“I’ll go put him near the forest,” Ollie said, showing the creature proudly to the crowd that was now gathering around them.
“Thanks, sweetie,” Jill said. Jill came forward. “Beck, her hand is bleeding.”
Presley looked down to see that the top of her hand was cut. Not badly—mostly just broken skin from the weight of the cabinet door.
“Shit. Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you up,” he said softly, helping her to stand.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice shaky. Though she’d be a lot better if everyone wasn’t looking at her.
“We’ll clean this up,” Morgan said, looking at Presley with concern etched in his features. “Think we have time for another round ofMario Kartbefore dinner?”
Grayson nodded, his brows knitted, his frown deepening. “Absolutely. I’m sorry you got hurt, Presley.” Regret slithered through his words.
“I’m fine,” she said again, feeling silly for freaking out. Though,hello, it was not every day that she saw a salamander. In fact, that counted as another first. One she could gladly do without an encore of.
“If it makes you feel better,” Beckett said as he led her away, toward his cabin, “they feel just like the fish you caught the other day.”
She looked up at him as they walked. “It does not make me feel better about that but it does make me feel better that I didn’t touch the fish.”
He laughed. She thought about who she’d been all those years ago. There’d been two people who loved her in that apartment. And she realized now that she’d never felt as cared for as she did in this moment. It wasn’t solely her parents’ fault. They’d been good to her, giving her what she needed physically. It just hadn’t occurred to her that there was more people could give.
Inside his cabin, she sat at one of the kitchen chairs while Beckett grabbed the first aid kit. He pulled the other chair close to hers, setting the kit on the table and opening it.
“Hmm, that’s interesting,” he said, staring at it.
Presley looked up from inspecting her hand. “What?”
Laughter lit up his eyes, making them crinkle in the corners. “Could have sworn I had a brand-new box of fifty Band-Aids in here.”
He picked up the two Band-Aids she’d left in the kit, rubbed them together between his thumb and forefinger. Presley averted her gaze.
“That is weird.” She so owed him some Band-Aids. The extra padding of them helped in her shoes.
His laugh brought her gaze back to his. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say she’d do it herself and take the Band-Aids from his fingers. It wouldn’t do her any good to get attached to the way he naturally cared for her. It was enough that she could acknowledge how much she enjoyed his attention. She couldn’t come toneedit as well.
Beckett gently wiped her hand with a warm cloth, then lifted her hand close to his mouth, blowing gently. Presley said nothing, letting the moment happen. He wasn’t being sexual in any way. He was just taking care of her, and somehow, that was about the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
Her skin tingled with awareness. His gaze lifted, meeting hers. Just one side of his mouth turned up. “You okay? Missing the city today?”
She smiled. She wasn’t missing anything at all. She shook her head.
Beckett kissed each one of her fingertips before turning her hand gently and placing a kiss in the center of her palm. Heat radiated outward from that spot.
“We’ve worked everyone hard today. I think Jilly has a thank-you dessert planned after dinner tonight. You’ve done so much.” He ripped open the Band-Aid wrapper, set it carefully on her skin. “You already have a bruise forming.”
Presley leaned forward to smooth the wrinkle between his brows. “I’m fine.”
Beckett took her hand again, used it to pull her closer, kiss her gently. When he pulled back, he brushed her hair from her face. God. When a man looked at a woman the way he looked at her, did it last? She wasn’t sure anyone had ever looked at her the way he did. Maybe it was too much. It was all fun and games until salamanders and hearts got involved.
A quick knock sounded before Jill poked her head in. “Hey. You okay?”
Presley pushed the chair back and walked toward the door. “I’m absolutely fine.” It helped that they were mostly finished.
Jill stepped all the way into the cabin. “I was going to see if you wanted to come to the mainland with me to grab a few things. Also, the bedding from that site you showed us is in.” Jill’s grin widened, making it easy to see where Ollie got her happy smile from.
Presley sucked in a breath. “I think my heart just skipped a beat.”
