When they pulled up to Cat’s tiny ranch a minute later, she turned to him. “Thanks a lot for the ride…and also for the whole Heimlich thing. It could’ve been really bad. I’m really glad you were there.”
He didn’t meet her gaze, sure the truth was plain on his face. That had scared the shit out of him. “Yeah, me, too. Come on, let’s get you inside,” he said, swinging open his door.
“Oh, Shane, you don’t need to walk me up,” she called after him when he stepped out of the car.
“It’s late and dark and the ground’s covered in ice. You didn’t even leave your light on. Just come on.”
She got out, and he rounded the car to her side, slamming the door behind her. It got him close enough to smell the citrus in her hair, which had his already-primed body tightening even further.
They walked side-by-side up the narrow walkway, arms brushing with each step. When they got to her porch he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Try to get some sleep. You look tired.”
“Want me full of energy so I can pimp you right tomorrow, huh?” she said with a tight smile.
He nodded. “Something like that.”
She started up the stairs and he turned to go, but a muffled oath had him whipping back around just in time to see her scrabbling for the railing. Too late. Her feet flew out from under her, and she went down like a bag of rocks. He managed to catch her from behind around the waist and stop her from hitting her chin on the concrete, but barely.
She hissed in a breath then exhaled a “Motherfucker!”
His heart thudded in his chest, and he lifted her gently to her feet, taking the brunt of her weight. “Did you break anything?”
She peered down in the moonlight with a mournful nod. “My Seven jeans.”
Blood welled up under a jagged tear just above the knee, and he wanted to shake her. “Who cares about the jeans. Does anything hurt?”
“My wallet’s going to hurt when I have to replace those jeans,” she quipped weakly. She was playing the tough guy, but there was no mistaking the wince on her pale face when she pulled away from his grasp and tried to stand on her own.
“Shit, I’m so sorry, Cat. Lot of good I did, walking you up and then letting you fall down the stairs.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I was bound and determined to go down, I guess. I’m just glad you caught me and saved my teeth. That could’ve been really ugly.”
He held her arm, leading her the rest of the way up. “Do you have any rock salt to melt the ice? Wouldn’t want you falling down the steps again in the morning.”
“I don’t think so.” She held out her hands and frowned at her torn gloves. “Guess it’s a good thing I had these on, too.”
“Yeah, it’s your lucky day, and it’s about to get even better. I’m coming inside, and you’re getting at least half-naked so I can see that knee.”
She paused, hand on the doorknob, to glare at him. “Why do you need to see it? I’m a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of it myself.”
“You’re going to let me look at that knee, or I’m going to bend you over mine.”
The thought came with a mental snapshot that momentarily derailed his altruism, but he managed to tamp it down fast. She still stared up at him suspiciously.
“Cat, you’re being ridiculous. I’m pretty sure I can handle the sight of you in your underwear without losing my shit.”
Lie. He wasn’t sure of that at all, but he needed to see that she took care of that cut, and he wasn’t about to let her stop him. “I want to clean it so I can get a good look. See if you need stitches. Your brother would deck me if I left you like this and you got lockjaw or something. Although you unable to jabber might not be so terrible,” he added just loud enough for her to hear.
She scowled at him but opened the door. “Fine. But I’m telling you right now, I’m not going to the ER for a tetanus shot no matter what. I hate them. They hurt for like a month,” she said with a sniff and stepped into the foyer.
He sincerely hoped she didn’t need one, since throwing her over his shoulder and dragging her to the ER could seriously hurt his chances of seeing her naked anytime soon. He said a silent prayer to the wound gods and followed her inside.
Chapter Five
Well, this is a grim way to end the evening, Cat thought bitterly. The scrape on her leg was stinging like the blazes, but her injured pride stung worse. Two times in one night, she’d managed to both humiliate herself and require rescuing. She may have mentally relegated him to the friend zone, but the rest of her hadn’t gotten the memo, and she was fairly mortified at having horked up nut-chunks and taken a dive down the stairs in front of him. That her favorite jeans had succumbed during battle only made it worse.