Page 63 of Whispers and Wildfire
I glanced at her. “No, Melanie, you are definitely not.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m not mad. I just don’t want to bleed all over everything.”
She grabbed another wad of toilet paper and held it out to me. “Here.”
I hesitated. I didn’t want her help. She’d just hit me. But obviously, she hadn’t meant to. She was just being Melanie—overreacting.
Or was she? That look in her eyes. She’d been terrified. What was she so afraid of?
I took the toilet paper and replaced the blood-soaked wad I’d been holding. “Thanks.”
“It should stop soon. Noses bleed a lot. I didn’t break it, did I?”
“I don’t think so.” I scrunched my nose. The pain was dulling. Probably not broken. “I’m okay.”
The bleeding was already slowing down. I mopped it up as best I could. I’d shove some more toilet paper in my nostrils if I needed to.
Melanie still stood there, watching me with concern. The fear was gone from her expression, but the memory of it wasburned into my mind. I thought about asking her why that had freaked her out so badly, until I caught sight of the way she was holding her right hand—sort of tucked against her body.
“Did you hurt yourself?” I asked, shifting to face her.
“No.”
I reached for her hand. “Let me see.”
She put it behind her back. “It’s fine.”
“Then let me see it.”
After hesitating for another second, she held her hand out toward me. I took it in mine and gently lifted it for a closer look. Her knuckles were red and starting to swell.
“Can you make a fist?” I asked.
She did, opening and closing her hand a few times.
I took her hand again and had the strangest urge to kiss the backs of her fingers. Lifting my eyes, my gaze met hers. A wave of heat swept through me, like fire in my veins, and the sudden pressure in my groin almost made my head spin.
A flush hit her cheeks and her lips parted. I wanted to taste that mouth. Kiss her so hard and so good that she forgot any other man had ever kissed her.
I dropped her hand like a hot rock and stepped back. Unfortunately, we were still in the tiny bathroom, and the sink was right behind me. I bumped into it hard enough that I couldn’t play it off like nothing had happened.
“You’re bleeding again.” She scrambled for another wad of toilet paper, then moved closer and held it up to my nose.
Her proximity was somehow both unnerving and intoxicating. The heat of desire still flowed through me, putting thoughts in my head I had no business thinking. Like yanking her pants off, bending her over, and burying myself in her—
“Did it stop?”
Her voice jolted me back to reality, although my heart beat so hard, I wondered if she could hear it.
I took the wad of toilet paper from her and checked. Therewasn’t much blood on it. After folding it, I pressed it against each nostril. Only a bit of red. Hopefully, it was done.
“I think so. Come on, let’s get you some ice.”
She went back into the garage, and I blew out a breath, trying to clear my head. What the hell was wrong with me? She was the last woman I should have been fantasizing about, especially when she was mere inches away. I didn’t want her. I didn’t even like her.
Except…
