Page 49 of Flirting With Fire
I reached for him. “I’m sorry. Let me see.”
But Dex pulled away from me. “Don’t touch it!”
“Don’t be a baby, tilt your head.” I tugged his hand away so I could inspect his nose, turning his head so I could see in the dim light. I hummed as I pressed a tissue to catch a trickle of blood.
“What’s the verdict?” he asked.
“You could audition for Rudolph at the moment.”
Dex groaned. “Red?”
“Glowing,” I assured him. “But nothing’s broken, and I don’t think you’ll get a black eye. The bleeding has almost stopped.”
“That’s a good thing, or the town will think you’ve been beating me up.”
Now it was my turn to groan. The last thing I needed was a reputation for beating up my boyfriend. I climbed out of bed. “Have you got an icepack?”
“In the freezer at the top.”
I tugged on my briefs, not bothering to dress before I left the bedroom. I jogged into the kitchen, flicked on the light, and headed for the freezer. I found the ice packs easy enough. From the number of them in one drawer, Dex probably had to use them often. I grabbed two, just in case, turned, and nearly shed my skin as Cal walked in the door. He brought with him a blast of cold morning air and a quizzical expression as he regarded me.
“Morning.” His lips twitched. “I thought you were moving into the cottage.”
“I am,” I almost squeaked. “We, uh, fell asleep on…the couch.”
Geez, Jones, get it together. It’s not the first time you’ve been caught in a boyfriend’s house. Admittedly, the last time was in school and you were caught by his father, but this feels almost the same.
Cal eyed the icepacks. “What are those for?”
Great. Now I was going to have to admit I’d smacked his employer in the face.
“Can’t you find them?” Dex said as he entered the kitchen, thankfully breaking the stare-off between us. At least he’d taken the time to pull on his sweats and T-shirt. It was only me standing in my underwear. “Oh, you found them. Morning, Cal.”
“Mornin’,” Cal drawled. “Busy night?”
“Yeah, we were shattered after yesterday.” Dex seemed oblivious to the tension in the kitchen. “I said I’d drive Meyer home this morning. Wanna give me the icepack before they melt?”
I hastily offered him both. He took one, pressed it against his nose, and sighed. “That feels better.”
I put the other pack in the freezer, hoping Cal wouldn’t ask…
“What happened to you?” Cal’s eyebrows knitted together as he studied Dex’s red nose.
“Meyer decided my face was the alarm and hit me in the nose,” Dex said cheerfully. He flapped a hand as Cal’s expression darkened. “Don’t look like that. He was asleep and had no idea.”
“Are you sure?” Cal didn’t seem convinced.
“I don’t make a habit of beating up my boyfriends,” I snapped, knowing Cal had every right to be suspicious, but it had been an accident, and the last I needed was this getting back to my mom and the chief.
They both turned to regard me. Cal’s suspicious expression I could read, but what was Dex’s wide-eyed stare for? I processed what I’d just said. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it. I didn’t beat up my boyfriends…oh. I said the ‘b’ word. I gulped.
Dex swallowed, too. “We need to get you to Lindy’s if you’re going to get to work on time.”
Cal sighed as he looked between us. “Get out of here so I can drink my coffee in peace. And put some clothes on, son. No one needs to see your naked body this early in the morning.”
“I don’t know,” Dex murmured. “I like the view.”
At Cal’s sound of disgust, I fled out of the kitchen before my body betrayed me, Dex’s laughter following me. Just the sound of his voice made my dick twitch in anticipation. I dressed quickly, gathered my uniform from yesterday, and headed back into the kitchen to hear Dex speaking. I paused outside the door, waiting to hear what he said.
