Page 50 of Deking at Love
Mouth full of fluffy pancake, he grinned.Next time.He liked the sound of that.How about tomorrow morning?And the one after that?And after that?
“I worked up an appetite, and this is really, really good.”Between bites, he added, “You’re off today, right?”She nodded.“What do you want to do?”
She paused mid-bite.One eyebrow dipped.“Aren’t you being a little presumptuous?”
Yeah, he was totally being presumptuous, but damn, he wanted to spend every minute with her.Every hour.He shrugged.“I’d call it optimistic.”
She shook her head, but a smile tugged her kissable lips.“I signed up to work at the shelter from ten to two.Saturdays are usually pretty busy.”
“Could they use an extra hand?”
Her mouth formed a surprised O.“I suppose so.Are you offering yours?”
“I am.”
She glanced down at his foot.“How’s your ankle feeling after last night?”
He set his fork on his empty plate.“Honestly?It hurts a little.”Afraid she’d tell him no, he downplayed the throb.
She stood and took his plate for him.“I should have a look at it.Why don’t you stretch out on the bed or the couch—whichever is more comfortable—and I’ll assess it.”She deposited the dishes in the sink and parked her hands on her hips.“Are you going to let me check it out, or are you going to fight me?”A cute little smirk tipped her lips.
“I won’t fight you … as long as you’re naked while you’re doing your assessing.”He waggled his eyebrows.
She shot him a wide-eyed look.“A naked physical therapist?Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“But you’re not justanyphysical therapist.”
“Gee, thanks?And exactly who’s going to be examining whom?”
“How about a mutual explor—uh, examination?While you’re looking at my ankle, I’ll be checking out your … everything.Think how it’ll take my mind off my ankle.”She rolled her eyes.“Hey, it’s a great idea,” he insisted with a laugh.
“I disagree.”
To his disappointment, she kept the robe on while she palpated his ankle.Even though the garment gaped at times and gave him enticing views, it didn’t take his mind off his aching ankle.He had overdone it.He knew it, and she knew it.
“You should stay off it today,” she advised.
“But I want to come to the shelter with you and meet your furry friends.How about a compromise?”
In the end, she gave him ibuprofen and iced his ankle while she took a shower behind her closed bathroom door.He groaned as he thought about her mere feet away, under the spray, water sluicing off every inch of her perfect body.
They stopped by his apartment, where he got cleaned up, changed clothes, and tucked away his point-and-shoot camera, a Canon PowerShot.He didn’t balk when she pressed him to wear the boot.If that was the price he had to pay to spend time with her today, who was he to argue?The sacrifice was worth the reward.
Days ago, he’d been a rehabbing hockey player with nothing else on his mind but trying to get back to the game.Now?Obsession had bloomed into addiction, and he had no idea where it would carry him.He’d never been here before.What he did know was that he didn’t want to look into the future too closely, or it might blind him.
He was in so damn deep he might drown.
Chapter 17
Obsession
Thesharpsmellofdisinfectant struck Sam the instant they walked into the shelter.Angie was greeted by several staff members manning the front desk, and they all seemed happy to see her.Chatting and smiling, she signed in and introduced Sam.This Angie was a different woman from the one who’d been browbeating him during PT.Okay, “browbeating” was a slight exaggeration, but she’d been tough on him—especially in the beginning—and her imitation of the ice machine she liked to hook him up to had fed into his perception of her as a cold hard-ass.Then again, he’d probably deserved it.He hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy either.
But this version of her was softer, more approachable, intriguing even—like the girl he used to know.He hoped the side of Angie he was witnessing now was the flip side of the tigress she’d been in bed last night—unlike the hesitant girl he’d bedded years ago.Not that he’d minded that version of her, but last night’s variation?Holy hell!Sign him up and wrap a bow around him.
Her easygoing banter with the women rocketed him back to her side.“Go easy on him,” she joked.“This is his first day, and we don’t want to scare him away.”
“God, no,” one of the staffers laughed.“We need all the help we can get!”
