Page 76 of Tacos & Toboggans
“Wait, it gets better,” I promised, hitting the button on the side. The jets kicked on, turning the water frothy as the bubbles played against our backs and legs.
“Oh, that’s heaven,” she moaned, lowering her bad arm into the water near one of the jets. “My wrist is bothering me a bit tonight.”
“It’s the weather,” I said with a frown. “You’ll notice the pressure changes more now with the metal in there. It probably didn’t help that we were outside for so long today. The metal holds the cold a bit more.”
“Well, you’re going to have to make apologies for inflicting that on me then,” she said, shaking her head in fake disappointment. “I can’t let it stand.”
“I’ve given you brandy to warm your belly and a bubble bath to warm your arm,” I reminded her, and she leaned back again with a satisfied smile. “I’m happy to add a massage to the mix if it pleases the queen.”
One eye popped open, and she drank me in. Her breasts floated lazily on the water, tempting me to reach out and cup them. “I’ll never turn down a massage after a warm bath. Unless you mean my arm, then I’ll pass.”
“Baby doll, I wasn’t thinking about your arm when I made that offer. I was thinking about your long, sweet neck, gorgeous back, tight backside, and long legs. Don’t even get me started on what I’d do if you were lying on that gorgeous back.”
“But do tell, Dr. Warren,” she said, lifting her eggnog to her lips again, taking a long gulp. Something told me she was out of her element doing this dance, but by God, she was sexy and didn’t even know it.
“Trust me when I say the person sitting across from you right now is not thinking about his medical degree.”
“A shame,” she said with a frown. “I was thinking about what those trained hands could do to my body to cause pleasure instead of pain.”
“Woman,” I said between clenched teeth. “It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have to sit here and not pull you onto my lap the way I’ve wanted since the first day I laid eyes on you.”
“The first day you laid eyes on me, I was sweaty, covered in taco grease, and wearing a t-shirt that said,Let’s taco ‘bout it.”
“You were,” I said with a smirk. “And you were still gorgeous.”
“Such a smooth talker,” she said, batting her eyelashes until I gripped her thighs and pulled her to me, my patience waning the longer we danced.
“When I was younger, I was known to smooth-talk my way into a woman’s pants, but now, what I say is what I feel because life is entirely too short to play games.”
“Good thing I’m not wearing any pants.” The thought alone made me moan in a way I didn’t even try to hide.
“I noticed that, and I can say, I’m a fan.”
“What are we doing here, Major?” she asked, her arms around my neck.
“Having a bath,” I answered, nuzzling her neck as I stroked slick hands up and down her back to wash it. The wind blew hard against the windowpanes, reminding me of the storm outside. “Sharing warmth.”
“No expectations?” she asked, and I buried my lips deeper in her neck as I exhaled, drawing goosebumps to her skin.
“None,” I assured her. “Other than sharing my heart with you.”
“Your heart?” I felt her breath hitch at the two words.
“You own it,” I said, leaning back to hold her gaze. Hers was smoky in the candlelight with a touch of fear around the edges. I didn’t know why, but I wanted nothing more than to blow it away.
“I own your heart?” she asked as though she either couldn’t believe that to be true or had misheard me.
“Since the day I met you, Jaelyn. Every time I started to question if I’d made the right choice moving to Bells Pass, you’d pop up and have dinner with me or offer a smile that kept me going until the next time. I sought you out so we could spend time together, because when we did, all the noise in my head quieted. In you, I found a little bit of peace. Then I was called into your hospital room and charged with fixing something inside you that was broken. Never, in all my years as a doctor or any of the surgeries I’d performed, had I ever questioned my skills more or hesitated before every decision I made in the operating room as I did that night. The idea of being the one to cause you pain made me want to vomit. That’s when I knew every decision I made since I started highschool as a fresh-faced twelve-year-old would lead me to you.”
“You started high school at twelve?” she asked, her eyes wide. “I mean, I knew you were smart, but—”
“But so are you, even if you’re missing the point.”
“Your point is that I healed you more than you healed me.”
“As I said, smart,” I agreed with a nod. “I’ll always carry the evidence of how broken I was, but for the first time in nine years, I feel whole again.”
“I noticed the scars,” she said, tracing a large one that ran across my abdomen. “I thought only your leg had been injured, but now I know the truth. You were a hero that day in so many ways.”
