Page 28 of Claimed by the Lawman

He blinked. “An extinguisher on a burning building?” he growled the words. “You’re lucky you weren’t hurt beyond the busted lip.”

“I had to do something,” she muttered. “I couldn’t just stand there and watch.”

“Damn.” His rough, sandpapery voice caressed her senses. “You’re covered in soot, and what the hell happened to your knees? You’re bleeding.”

Looking at her scuffed, raw looking knees, she sighed. “I fell.”

His warm hand on her forearm brought her gaze back up. His jaw had softened some and it triggered something inside her, a feeling she didn’t want to feel, not when it wouldn’t be reciprocated. He’d made it clear over the last week that he wanted to keep things on a professional level.

Tears bubbled up and having him so close made her weakness triple.

How could he do this to her? Turn her on, only to deny her?

Remembering how once upon a time she could fall into his arms as he comforted her. How she wanted to do such a thing now, just fall mindlessly. Forget everything except how he made her feel.

He looked down at her, his callused fingers sending waves of heat into her bones. “It’s okay. You’re safe. That’s what matters.”

She blinked. “I don’t know why I’m so upset.”

“I do. Someone came onto your property and violated your safety. It’s normal to be hurt and upset. Deputy Payne said you didn’t see anyone.”

She gave her head a shake. “Nothing. But there was a gas can left behind.”

Kace nodded. “Yeah, I heard.” His jaw tightened some. His fingers smoothed over her skin until his hand rested on her elbow, his thumb settling into the groove of her sensitive skin. “I want to take a look myself. That can wait a few minutes though.”

She tugged a tendril of hair behind her ear and he winced. Did he feel sorry for her? She was certain she looked like she’d been sucked into the eye of a tornado and spit out.

“How about you have a seat and let me look at those knees and lip?”

It was best that she sit before she fell. A few seconds later there was a soft damp cloth pressed against her lip. She looked at him, watching him wipe away the soot and blood with a tenderness that made her melt into the cushions.

He knelt in front of her, lifting her leg and tending to one scraped knee. His warm fingers on her bare skin made her throat constrict and her nipples tighten. How was she expected to keep her hands to herself when all she wanted was to thread her fingers through his thick hair? Yet, a woman could only flirt with a man so much before rejection got to her.

“They’re not too bad,” he said as he cared for the other knee. Goosebumps scattered her skin.

“I’m sorry you had to come here. It seems I’m always dragging you away from something.”

He shrugged. “I was in the area.”

“Considering Bohannan is all of four stop lights, I guess that would be true.” She coughed, her lungs were still sore from inhaling the smoke.

“You need some water.”

She watched him walk into the kitchen, enjoying how his broad back moved under the shirt that was almost too tight for his strapping muscles and the way his firm bottom filled out the seat of the Wranglers doing the worn denim justice. He must have taken his hat off sometime because it was sitting next to her on the couch and this exposed his head. She remembered how she liked to tug his hair in the throes of orgasm. How she left scratches on his skin from wild impulses. She’d been an unskilled lover, but together they’d learned what each other liked, taken their time to explore each other’s body.

When he was out of eyesight, she groaned. Why did her thoughts have to drift to sex every time he was around? Sure, once upon a time they’d had great sex. No, the sex had been more than just great. It had been mind blowing. Even back when neither of them had any experience. He’d been her first, and most women never forgot their first, but it was more than that with Kace. He’d touched her in a way that marked her body and she’d never be able to forget.

When he returned with a water bottle, she’d managed to gather some of her control and she didn’t feel like she could cry at any minute.

“Here you go. It’ll help.”

She uncapped the water and drank, not realizing how parched she was until now. “Thank you.”

“Are you sore?”

“Just my knees.”

He took the cloth that she placed on the table and he sat down next to her, patting his lap. She lifted a brow. “Lay back and put your legs up here. I wasn’t quite finished.”

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