Determined to keep her distance, she released his hand. The last time she’d gotten close to a man she worked with, the whole thing ended in disaster. Better not repeat the mistake, but Mitch stalked her with the patience of an experienced hunter tracking his prey.
Taking her injured hand in his, he placed the wet paper towel over the scraped heel of her palm with the tender care a physician might use to doctor a small child.
The antiseptic stung. Jaye sucked in her breath through clenched teeth. “How long are you keeping that medicine on me?”
“As long as you let me.”
The husky intimacy in his voice made it easy to imagine how he might sound if she found herself in his huge king-sized bed. Unfiltered masculine interest radiated from his eyes. Judging by his hungry study of her mouth, she had a feeling that if she waved a succulent steak under his nose, he’d ignore the bait and taste her instead. She pulled her hand out of his. “I’m healed.”
Rather than back off, he braced his arm against the edge of the counter and looked at her. “Why didn’t my father hire some old computer geek with rheumy eyes to design our website? Why did he recruit a pretty girl with a killer smile to torment me?”
To keep him at bay, she splayed her good hand on his chest. Temptation flared, and she itched to pull his mouth down on hers to thank him for rushing home to make sure she was safe. Heck, forget about thanking him. What would kissing Mitch feel like? She had a feeling the moment her lips touched his, she’d beg for more.
The kitchen door flung open, crashing against the paneling. This time, two boys barged into the room with a primal yell.
Mitch looked over his shoulder at the boisterous intruders. “What are you two doing here?”
“We wanted to visit you while Nick works at the factory.” The boys slammed to a stop and stared at Jaye with wide eyes.
She snatched her hand off Mitch’s chest. “I’m fine. You can stop worrying about me.”
“Easier said than done.” He reclaimed her injured hand, glancing down at the bloody scrape with a concerned frown.
One of the boys craned his neck. “Does she need stitches?”
“No, but she could use some help. Brody, could you get one of the big band-aids from under the sink?”
“Sure. Do you want one of the really big ones you used for my knee last weekend?”
Mitch nodded. “We need something wide enough to cover this whole scrape.”
The other boy scratched his head. “What happened?”
“My friend hurt her hand when she tripped over a tree root. Mind grabbing the antiseptic ointment for me, Carter?”
“Yes, sir.”
In a moment’s time, both boys appeared on either side of Mitch, their offerings ready. They peered at the delicate palm nestled in his big hand.
The boy wearing glasses let out a low whistle of sympathy. “That’s a bad scrape.”
“Yeah.” Mitch took the ointment out of the other boy’s hand, smoothing the cream on her red abrasion. “This is Miss Davis. She’s working at our factory for the next few weeks, so she’s staying in the extra bedroom down the hall.” He glanced at Jaye and tipped his chin to both sides. “These are my brothers.”
The boy wearing glasses offered her a smile. “I’m Brody. I was born two minutes before Carter.”
“And he never lets me forget it,” Carter grumbled. “We’re twins. You can tell us apart because Brody has darker hair. And glasses.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jaye shifted her expression into a confused frown. “Do either of you know how to ward off dinosaurs? The bathroom is full of them. I was attacked by a T-Rex when I brushed my teeth this morning.”
The boys shared a look of relief. “Don’t worry. We’ll get them out for you.”
Mitch applied the bandage over her scrape with a gentle press of his blunt fingers and released her. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, thank you. I’m all better.” Aware of the two pairs of young eyes watching their interaction with ill-disguised curiosity, she swallowed a giggle.
A broad smile chased the worry off Mitch’s face. He gave the hem of her jacket a playful tug. “Are you going to start laughing again?”
“I hope not.”
“Too bad.” He leaned one hip against the kitchen counter and scowled at the twins. “Fess up. Which one of you is hungry?”
“I am. Could we get take out?” Brody’s shoulders inched up toward his ears. “Don’t cook, Mitch. Those hockey pucks you made last week were terrible.”
“Those were hamburgers,” Mitch grumbled. “One of them knocked the loose tooth out of your mouth, so they were good for something.”
Brody gingerly probed his jaw. “I haven’t forgotten. I’m still sore.”
“Why not order pizza?” Jaye took her cell phone out of her jacket and tapped at the screen to search for local takeout. “Hey, look at this. There’s a place nearby that delivers. Perhaps there’s civilization around here, after all.”
She looked up to find all three men frowning at her like she was a dignitary from the strange and exotic Planet Woman. “Surely you men can devour a cheese pie in less than five minutes flat. Don’t you like pizza?”
“But it’s Monday,” Brody sputtered.
“We only eat pizza on Friday.” Carter pointed his index finger toward the ceiling. “And sometimes Saturday if we’re lucky.”
Mitch lifted one muscular shoulder in a modest shrug. “We aim for nutrition on school nights.”
“Passing up pizza?” She shook her head and put her iPhone back into her jacket. “You men are an enigma.”
“What’s an enigma?” Carter asked Mitch.
“Kind of like a superhero.” He winked at Jaye.
She laughed. The stinging in her palm—and her heart—faded.
Nick Blake walked into the kitchen and placed the boys’ backpacks on the table. He caught Jaye’s gaze and shook his head. “I hear you had a little trouble at Veronica’s poker game last week.”
“Most of
