He really was handsome. In a coarse, entirely unpolished sort of way. A way that suggested he’d lived a brutal life filled with the kind of violence and uncertainty she’d never encountered.
Starting at her elbow, his large hands encircled her arm as he kneaded and probed with broad fingers. All the way up to her shoulder where he followed the structure of bones and ligaments surrounding the dislocated joint.
The intense pain of his necessary exploration had her sucking in a harsh breath as more tears burned in her eyes. His gaze flew to hers, solemn and intent as he held her stare.
Her breath came swift through her clenched teeth as she felt drawn in by the intensity in his eyes. Drawn in and...claimed.
Glancing away, he cleared his throat as he lifted his hands from her. “No fractures. That’s good. It’ll hurt like hell when I realign your shoulder, but then you should feel some relief.”
“I understand.”
“Relax. Breathe slow and even.” A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. “I know it’ll be hard, but you’ll have to completely submit to my direction.”
Katherine’s reply was swift and curt. “This isn’t going to work.”
He chuckled, a wonderful rich sound. “Close your eyes.”
As soon as she did, he took her wrist in his hand. Slowly, smoothly, gently—he straightened her arm and began to pull it out to her side. Once he reached a point where her arm was at a ninety-degree angle from her body, he pressed his other hand against the side of her torso, curving around her rib case for leverage. Then he began to slowly but firmly pull on her wrist.
She clenched her teeth as the damaged tissue tightened in protest.
But then with a strange sort of clunk, her shoulder found its proper position. The sound was horrid, but the relief was instantaneous.
Her breath puffed out in a heavy gust, and she opened her eyes to see Hale leaning over her, his face a mask of grave tension as he carefully lowered her arm and nestled it to her side then bent her forearm across her waist.
“Stay here and don’t move.” His voice was stern as he turned and strode from the room.
Katherine wasn’t going anywhere just yet. Though the odd useless numbness had left her arm, the spot where the horse’s hoof had made contact was throbbing anew, as was her twisted ankle. She lifted her head and pulled up her skirt with her good hand to risk a glance at the pained limb and noted some swelling above her fashionable boots.
Hale returned at that moment, with a length of cloth thrown over his arm and a small jar in his hand.
She quickly tried to lower her skirts back over her legs, but it wasn’t so easy to accomplish while laid out flat.
His tone was sardonic. “Don’t bother. I’ll be tossing them up again in a moment.”
Chapter Eight
“Excuse me?” she asked in alarm as her belly fluttered.
He lowered himself to a crouch beside her. “Not what you’re thinking.” He lifted the jar. “A poultice. For your other injuries.”
“That’s not necessary, Mr. Hale,” she argued as she used her good arm to awkwardly push up to a seated position. Unfortunately, she couldn’t rise from the bed completely with him in her space as he was. She pinned him with her most intimidating scowl. “Do you mind?”
His smile widened. “I can’t say I’ve ever minded anyone, to be honest.”
Katherine rolled her eyes. “While that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, Frederick and I need to be going.”
“Eventually.”
He set the jar and cloth on the bedside table and started grabbing the pillows he’d earlier discarded to set them behind her so she could sit more comfortably. Then he reached for the jar again. As he twisted the lid, it released a pungent aroma that immediately had her wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Seeing her reaction, he chuckled. The sound was rich and heavy, settling low in her core.
“The worse the smell the stronger the medicine.”
“I’m not sure that’s true. Either way, what on earth makes you think I’d let you anywhere near me with it?”
His eyes darkened. “Because I’m all you’ve got.”
“I’ll be fine,” she muttered tensely.
The growling sound he made was one of frustration and lost patience. “I’ve seen my share of strains and breaks during my years in the ring. I know what happens when a person fails to perform the most basic steps in treating such injuries.” He met her gaze with a glint of dark fire in his eyes. “Now, lift your blasted skirts.”
It was a blatant challenge. And Katherine wanted very badly to prove that he couldn’t bully her like he surely did everyone else.
But as she stared back at him, something shifted in his expression. His voice lowered from a growl to something more resembling the purr of a lion with his next words. “Lift your skirts, luv, or I’ll reach beneath them and feel my way around.”
Something bright and intense ignited within her at his words. She had no doubt he’d make good on his threat. In a second, she had her skirts pulled up to her knees.
His short laugh was oddly stimulating and shivers spread over her skin, making her nape tingle. The way he shifted so swiftly from amused to intense then back to amused was disconcerting.
Reaching forward, he lifted her injured foot in his hands. Strong fingers probed the bones of her ankles through the thin leather of her boot. The discomfort made her wince as he reached a particularly tender spot. Though he kept his chin lowered, he flicked his gaze to hers. “You’ve been lucky. No broken bones. The poultice should help, but once the boot comes off, the swelling will get worse.”
“We could just leave it on,” she suggested stubbornly.
His response was to start loosening the laces.
Katherine fisted her fingers in her skirts as he wrapped one hand around the full curve of her calf and eased the boot from her heel. As soon
