The Rancher’s Royal Bride (BBW Romance - Billionaire Brothers 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the few steps to the horses.
    Tempted to lean into his warm strength, she resisted, not wanting to be a baby about a small cut.
    “Can you mount okay?” He hovered next to her as she gripped the stirrup.
    “I’ll be fine,” she replied, surprised at the fact that now she was reassuring him.
    “No fancy riding,” he warned, swinging into the saddle.
    In other circumstances she might have argued with him, but right now she wasn’t in the mood. Her thumb throbbed and all she wanted to do was get it taken care of.
    Salt was an obedient horse, and Ellie found she could handle the creature easily, even with a thickly bandaged thumb. Logan set the pace at a fast walk. Before long, they arrived at the barn.
    Logan hitched both sets of reins to a post. “I’ll unsaddle them once I’ve looked at your thumb.” He hustled her into the house, guiding her into the bathroom. After washing his hands, he held out his palm. “Let me see.”
    She held out her thumb over the basin, closing her eyes as he carefully peeled off the cloth.
    “Hmm,” he muttered.
    The sound of running water filled the small room, then he placed her hand under a cool stream of water. She couldn’t help the small shiver running through her at his touch. The pain had dulled to the occasional twinge, but she still didn’t want to open her eyes.
    “I don’t think you need stitches,” he murmured, squeezing her thumb gently while it was still under the running water.
    “Stitches?” Her eyelids flew open.
    He turned her thumb this way and that. “No. No stitches.”
    She relaxed slightly, her gaze fastened on her injured thumb and his strong, capable fingers. Long, tanned fingers. What would his hands feel like wrapped around her waist? Caressing her? Brushing back the hair from her face?
    A trickle of blood ran from the wound but the water washed it away instantly, making it bearable to look at.
    “Stay there for a sec while I get the antiseptic.”
    She watched him go to the small cupboard opposite the basin and pull out a small clean towel and a bottle of antiseptic.
    Logan opened the bottle and shook some of the liquid onto her finger. She flinched, the antiseptic stinging the open wound.
    “Put some pressure on it while I find something for it.” He wrapped the white towel around her thumb, his hands lingering a few seconds longer than necessary.
    “But I might get blood on it,” she protested feebly, unable to tear her gaze from his.
    “Doesn’t matter.” He waited until he saw her press down on the towel, then rummaged in a drawer for an adhesive bandage.
    His hands were gentle, as he wrapped the strip of plastic around her thumb. And then another one. “There. Let me know if it needs changing later on.”
    “I can do that myself,” she demurred . As long as she didn’t look too closely at the wound, she was sure she could manage to replace the adhesive bandage. Although, she certainly wouldn’t object if he insisted …
    His lips quirked. “Somehow I don’t think you like the sight of blood.”
    “Not exactly.” She bit her lip.
    “I’m supposed to be keeping you safe, remember?”
    “I remember,” Ellie murmured. And he had kept her safe. Okay, she had a cut on her thumb, but she didn’t blame him for that. It was the first time she’d ever helped mend a fence, and her thumb had gotten in the way. Her thumb twinged, as if seeming to remind her of that fact.
    But she couldn’t fault Logan on the way he’d taken care of her small injury. She’d seen another side to him, a gentle, tender side, and it only made him more intriguing.
    She sighed inwardly. It didn’t seem fair that she found him attractive, when he probably didn’t think of her in that way at all. Just her luck to be staying here another ten days with one of the most attractive, interesting men she’d ever met, when all he felt toward her was a sense of duty.

CHAPTER 4
     
    The next day, Ellie collected eggs from the chicken coop. Even allowing for her