“Thank you. It was very good,” she says, then starts to stand. She doesn’t even straighten to her full height before she cries out and almost crumples. I’m out of my seat and holding her in an instant. She’s flushed, and the knuckles of her hand are white on the back of her chair.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. It was nothing. Sorry.” She exhales a long breath and doesn’t quite meet my eyes.
Right. I pick her up. Even as her arms tighten around my neck, she says, “Put me down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
I give her a look. “As if.”
“But I’m…heavy.” The last word is spoken so softly, I almost miss it.
I don’t bother to answer. I’m not going to hurt myself carrying her to bed. Besides, it’s nice to hold a woman who doesn’t feel like she’s going to break in half if I breathe wrong. Anger fills me as I remember how Anthony pushed her in the middle of the fight. Even though she acts like it was nothing, I know the fall hurt her. She’s been walking like an old woman ever since.
Despite her asking me to stay away, I should’ve been with her. That way, she would’ve gotten the care that she needs for her injuries. She might be too focused on the baby to demand more for herself, but not me.
I place her gently in the middle of my bed. Biting her lower lip, she looks away as I peel her pants and underwear off. I don’t care if she’s uncomfortable, as long as she lets me check her out.
I suck in a breath. There’s a dark reddish blossom on her left hip that looks like a lurid flower. It’s the size of an ostrich egg and is going to deepen into black and purple tomorrow.
“Damn.”
“It’s really not that bad.” Her voice is light, but shaky.
“You should’ve said something to the doctor. They would’ve given you something.”
“Ryder, no. No painkillers. Nothing that’s going to risk the baby.”
I get that, I do. Still, I’ll be lying if I said I’m okay with this.
“Don’t move.” I point a finger at the center of her chest to make sure she understands I’m serious.
She pulls her lips in, but stays put. I open the top drawer of my dresser and rummage around. There it is. A glass jar the color of jade. I pull it out with a grim smile.
“What’s that?” Paige asks, her gaze curious but wary.
“Ointment. I got it in Hong Kong when I pulled a muscle.”
“Let me guess. A stunt that you insisted on doing yourself?”
“Yup. And then they wouldn’t let me do any of the other action sequences, so we had to have a stuntman come in. But this stuff is great. Got me back to normal in no time.”
I open the jar and take out a dollop of the ointment on two fingers.
Paige wraps a hand around my wrist. “Is that stuff safe for pregnant women?”
“Yes.”
She narrows her eyes. “How do you know?”
“Because it says so on the jar.” I show her the label.
She takes her time reading it, but finally relaxes. “Okay.”
The ointment is thick and gooey, but as I spread it over her flesh, it starts to thin. I massage it into her muscles. The key is making sure that it’s fully absorbed. “I don’t know what you think about me, Paige, but I’ll never do anything to hurt you or your baby.” Even if you betray me. I learned my lesson when I abandoned Lauren in Mexico. Even though I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen, she still ended up dead because of my decision.
Paige leans forward until her forehead rests against mine. “Ryder…”
Her sweet breath fans against my skin. It tickles, but I welcome the sensation. When we’re like this, it’s like all the shit in the last forty-eight hours never happened.
I push away all the bitter memories and focus on Paige. Her eyes are closed, and she keeps dragging her teeth across her lower lip until it’s red, wet and swollen.
My fingertips touch her lower belly. “You little rascal,” I whisper. “You gave us quite a scare.”
Her lashes are wet when she opens her eyes. When she breathes out my name again, it’s like there’s an invisible rope between us, and some unseen force is pulling me to her.
I dip my head and brush my mouth against hers. A small quiver flutters all along her skin.
I move my hand gently to her injured hip, giving it a little extra warmth, and deepen the kiss. Her lips part, and she brushes her tongue against mine tentatively. I sip at her sweet mouth, tracing her every curve, memorizing the shape and texture and fleshiness of her lips. A soft moan tears from her throat, and I press harder against her, making her swallow the sound.