Page 79 of 5 Golden Flings

“Now on your feet, big boy.”

Who knew if he could manage that, but it was all she could think of. She moved around to the front and grabbed his elbows, careful to avoid the fingers, which looked even more purple. In the back of her mind an imaginary clocked ticked out the time, telling her she was running out.

He stared at her as she pulled. The little frown that tucked his brows together shouldn’t have been so intriguing. By instinct she reached out and pushed the wet toboggan from his head. The shock of ginger color that was revealed sent a thrill through her.Focus on the task at hand.

It took forever to get him to cooperate, but eventually he struggled to his feet. She marched him across the expanse of living room, then through the kitchen to the back part of the house. Her father had divided this area into two spaces with a laundry and mudroom on one side and—for the time—a considerably progressive bathroom on the other. The oversize space would come in handy now, thank goodness.

Maria had done some upgrading and added a narrow but deep bathtub that would have been perfect, but Brynn would never get this guy out of it once he sat down. Instead she reached into the separate shower stall and turned the hot water on full blast. Turning back, she saw him trying to sit down on a wooden pew that matched the one by the front door—a nod to the house’s origins.

“Oh no you don’t,” she said, rushing over to halt his move. “We’ve got to get you warm.”

He stared blankly at her, so she took matters into her own hands—literally. Moving behind him, she peeled the coat from his shoulders, littering the floor with melting ice. Back to the front, she gestured to his button-down flannel shirt. “Can you take this off?”

He seemed to be comprehending better, because his hands did go to the buttons, but his clumsy movements weren’t coordinated enough to actually accomplish anything. Finally, she unbuttoned the top couple herself, then pulled the shirt over his head like she would have a child. He at least retreated once his head was covered, because otherwise he would have been stuck that way. Same with the thermal undershirt, giving her a full-on view of a muscled landscape.

Lord, have mercy, he kept himself in shape.

“Come on, big boy. Work with me.”

She tried to ignore the firm muscles of his upper arms and chest, but focusing on those hazy green eyes also didn’t help her any. So she zeroed in on his lower half. The pants were some kind of material she hadn’t dealt with before, hopefully the kind that kept water out.

Was it considered inappropriate to take a stranger’s pants off?“You need to get in the shower. Can you take off your pants?”

He just blinked at her a few times, hands not even moving in the right direction.

Great. Not as much cooperation this time. How had she gotten into this situation? As she reached out for the button on the pants, she had to wonder why he’d chosen her house. Couldn’t he have moseyed on down the road until he came to the next one?

Pulling these down didn’t feel quite as bad, because he had a layer of thermals on underneath, but those had to go too. She averted her gaze to the ground as she skimmed them down to his bare skin, then knelt before him to work the two layers off his feet. She felt him rest his hands on her shoulders as she lifted each foot in turn with a little help from him. As she stood, her gaze traced over the mostly naked body in front of her.

“Holy shit,” she murmured under her breath. He had to have the most incredible male body she’d ever seen, not that she was looking...much.

Okay, gonna leave the boxer briefs on for modesty.Maybe he wouldn’t claim she’d been trying anything inappropriate if she did that? Taking his hand, she led him over to the shower. Steam billowed from the top of the door.

Reaching in, she adjusted the heat level down a little, not wanting to overdo it. “Get in, big boy,” she said, holding the door open so he could just step over the threshold.

He stood still for a long moment, looking first down at her by his side, then at the shower. “Come on,” she murmured. The last thing she wanted was to have to get behind him and push.

Suddenly he stepped up to the lip of the shower and reached out with his hand to feel the water for himself. As soon as it touched his flesh, he hissed, jerking back.

But almost immediately he reached back out. His big body shuddered as he held his hand under the water. She knew it hadto be uncomfortable, but it was all she had to warm him up. “Go on in,” she urged.

Without warning, he hooked his hands into the waistband of his underwear and pulled. Brynn found herself watching the high, tight curve of his naked ass as he stepped fully into the stall.

Holy shit, indeed.

Then he turned to let the water cover his back, giving her an incredible silhouette of a grown-ass man with a full blown?—

With an instinctive push, she slammed the shower door shut.Definitely a big boy...

CHAPTER 4

Colby felthis body slowly coming back to life. As the hot water flowed over his skin, needles of pain broke out in waves, concentrated down his forearms into his hands and fingers.

He groaned. The logical part of his brain seemed far away and hazy, but it somehow knew this was a good thing. Gradually the warmth replaced the numbness in the best of ways. He pressed his palms against the side of the shower and groaned again—this time with pleasure.

That was a close one.It was the first true thought for his awakening brain. Slowly he was coming back online.

Glancing down, he realizedeverythingwas now awake. Bet that had been a shock to his rescuing angel. Her words,Come on, big boy,echoed in his brain.

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