Page 145 of Mountain Grump
I have a half-naked, hot-as-sinhusbandtending to my injured feet. After he thoroughly ravished me in a way I’ve never been ravished before.
What. A. Day.
“This is going to sting, and I’m sorry.” Ethan warns me, holding up a small spray bottle.
When he turns his head toward me, I realize he’s waiting for me to say something. “Okay.”
He looks back down at my feet, but he still hesitates.
And affection fills my chest.
He doesn’t want to hurt me.
“Ethan.” He looks back up at me. “Be a Good Boy and do your job. Make me better.”
His face remains stoic, but his thighs tense under my calves.
Then he blows out a breath. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
I know the antiseptic spray is going to sting, so I don’t know what he’d do about it if I said it was too much. But I agree anyway. “I’ll tell you.”
Ethan slides my pant legs up. Then keeps his hand on my shin, anchoring me, as he mists the spray.
I bite down on my lip and avert my gaze.
Ethan’s thumb rubs soft circles against my skin as he makes a sound of discomfort.
It’s too much.
I blink.
“I’m sorry, Starlight.” His tone sounds like heartbreak. And I have to blink more.
The sudden tears aren’t from the pain.
But I can’t tell him…
If I tell Ethan I’m overrun with emotion because no one—and I meanno one—has ever cared for me like this. So sweetly…
If I tell him this is the most genuine love I think I’ve ever received… He’ll either run for the mountains, or he’ll find a way to fly us back to Vegas so he can murder my entire family.
Neither outcome is ideal.
“I’m going to do the other foot.” He slides his hand over to my other shin, this thumb immediately rubbing those perfect circles. “Then the worst is over.”
I blow out a breath through pursed lips. “I’m ready.”
I am ready for the pain. But I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for all that is Ethan.
He sprays my other foot, making a humming sound that sounds suspiciously like a purr. Reminding me of the mountain lion.
I roll my head to the side and look at the door. “You didn’t unlock the door when we got here.”
Ethan’s hand leaves my shin, and I hear a tiny click as he presses the cap back on the spray bottle. “No. If someone finds the place, it’s better if they just open the door and come in than break a window. But there’s a dead bolt on this side, so I can lock it while I’m here.”
I consider that. “Has anyone ever broken in?”
“Not that I know of.” He hums as there’s a quiet rip.
