Page 82 of Delicate Escape

She lifted a ginger ale and a bottle of pills from the counter with one hand, and an ice pack and towel with the other. “I’m not sorry you punched him. Sometimes, that’s the only kind of consequence that someone like him can actually understand.” Thea lifted my uninjured hand and poured three ibuprofen into my palm. “But I hate that you got hurt.”

She dabbed some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab and gently cleaned my torn skin. The moment it was sanitized, she dabbed on some ointment I didn’t really need, then stepped back, slowly wrapping the ice pack in the towel and laying it over my abused knuckles.

I looked up at Thea, gazing into those pale green eyes. “You aren’t mad at me?”

She moved closer, stepping between my legs and running her fingers through my hair. “You made him let me go. Why would I be mad about that?”

“I made a scene.” Andthat, I did regret. Thea didn’t need more eyes on her, more attention, not when she was trying to stay under the radar.

“Hewas already making a scene.”

“Stole ten years off my life when I saw his hands on you. What I would’ve been capable of in that moment? It scared the hell out of me.”

Thea’s brow furrowed, tiny lines digging in as her fingers dropped to my neck. “I’m okay.”

My free hand cupped the back of Thea’s thigh, just needing to feel her, to assure myself that was true. My fingers skated across her skin, feeling the smooth heat. They teased the hem of her dress, lifting the fabric there as my thumb traced circles on her flesh.

“Shep,” she whispered, her voice dipping low.

“This helps. Just feeling you here. It’s telling my brain you really are all right.”

Thea moved in even closer, her legs pressed against the insides of my thighs, her chest close. So tempting. She lifted a hand to my face, her fingers stroking my scruff. “Maybe I need that, too.”

Fuck.

“Thea,” I croaked. “Not a good idea tonight.”

There was a flicker of hurt in those green eyes.

I squeezed the back of her thigh. “Not because I don’t want to. Trust me, I fucking want to. My head just isn’t right.”

The heat was back then, that green sparking and turning deeper. I saw something warring there as Thea gazed down at me. Then she bent, her lips ghosting over mine. “Goodnight, Shep.”

Fucking hell.

Thea released me and stepped back, her eyes holding mine. “Tell me it costs you not to go there.”

The way my balls were aching, it definitely fucking cost me. “More than you’ll ever know.”

Her mouth curved. “Good.”

32

THEA

My eyes feltlike a tiny elf had taken sandpaper to them overnight. Sleep had not been my friend. I’d tossed and turned for hours, replaying the night’s events. I’d thought the encounter with Russ would haunt me. But that wasn’t it.

It was the feel of Shep’s callused fingers on my leg. The heat of him. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel if he slid those fingers just a bit higher.

Hell.

I threw my covers off. I didn’t care that it was only five-thirty. If I didn’t move, I would lose my ever-loving mind.

Moose let out a disgruntled meow. He was not one for early mornings. Rolling over onto his side, he put his paw over his eyes.

“Must be nice,” I muttered. Moose never had any trouble sleeping.

I moved to my tiny closet and pulled my pajama top over my head, tossing it into the hamper before doingthe same with my bottoms. I grabbed my towel from a hook and wrapped it around me. When I reached my door, I paused.

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