The thought of doing exactly that was making him break out in a sweat, but he could hardly just leave her like this. Touching her leg would ensure that he wouldn’t get back to sleep tonight, but he’d endure anything to ease her pain.
“The doctor said that would help, but I can’t do it . . .”
He unclasped her clenched fingers from her knee and ran his hands along her thighs until he felt a huge knot.
“Damn, Taylor! This feels terrible,” he gasped.
“I’ve dealt with it for the past two years. I’ll deal with it tonight.”
But she didn’t even have the energy to swat away his hands. So, taking great care not to hurt her if at all possible, he began kneading the flesh of her naked thigh.
What in the hell was she wearing? It seemed to be about the tiniest pair of panties the stores could possibly sell. Dammit. That was the last thing he should be focusing on, and he refused to think about the light skin of her stomach peeking at him above those panties, where her T-shirt had ridden up.
After a few moments, he increased the pressure of his fingers and massaged her inner thigh. Another moan escaped her lips, but this one was a mixture of pain and relief. He was pretty sure he was helping her, because she wasn’t twisting as violently.
He moved his hands downward, and she protested. “No. Please. Where you were!”
Going back to the place he’d been kneading, a place far too close to her barely concealed core, he continued massaging, finally feeling the hard knot begin to relax under his sure fingers.
Travis didn’t know how long he ministered to her, but pretty soon she was lying there still, her cries and moans silenced and the muscle in her thigh back to normal. He continued rubbing, unsure whether it would tense again if he stopped.
She was no longer sweating, but he could feel the temperature in the room rising the longer he sat on the bed, the longer he touched her smooth skin. This was more torture than he could ever remember feeling.
“Thank you, Travis. I . . . It usually lasts a long time,” Taylor whispered, and he figured that was his cue to stop.
But for some reason, his fingers wouldn’t lift from her skin. Moving them downward, he rubbed along her lower thigh, then down her calf, and he finally captured a foot, pushing his thumbs against her tender arch, eliciting another moan of pleasure from her beautiful mouth.
“I don’t hurt there,” she said, but there was no protest in her voice.
Travis said nothing as he moved to the other foot and took a few minutes to rub along the arch before working his way up her calf and finally reaching her other thigh, making her breath hitch and her body begin to move again on the bed—though this time there was no pain involved. No pain for her, at least.
His hands now gave their attention to the curve of her waist and then the sides of her breasts as he leaned over her. He was so unbelievably hot right then that he didn’t know whether he had enough control to stop touching her.
“Open your eyes, Taylor.”
Slowly, sweetly, achingly, her eyes opened, and the desire he saw reflected in their deep blue depths had him catching his breath.
“I’m going to kiss you now.” That was all the warning he gave before he bent forward and took her lips, his tongue tracing the edges before sliding inside and possessing her the way he’d been longing to from the moment he’d seen her drive away on that dark Montana road.
Careful not to push against her still-sore body, he lay next to her and pressed her against him with one hand so he could feel her perfect curves. Deepening the kiss, he swallowed the moan she released into his mouth before his other hand moved up along her side and slid around to cup one breast.
The feel of her pebbled nipple against his palm had his arousal pulsing. He pressed his hips against hers, the need to take her so consuming that he could think of absolutely nothing else. And why not? Would it really be so bad to satisfy them both?
When her hands came up and sifted through his hair, he nearly lost the battle raging within him. He knew he had to back off, to do the honorable thing. She’d been in pain, and he’d come in to help her. It wasn’t an excuse to satisfy himself, even if she needed it just as much as he did.
“Tell me you want to make love, Taylor.” If she told him she wanted him, then all bets were off. He’d have permission. He wouldn’t just be taking from her. Leaning back only slightly, he cupped her breast, his fingers gliding across her nipple, making her body shudder.
He nibbled on her bottom lip as he waited to hear the words he desperately wanted. And he got . . . nothing. No words at all. He leaned back, his body screaming at him to continue what he’d been doing.
Her eyes were closed, her breathing heavy, her hips still pressed tightly against his. There was no doubt that she could feel exactly what she was doing to him. The question was whether she cared to do anything about it.
“Taylor.” He waited for her eyes to open, and it seemed to take forever, but finally, those beautiful eyes focused on his, and after a few more heartbeats, they began to clear, and now it was Travis who was in pain, because he knew the answer before she spoke.
“This isn’t a good idea, Travis.”
“Why?” he demanded. If she wanted to stop, then he at least deserved to know why.
“I’m not ready for this,” she said, her voice almost broken.
At the distress in her eyes, Travis lost all the fight that he’d been about to give. He ran his hand along the side of her face, cupping her beautiful skin as he looked into her eyes.
“Then I’ll wait until you are.”