Page 14 of The Viking Blues

Not that he was sad to see the departure of those baggy jeans and hoodie; her travelling clothes if he had to guess, given what she’d told him before breakfast.

He let his gaze travel the full length of her fit body.

Jesus, how the fuck does she hold that pose for so long?

His abs hurt just thinking about it.

His cock twitched at the same thought.

Watching her move into the next stretch, he saw her eyes pinch shut and her teeth sink into her bottom lip. Then he heard her cry out and clutch her thigh, and the next thing he knew he was kneeling beside her, easing her onto the deck.

“What do you need?”

“Heat,” she said through gritted teeth. “I need to apply heat.”

“On it.”

Ripping his leather apron off as he ran to the kitchen, Ollie ransacked the drawers, looking for the heat pack he’d given Mia the night before.

He was sure he’d left it on the table, but where the fuck was it now?

“What the hell are you doing?” Abby said, putting away the clean dishes as she stared at him like he’d lost his mind.

“Mia needs a heat pack. Now!”

“It’s in the pantry on the top shelf.”

Finding the wheat-filled pillow exactly where his sister said it would be, Ollie shoved it in the microwave, then tapped his foot as he watched the clock counting down.

Who knew two minutes could last so fucking long?

When the timer dinged, he wrenched open the microwave, grabbed the pack, and ran back to Mia’s side.

The blood drained from his face.

She was writhing on the deck, clutching her leg and biting her lip so hard it had darkened to a deep red.

“Got the pack. Tell me what to do,” he said, dropping to her side.

Mia snatched the heat pack out of Ollie’s hands and pressed it against her inner thigh. Her teeth released her lip, and she let out a shuddering breath. A few more seconds passed before her body relaxed enough that her eyes refocused on him before darting away again.

“Thank you,” she murmured, a deep blush staining her neck and cheeks.

“You’re welcome,” he said, rubbing his neck to ease his own sudden awkwardness. Then he remembered his manners and offered to help her up.

“Thank you. Again,” Mia said as Ollie eased her down onto the old daybed that sat pressed against the back wall of the house, overlooking the garden and forge. She continued pressing the heat pack to her thigh.

After a while, her breathing returned to normal and she didn’t appear to be in pain anymore, but the tightening of her mouth every now and then told him she still was. She’d just gotten better at hiding it.

Ollie opened his mouth to ask her what happened, but when she averted her gaze again, he understood. At least he thought he did.

Mia hated showing weakness.

She always had, even in front of him. So whenever he knew she was hurting, either physically or emotionally, he’d always pretended he hadn’t noticed and distracted her with a joke or idle chatter.

But not this time.

This time he wanted answers. He wanted to know what was going on with her, physically and emotionally. Because that was what grown-ups did.

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