Page 39 of The Agreement

“It hurts. Enough that I’m thinking about swearing.”

I wanted to kiss the hurt away. Nothing deep-throat, tonsil-tickling, but something sweeter, like a peck on the cheek or the forehead kiss Adam gave her earlier. But that hardly felt like ajust friendskind of gesture.

“Don’t try to walk on it.” Sebastian joined us. He’d been an EMT before he inherited his shop from his grandmother. “Get her inside.”

I scooped Brooke into my arms, and her surprised gasp sounded too much like the sounds she’d made when she was being spanked. She relaxed in a breath, molding herself to my chest. This was both way better and far worse than the gasp on its own.

I shook my reactions aside, carried her into the shop, and set her gently on a stool behind the counter.

Adam used his phone to light the path after we left the brightness of the snow behind.

“Didn’t even get winded. I’m impressed.” Sebastian clapped me on the shoulder.

Adam stood at Brooke’s side. “He is. He’s just too manly to let it show.”

I raised my brows, not trusting myself to speak without gasping for air.

Adam and I offered the best light we could with our phones, while Sebastian checked Brooke’s ankle, prodding and twisting gently and asking her if it hurt after each movement. At his request, I stepped away long enough to grab an ace bandage, and pack some snow into a storage bag.

I wanted to run into the basement and grab the battery powered lights as well, but I wasn’t sure where we’d left them and stumbling around in limited light, in the cold, was a bad idea.

When I returned, Sebastian wrapped her foot up with the bandage. “Ninety-nine percent sure it’s a mild sprain. Nothing looks like it’s broken or cracked, but keep your weight off it for the next couple of days, elevate it when you can, ice it as often as you need, and make sure you get to a doctor for a second opinion.”

“Thank you.” Brooke gave him a warm smile.

“No problem. You know where to find me if you need me.” Sebastian gave a wave, and headed out.

As soon as he was gone, Brooke hopped from the stool, landing on her good foot.

“Whoa,” I said at the same time as Adam. “What did you not understand about staying off your feet?” I asked.

The look Brooke gave me lacked any apology. “He told me to keep my weight off it. I am. What are you going to do, carry me everywhere?”

“If I have to.” I wasn’t going to let her make the injury worse.

Would I go to this kind of effort if Aubrey was the one who was hurt? Or Adam?

Of course I’d be this protective of Adam. Where did the thought come from? “What are you off to do, anyway? We can’t go anywhere.”

“I’m going to use the toilet. And our relationship—whatever it is—is not in a place where you’re carrying me into the bathroom and waiting while I finish.”

That was fair. “Wait thirty seconds.” I strode away at a quick pace, and returned with a cane I’d fetched from a bin of them. “But then we’re going upstairs, and you’re staying there the rest of the night.”

Brook studied me, contemplation written on her face. “All right.”

When we made it upstairs, we decided putting her in Adam’s room made the most sense—it was closest to the bathroom and kitchen. As irrational as it was, especially since we planned on all three of us sticking together for warmth—jealousy flashed through me at the decision.

When Adam pulled candles from one of the boxes he had stacked against the wall, the feeling surged again. He extracted several colorful, soy candles, and set them around the room.

“Pretty colors,” Brooke said as Adam lit each one. “Will the scents clash?”

He shook his head. “They’re unscented.”

“Oh.” Brooke sounded like she’d never heard of such a thing.

I suspected she didn’t know what the candles were really for, but I recognized them as one of Adam’s favoritespecial occasiontoys. Wax play meant pain plus art, and of course he enjoyed that. I’d enjoyed being the recipient on occasion as well, but now I was wondering how Brooke would react.

It didn’t matter, because we were using the candles to light the room. Nothing more.

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