He put his arm around her shoulder, his hand landing on her breast. On purpose? Probably. She was not going to be the next girl in the Cal Braxton harem. She moved his hand to a safer place as they made their way back to camp.
“Hey, you’re not mad at me because I can’t be faithful, are you?”
“Why should that bother me?” she grumbled.
“You sound mad.”
“I’m not mad.” The sooner she returned to Fort Worth, the better. She would throw herself back into her work and she’d forget all about Cal-eventually.
Once back at camp, she helped him ease to his knees. Their bodies came into close contact, his chest pressing against hers. An ache began to build inside her, but she quickly thought about all he’d told her the night before.
It didn’t work. She still wanted him. For a second, she closed her eyes, letting his body bathe her in heat. Her nipples hardened.
“The hook,” he said. “I don’t think I’m up for lovemaking right now, darlin’. Maybe later.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t need servicing.” God, you’d think she was one of the cows and he was a frigging bull!
Nikki moved out of the way a little too fast. He grunted in pain as his hands reached out and his palms landed on the hard ground. He lowered himself the rest of the way.
Okay, she felt bad, a little, that he’d landed so hard when she moved out of his way. “Now what do I do?”
“Cut an opening in my jeans where the hook is.”
She knelt beside him. “I don’t have any nursing experience. Not that I’ll faint at the sight of blood or anything. I just wanted you to know that I really doubt I’ll be able to perform surgery or anything.”
She’d been at the emergency room a couple of times when a shooting victim was brought in, but that had been a long time ago and really early in her career. She’d decided the political arena was messy, but at least it wasn’t quite as gross as a bullet wound and blood spilling out everywhere. A hook shouldn’t pose any problems that she couldn’t handle, though.
Until she’d cut away his jeans a little too much and exposed his butt. She normally wasn’t a butt person but Cal had a really nice one. She liked that it was tanned. It took a supreme effort not to caress it.
“Now, baby, you have to stop ogling my ass. You’ll have plenty of time to look at it after the hook is out.”
She raised the knife, then closed her eyes and counted to ten. She would not plunge it into his back. They put people in jail for stuff like that. She had no intention of spending the next ten years locked up in a correctional institution. Even though her actions would be justified.
But the temptation was really strong.
Cal figured Nikki was about ready to kill him, and since she was holding the knife, he decided to quit pushing her. He’d hate like hell if she plunged it into his back. Besides, his ass hurt every time he moved a little.
“I wasn’t staring at your ass,” she spat out.
He grinned. She probably had been staring at it. Nikki was easily aroused. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that one look, one caress, and she was ready to make love. Well, that was until he’d pissed her off.
It should have made him feel better that she was furious with him. Now the shoe was on the other foot and maybe she was starting to feel used. But it didn’t. All he could think of was what he’d be missing when she left. But it wasn’t like they had anything going for them. She was a reporter. She and Cal together were like oil and water.
“Do you want me to cut the hook out?” she asked, sounding a little too pleased at the prospect of carving him up.
“Look in my saddlebag. There’s a pair of wire cutters. Grab the bottle of whiskey, too.”
“Do you really think this is a good time to start drinking?”
“It’s to disinfect the wound.”
“Oh.”
She stood and went to the saddlebag. When she bent over to dig through it, he had a nice view of her ass. Damn, she had a nice ass. He couldn’t help remembering how it had felt when he’d cupped her cheeks and brought her in closer to him. The way she moved perfectly to the rhythm of his body. An ache started to build inside him.
“Are these the wire cutters?” She held them up.
He jerked his thoughts back to the present. Thinking like that would get him into a lot of trouble. “Yeah. Did you find the whiskey?”
She straightened, the whiskey in one hand and the wire cutters in the other. “The bottle was under all the condoms,” she said, one eyebrow quirked upward. She looked put out. “There were at least two dozen of them.”
“There was a special on at the drugstore.” He hadn’t planned on ending their relationship until they got back. It had been dumb to tell her all those lies last night. “I’m a horny man. What can I say?”
He could almost see the flames shooting from her head. Cal had to remember he had a hook in his ass and she was the one who was going to remove it. He still wasn’t positive she hadn’t done it on purpose.
Nikki marched over and knelt beside him again.
“Cut the end of the hook that has the line attached to it. It’s not going to be easy. Make sure you grip the wire cutters real tight.”
She didn’t do anything.
He suspected her bravado was slipping. “Hey, it’s okay. This isn’t the first time I’ve been hooked. Brian got me once. It might hurt, but I’ll live.”
“I’m not worried I can’t do it. I was getting a drink.”
She was getting a drink? He hadn’t seen her pick up one of the canteens…“You’re not supposed to drink the whiskey. I’d rather not have you drunk when you remove the hook.”
“Then I’ll make sure I’m only a little tipsy.”
“Listen, it’s not that big of a deal.” He wasn’t convinced she wasn’t just nervous. “You can do this.”
“Of course I can, but I really was thirsty. Don’t worry, I saved enough to pour on your butt.”
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t nervous. She was a whole lot sarcastic, though. He didn’t think he liked her attitude, either. Maybe he’d made too light of his injury?
He heard her take a deep breath, and then her knuckles brushed against the cheek of his ass as she gripped the hook. He bit down on his lip when the hook wiggled. A few seconds later there was a snap.
“The end is cut. Now what?”
“Grasp the curved end of the hook with the wire cutters and bring it out. Don’t pull straight up. You’ll want to curve it as you remove it.”
“It looks pretty deep.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“Sorry. If it’s any consolation, the hook is thin.”
“I feel much better.”
Silence.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Looking at it. If you’d been a fish, there’s no way you would’ve gotten off. I hooked you pretty good.”
“Do you mind?”
“I was just making an observation, Braxton. Okay, get ready.”
He held his breath as she brought it out, but she brought it out fast without hurting him too much. He sucked in his breath for effect. Might as well make the most of the situation.
“It wasn’t
Had she run out of sympathy? “It hurt,” he complained.
“It was a small hook.”
“Well, pour some of the whiskey on it so it won’t get infected. That is, if you haven’t finished off the bottle.”
“I’m laughing on the inside.”
The liquid burned as it hit the wound. “Ow! You could’ve warned me before you poured it.”
“I’m going to pour it,” she said dryly.
