Hot Ice Read Online Free PDF Page B

each breath became harder to drag into her lungs. It isn't a heart attack. I'm as healthy as a horse. Find the damn soap, wash, dry, get out of the bathroom . She'd be humiliated if what's-his-name had to come in here and drag her naked corpse out of the bathtub.
    Shaky and getting dizzier by the second, she finally found the freaking soap and started to wash, but it was impossible to drag air into her lungs and she had to stop and hold on to the wall as her head spun. Scaring herself, she pressed a hand to her heaving chest.
    Out of the blackness, hard hands gripped her arms above the elbow and gave her a little shake. "Take a breath for God's sake! You're having a panic attack."
    It took her a second to replace a harsh breath with a strangled scream of surprise. She slipped and slid on the slick wet porcelain and grabbed at the only stable thing around— him —to keep from falling on her butt. "N- Never p-p-panic. Heart attack." Her fingers gripped his shirtfront like a lifeline.
    "Ever had a heart attack before?"
    "N-No."
    "Then you're not having one now." He pressed a large hand to her midriff. "Take a breath."
    "C-Can't."
    "Inhale. Now ."
    She sucked in a shaky breath.
    "Hold it. Two. Three. Slowly breathe out with my count. One… two… Slowly… slowly , damn it. Again. Inhale. One. Two. Three. Exhale." He kept that up for several long, agonizing, embarrassing minutes until her breathing was more or less normal.
    "Better?"
    The water pounding her back was getting cool, but her skin was flushed all over. She felt a lot of conflicting emotions, but right now embarrassment was primary. How long had he been watching her? "S-Son of a bitch. What are y-you doing in h-here?"
    "Preventing you from passing out and killing yourself, apparently."
    Taylor drew in a shaky breath. His splayed hand on her tummy moved with the expansion of her ribs. The feel of his bare hand on her wet skin made her hot all over. Her breath caught with a purely female response to his touch coupled with the husky timbre of his voice. It was like being stroked by a cat's tongue. Sheet lightning shot from her nipples to her groin. She swayed. His hands shifted to grip her hips to hold her steady.
    "I appreciate your c-concern," she said, trying to sound nonchalant in her naked state. "You can go now. I'm fine."
    "Thought you were having a heart attack?"
    No. She'd had an attack of the stupids. "Fortunately not."
    "Sure?"
    "Go."
    "I'm staying. Inhale. Two. Three. Exhale. Three. Four. Don't want to be responsible for you dying on my watch. Here. Hand me that soap."
    The large masculine hand splayed across her middle didn't feel the least little bit calming, the opposite in fact. Her body hummed with the contact of his warm fingers on her wet skin. It had been so long since she'd felt a man's touch, she'd forgotten how seductive human contact could be.
    Everything inside her responded with a sharp, pleasurable buzz of desire that surprised her with its intensity. Lord, she couldn't be turned on. Not now. Not here. It was as unexpected as it was inappropriate. And wrong in more ways than she could count. She must've lost her mind as well as her sight. Unfortunately, trapped as she was in the darkness, her other senses seemed more acute.
    He shifted against her, water splashed. Then he put an arm around her waist, plucked the soap out of her hand and started spreading soapy lather up her arm. A shiver traveled the length of her body as his slick fingers curled around the back of her neck.
    Her breathing was still on the ragged side. "G-Get out."
    "Here." He ignored her. "Hold on." He took her hand and maneuvered her fingers to his belt buckle. Oh, yeah. That made her feel steady and strengthened her resolve. Not. The back of her fingers were pressed against the hard muscles of his lower abs.
    "Are you o-out of your mind ?" Taylor shifted her hand to tightly grip the front of his already wet shirt. "You can't stay in here with—"
    His warm breath fanned her