I stood up and winced from the pain in my backside. I was going to have a bruise for sure. I dusted off the few slivers of glass still clinging to my clothes, but they opened up tiny cuts in my fingers. The blood that smeared down my legs only made things look worse than they were.
I eased out of the wreckage I had created. Once I was sure I wasn’t trailing any pieces of glass after me, I found a clean cloth in my basket, then went to the nearest bathroom to the right of the game room, wet the cloth, and cleaned up my legs.
“What are you doing?” His voice sounded mad.
I jerked my head up and backed away as he filled the doorway of the bathroom. My foot was up on the closed toilet seat lid, and I immediately dropped it back to the floor. “I’m sorry I’m barefoot. I was going to clean the toilet lid once I was done.”
His frown grew. Crap. I wasn’t making this better.
“I don’t care about the fucking toilet. Why didn’t you wait for me to help you up? You could have stepped in more glass.”
What? This time I frowned. I wasn’t understanding him. “I was careful,” I replied, still not sure what had him upset.
“Come on. I’m going to pull that glass out and clean the wound and wrap it before we leave. You can’t keep it in there. It could get infected.”
“OK,” I replied, afraid to tell him no. He was obviously intent on helping me.
He turned and started walking out, so I followed him. I only glanced down once at his bottom, and that was only because I was curious about what his backside looked like in those jeans he was wearing. It was just as impressive as his front. Those jeans fit nicely.
I sent my gaze up his back and noticed for the first time that he had a ponytail. His hair wasn’t that long, but it seemed at least to hit his shoulders. I hadn’t allowed myself to look at him enough to notice. His eyes and strong jawline had taken all my attention before.
We reached his bedroom door, and he stood back and waved me inside. “I have no idea where Nan keeps her first-aid supplies, but I’ve got some in my duffel. I’m doctoring a fall from a horse I’m breaking, so I came prepared.”
Nan? Who was Nan? “Do you not live here?” I asked.
He pulled out a small blue pouch from his camouflage duffel bag and turned to look back at me. A grin lifted the corners of his mouth, and his eyes danced with amusement. “Hell, no.” He chuckled. “Have you met Nannette? No one willingly lives with her. But since our father owns this house, I can stay here whenever I choose. I just choose to do so when Nan is gone.”
“Oh. I’ve never seen anyone here until you,” I said.
“That explains a lot,” he mumbled, then chuckled as if he knew a joke I didn’t. He held out his hand. “Here, give me your hand. I will be as gentle as I can, but this is gonna sting.”
I didn’t let men touch me. But something about the concerned way he was studying my palm made me trust him. He was a nice guy, or he seemed to be a nice guy. He wasn’t looking at me in ways that made me nervous.
I placed my hand palm up in his, and he glanced up at me apologetically, as if it was his fault. I watched as he slowly slid the glass out of my palm and then began dotting it with a cotton ball he’d coated in peroxide. Yes, it stung, but I’d been through much worse.
He bent his head and started gently blowing on my wound as he cleaned it. The cool feel of his breath on my skin eased the sting, and I became fascinated with the way his lips looked puckered up. Was he for real? Had I hit my head when I fell? Was this some strange dream?
He held the cotton ball tightly against the wound, pressing it down with his thumb while he reached for a new cotton ball and medical tape. “I wish I had some salve for it, but I rarely use it, so I didn’t bring any. I’ve got some Tylenol you can take to ease the pain until we can get you to the hospital.”
I just nodded. I didn’t know what else to do. No one had ever cared that I had an injury. And I’d had many.
“My name is Mase, by the way,” he said, as he glanced up at me while wrapping my hand.
“I like that name. I’ve never heard it before.” He chuckled. “Thanks. Do you have a name?” Oh. He was asking what my name was. No one I had worked for had asked me my name except for one client. But she was different from the clients at the other places I worked. “Yes, I do. It’s Reese.”
Mase
She smelled like a fucking cinnamon bun. That sweet cream icing and cinnamon smell that made your mouth water. Not taking deep whiffs as her scent wafted over me was hard. But I managed not to act like a psycho and pull her up against me so I could bury my face in her neck and just breathe. I’d never known a woman to smell like a cinnamon bun, but damn, it was a turn-on.
I got her hand wrapped up and then led her down the stairs. She seemed confused about something, but she didn’t say much. I asked her if she had a purse, and she nodded and went to get it from the table beside the door. It wasn’t what most women would call a purse; it was a faded blue backpack. She slung it over her shoulder and looked back at the house with a worried expression.