“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you under the covers. That muscle relaxer should start kicking in soon.”
After he pulled the covers back, he helped her under them—thank God she’d been able to pull on the fleece sweats by herself—and tucked the blankets around her, then he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
The heat of his lips seared her skin. He lifted slightly to gaze down at her. As she met his green eyes, her breath hitched hard in her lungs. Had they just dropped to her lips?
Don’t do that!
“I’m going to take good care of you,” he murmured. “Now I think we need to get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”
He straightened and grabbed some clothes out of the dresser. Over the course of the last hour, his black shirt had come untucked and he’d rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. His blond hair, perfectly styled hours ago, now stuck up in odd directions, as though he’d continuously run his hand through it.
Guilt swamped over her. Here she was picking apart every one of his actions, while he was simply worried about her pain level.
He dropped his clothes on the end of the bed and unbuttoned his shirt, paying no mind to the fact that she lay mere feet away, acting as if she found herself in his bed every day, watching him get undressed.
When he finished with the buttons and peeled his shirt back over his shoulders, revealing his chiseled six-pack, she bit the inside of her bottom lip. His muscles moved, holding her captivated. A wave of lust pooled low in her stomach. Her mouth went dry, and she had to force a swallow.
She knew he didn’t think it was a big deal, since he walked around here shirtless all the time. But it was a big deal to her. It had always been.
Pain or no pain, Tommy’s actions still made forbidden thoughts fly through her head.
God, she was pathetic.
Closing her eyes, she turned her head into the pillows, blocking out the image of him. She carefully shifted onto her side, turning her body away from the empty side of the bed, needing to avoid looking at him.
When the mattress dipped, her eyes sprang open. “What are you doing?”
“Getting into bed. What do you think?”
Gingerly she rolled over to look at him, then immediately wished she hadn’t, since the jerk didn’t have a damn shirt on and his well-defined pecs dusted with blond hair filled her vision, tormenting her. She pointed to the door. “I think you need to get your ass down the hall into my bed?”
Oh man, she’d liked giving him that order way too much. He needed to go. Now.
“You’re kidding, right?” The hurt confusion on his face irked her even more. The man had no clue why she didn’t want him in the same bed as her.
“Uh, no? What the hell, Tommy?”
“No way am I leaving you on your own, hurt like this. You couldn’t even get up to go to your own room a minute ago. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t done this before.”
“That was years ago, when I was home from college. I’ve pulled my back since then, and I’ve done just fine on my own.”
“I. Don’t. Care.” He slid into bed, obviously intending to completely ignore her wishes. “It’s what best friends do.”
Best friends, she reminded herself sternly as her heart sank ten different ways. That’s all this is.
She clenched her eyes closed, her entire body stiffening as the blankets shifted, and his naked leg brushed against hers. He spooned up next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and perching his chin on her shoulder. A half-naked Tommy all cuddled up behind her— holy Mother of God.
“How you feeling?”
How the hell did he think? Like she was jumping out of her damn skin. “Fine,” she managed to croak.
“Come on, I’m serious. Does it still hurt as much?”
Oh. My. God. He wanted to talk? All she could think about was the feel of his freaking naked body pressed behind hers, him holding her tight.
Okay. Deep breath. At least he was trying to give her something to do other than wanting to wiggle her body backward, closer to his. “No, I’m b-better.”
“Meds working?”
“Moving…a little easier. Making me sleepy, too.”
“Good. Slide your top off.”
Her eyes popped open again. “W-What?”
“I’ll massage your shoulders. You’re so rigid. I also want to put some muscle cream on your back.
Trust me, this stuff works great.”
“I’m fine.” There was no possible way she was allowing him to touch her like that.
He scooted backward then rose to kneel beside her. “Come on, Julie. I feel terrible you’re hurting, and it’s something I can do. Let me help. Please.”
The pleading in his voice made her waver. “Fine. But I’ll keep my shirt on, thank you.”
“You know as well as I do that you can’t get a proper massage with a shirt on. It’s not a big deal. Take it off.”
Not a big deal, she mimicked in her mind. Of course it wasn’t. For him.
God. How many more reminders would she need before it finally sank in?