Love Redone Read Online Free PDF Page B

her palms where evidence of scraping and abrasion were clear.  He had to physically restrain himself from bringing both injured palms to his mouth so he could kiss her wounds and make it better. Those delightfully delicate hands with long , beautifully shaped fingers, so feminine and, to his mind, ladylike, brought a thousand memories flooding into his mind. 
    Memories of those divine hands learning the planes and angles of his body, seeking out sensitive spots and stroking his skin in exciting wonder as she explored him in that erotically sensual way that lovers have blossomed in his mind.  Her touch had been at times reverent and at others naughty or teasing.  He’d bloomed under her stroking exploration, finding in her inexperienced caresses a deep sense of sharing and a connection more satisfying than any he’d ever known before or since.
    Forcing his attention back to the present , Nick heard himself admonish maybe a bit more sternly than intended, “Be still, Shannon, and stop wiggling while I see if you’re injured elsewhere.  These hands are pretty scraped up and will need to be cleaned thoroughly and bandaged.” This last was said as he gently released those trembling hands into her lap while his own continued a cursory journey down her legs as his assessment resumed.
    * * *
    Did he just accuse her of wiggling? She didn’t wiggle. Certainly not!  Okay, maybe just a little, but not so much as he’d know. “I do not wiggle,” she announced somewhat defensively as she fixed him with a dismissive glare, or what she hoped would seem dismissive. 
    No way was he going to get the satisfaction of knowing he was unnerving her. She’d gladly take that knowledge to the grave , although deep inside she suspected that it wouldn’t take much for her to throw herself into his arms so he could make it all better. Apparently, once a fool, always a fool, she mused. Had nothing been learned? she groaned in silent desperation.
    Right at that moment his hands, which had been leaving a trail of warmth along her legs, connected with the injured ankle , wrenching a deep cry of complete distress from her. Pain shot up her leg right into her brain, causing Shannon to immediately lose all efforts to remain in control as the tears she’d been fighting erupted in earnest.
    “Oh no!” she cried in anguish as twin rivulets of tears began streaming down her face. “That hurts.” She hiccupped in pained distress.  It was all suddenly just too much.
    * * *
    At the first sign of those tears and her obvious distress, Nick swallowed hard to keep his own emotions in check.  She was really hurt. As he cradled her injured foot in one hand, his eyes searched her face while his free hand swept her long tresses back over her shoulder so he could see her more directly.
    That action revealed a bruise gathering strength at her hairline, a nasty-looking bump that was turning an angry reddish purple right before his eyes.
    A pithy swear rolled off his tongue in frustration as his brain took in the bigger picture.  Scraped palms, a twisted and perhaps broken ankle, and now a contusion on her head.  What else, what else? his mind chanted as he segued instantly into emergency mode.
    It was Shannon who uncovered the next injury when she winced out another distressed “ Ow!” as she tried to help with gathering her wildly disarrayed hair. Touching a small tear in her cowgirl shirt right at her shoulder, she pulled her fingers back, and as she did, Nick detected a smudge of blood and knew she’d also somehow gotten a gash as she’d scraped along the old wagon wheel on her way to being sprawled on the ground.
    Okay, that was it , thought Nick.  This was way more serious than first thought, and he needed to take fast action.  After all, that’s what he did.  Action Man.  The guy everyone else went to when all hell broke loose. Only right now the hell breaking loose was happening inside him, and he seriously doubted his action-man status