lead, to taste and slide her tongue along his lush bottom lip. When she broke the kiss, his eyes were glazed with the same hunger she felt thrumming inside.
She edged closer to him on her chair, spreading her legs to let one of his knees rest between hers. The movement caused her thumb to bump his and she let out a whimper of pain.
Immediately, he lifted his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s my fault. I was too eager.”
Keeping his gaze fixed on her hand, he smiled. “I like your eagerness.”
With infinite care, he slid back and rose from the stool where he sat. He approached the worktable where Mrs. Rudd had left the bowl of now partially melted ice. After soaking a rag in the cold water, he wrapped the chips of ice inside.
“See if this helps at all.” He offered her the ice-filled rag and then bent to retrieve the hammer she’d left on the floor. “Now tell me what to do with this to help you finish your work.”
A painful lump rose in her throat. She never let her mother into her workshop, and Dom was only ever allowed if he vowed not to touch anything. No one had ever come with the intent of assisting her.
“You see the spots where the metal isn’t quite flat and fully flush against the shape beneath? Those need to be worked on.”
“I can do that.” He scooted his stool over toward where she’d been working and began tentatively.
“You can hit it harder. The metal won’t break.”
