The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [18]
“My things…”
“They’re safe. Gabe and Casey got everything stored in the barn before the worst of the storm hit, but if you like, I’ll check on them after I’ve dressed.”
After he’d dressed. The fact of his partial nudity flustered her again, and she felt herself blush. She’d simply never been treated to the likes of a man like him before. Her experiences were with more…subtle men. Sawyer without his shirt was more enticing, more overpowering, than most men would have been buck naked.
She cleared her sore throat. “I’d really like my toothbrush. And…and I’d dearly love to shower and get the lake water off—”
“I dunno.” He gave her a skeptical look and frowned. “Let’s see how you do after eating a little, okay? I don’t want you to push it. You still sound like a bullfrog, and I’m willing to bet you have a bit of a fever yet. But first things first. Let me get the coffee. It’ll make your throat feel better.”
His peremptory manner set her on edge. Straightening her shoulders as much as she could while lying huddled beneath a layer of blankets, she groused, “It’s not up to you to decide what I can or can’t do.”
He halted in mid stride and slowly turned to face her. The intensity of his dark gaze almost made her squirm, but after a good night’s rest, she felt emotionally stronger, if not physically, and she couldn’t continue to let him baby her or dictate to her. Now was as good a time as any to assert herself.
Tilting his head, he said, “Actually—I can.”
“No—”
He stalked forward, startling her with the suddenness of it. His bare feet didn’t make a sound on the polished flooring, but he might have been stomping for the expression on his face. Bracing one hand on the headboard and the other on the pillow by her cheek, he leaned down until their noses almost touched. Her head pressed into the pillow, but there was no place to retreat to, no way to pull back.
His breath touched her as he studied her face. “You’re seriously ill, and I didn’t stay up all night checking on you just so you could turn stubborn this morning and set yourself on a decline.”
She mustered her courage and frowned up at him. “I know I’m not a hundred percent well, but—”
He made a rude sound to that statement. “It’s a wonder you even made it to the bathroom on your own. I can tell just looking at your flushed cheeks and lips that you still have a fever. What you need is plenty of rest and medicine and liquids.”
She hated to sound vain, so the words came out in a rough, embarrassed whisper. “I smell like the lake.”
At first his brows lowered and he stared at her. Then, almost against his will it seemed, he leaned closer and his nose nearly touched her throat beneath her ear. She sucked in a startled breath, frozen by his nearness, his heat, the sound of his breathing. He nuzzled gently for just a moment, then slowly leaned away again, and his gaze traveled down her throat to her chest and beyond, then came back to her face, and there was a new alertness to his expression, a sensual hardness to his features.
She swallowed roughly and croaked, “Well?” trying to hide the effect he’d had on her, trying, and failing, to be as cavalier.
His lips twitched, though his eyes still looked hot and far too intent. He touched her cheek, then let his hand fall away. “Not a single scent of lake, I promise. Quit worrying about it.”
She couldn’t quit worrying, not when he stayed so close. And she knew a shower would revive her spirits, which she needed so she could think clearly. She tried a different tack. “I’m not used to going all day without a shower. I’ll feel better after I clean up.”
He continued to loom over her, watching her face, then finally he sighed. “Somehow I doubt that, but then, what do I know? I’m just the doctor.” When she started to object, he added, “If you feel such a strong need to get bathed, fine. I’ll help you, and no, don’t start shaking your head at me. I’m not leaving you alone to drown yourself.”
“You’re also not watching me bathe!”
He started to grin, but rubbed his chin quickly instead. “No, of course not. The shower is out