Page 66 of Hot Damn
“I can.” Moving around behind her, I span her waist with my hands and lift. “That good?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
We’re quiet while she unbuttons her blouse and lets it fall from her shoulders. I don’t know whether to help her out of it now or stay where I am. This isn’t like the times I’ve had to carefor Whit. Just last winter she had the flu so bad I had to help her shower after?—
That’s it!
“Cami, if you leave your underwear on I can stay here and make sure you’re okay.”
“Huh?”
“In the bath, I can help you get in the bath, take a look at your hip to see how bad the bruising is.”
“Oh, okay, yeah.” Her shoulders slump. “And maybe make sure I don’t fall asleep once I get in there.”
I feel better with a plan. I can concentrate on that and nothing else. “Can you undo your pants and push them down?”
“Yes.”
“Get them down as far as you can and then I’ll lift you up so you can try kicking them off with your good leg.”
Before she starts on her pants, she pulls her arms from her shirt and drops it to the floor. There’s bruising on her left side above her pants. It’s almost to my hand and it takes everything I have to remain still and not swear at how much there is.
But when she undoes her pants and pushes them past her hips, there’s no stopping the curses.
“Fucking hell I’m going to kill that motherfucker.”
My words make Cami jolt and cry out when she puts her left leg down. If it wasn’t for my strength she’d be on the floor.
“Shit! Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay, I think I zoned out a little.”
“Probably from the pain.” I try to keep my grip gentle but the twitch in my fingers tells me I’m borderline in control. “Cam.”
“Yeah.”
“I think you should go to the hospital and get your hip x-rayed.”
“It’s not that bad. Bruising always makes things look worse than they are. It’s not broken.”
“Your bones might not be, but I’m worried about the muscles and ligaments around the joint.”
“Honestly, Beckett, I bruise easily and I know I came down hard on my hip then my butt bounced on a few of the steps on the way to the bottom.”
I swallow over the emotion clogging my throat. I want to avenge her and take care of her. It’s hard to reconcile this woman I barely know pulls the same depth of care and protection from me that Whit does.
“I can’t get them off.”
Her words are laced with tears and I’m reminded I need to keep my head in the game. The most important thing right now is getting Cami in the tub to soothe some of her pain. And I need to get the cream the trainers make sure we have a supply of from my hockey bag.
“Let me see if I can do it with my foot. Okay, if I step on them then lift you up?”
“Don’t worry about ruining them. Just get them off.”
I do as asked and in less than a minute I’ve got a semi-naked Cami over the tub edge. “I’ll lower you slowly, let me know if the water’s too hot.”
