Page 26 of Being Bold
Embarrassment made her clumsy, and she fumbled the bottle, sloshing isopropyl alcohol all over her hands. When the liquid found the cuts and scrapes she’d made shoving branches out of her way during her death-defying hike, she let out an involuntary hiss at the stinging burn.
She’d closed her eyes against the sensation, but they flew open when Bo’s hands landed on hers. He cupped her palms, lifting them toward his mouth. Meeting her wide eyes, he opened his lips and blew. The warm air soothed the sting,orshe was just too shocked to notice it anymore.
Selene gulped. His umber eyes held her transfixed. Her legs felt wobbly, and she wondered how hard she’d hit her head in the loft earlier. Surely, the dizziness she felt was from that and not her reading more into a simple gesture than she should.
Stop staring and say something!
“Thanks.”
The word transformed Bo. He dropped her hands and stepped away, giving her as much space as he could in the small bathroom. “Don’t mention it.”
He’d forced that out through clenched teeth, making her wonder why he had such an issue with gratitude. She’d noticed his discomfort with it before.
“Your turn,” she told him softly, letting it go for now.
Blowing out a breath, she stepped closer. She wasn’t squeamish, but the almost two-inch cut along his ribcage twisted her stomach. It looked painful. The skin on either side was raised and angry, mottled with pink and red. Despite that, the wound was shallow enough that it no longer bled.
Grabbing the washcloth he’d laid on the sink and the bottle of antiseptic, Selene met Bo’s eyes and sent a silent apology because pouring antiseptic over the cut would feel way worse than what she’d experienced with the scratches on her hands.
“This is going to sting like crazy.”
He nodded, the muscle flexing in his cheek as his jaw went taut.
Concentrating, she caught her lip with her teeth as she placed the washcloth against his abs, ready to catch any dripping liquid.
When her fingers touched his skin, he sucked in a sharp breath.
“Try to relax,” she murmured, tipping the alcohol over the slice.
He tensed with a growl.
“I’m sorry.”
She stood close enough to hear his teeth grinding together against the pain. Wanting to soothe the burn like he’d done for her, she bent her head and blew air across the wound.
When his palms gripped her head, she stopped, shuddering as excitement flushed through her at his touch. He lifted her with gentle hands until her gaze locked with his. The look in his eyes was anything but calm. They held a need so hot it seared her all the way to her core.
Maybe Yumi was right.
Maybe therewassomething here.
When his stare fell to her mouth, she leaned in. Something about him pulled at her, hypnotizing her into a trance. His mineral scent surrounded her. It had to be the soap he used, wafting from the shower, because Bo didn’t seem the type to wear cologne. She breathed him in. Rich earth with a hint of citrus and salt, like an orange grove growing on a cliff by the sea.
His head lowered, and Selene closed her eyes, waiting for the tickle of his beard against her chin, then the feel of his lips moving against hers.
But it never came.
He cleared his throat, and her eyes popped open. Confusion raced through her body to pour over her face as he tilted her head to the side to examine her head wound.
In a gruff voice, he said, “The bandage is holding, but we’ll need to change it tomorrow.”
Selene didn’t know what to say. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Hadn’t he been going to kiss me, or did I only imagine it?
Now, he was talking about bandages.
Mentally, she tried to shake the mistake from her mind. She must be letting her attraction to him cloud her judgment if she couldn’t see he wasn’t interested in her that way.
