feet, she resisted the sudden shocking impulse to comb his hair back from his forehead with her fingers. For goodness’ sake! He wasn’t a child! But there’d been nothing remotely maternal about her urge to touch the dark silken locks .
All the while she’d been helping him into the bath, washing his hair, then helping him out again, her senses had been taunted and aroused by his dangerously irresistible maleness and close proximity. The scent of his cologne along with the dizzying warmth of his body, seemed still to cling to her. Her very cells felt as though they’d been imbued with his essence. Not to mention the thrill of that brief kiss they’d shared...
In a bid to ground herself, she sucked in a steadying breath. ‘I saw in the diary that the nurse is calling in tomorrow. That’s good. I’ll feel more reassured when she checks you over.’
‘Worried about me, are you, Ms Blessington?’
The teasing glimmer in his compelling golden eyes reassured her that perhaps it had been only his pride that had been hurt. In any case, she wouldn’t let herself rest on her laurels.
‘Don’t take it personally. I’d be worried about anyone in my care who had fallen over—especially someone who already has a broken leg. But you can be sure that next time I won’t be so quick to believe you when you tell me you can manage on your own. That was an unforgivable mistake I made. If you want that hot drink I’ll help you into the kitchen so that you can sit at the table with me. Then I think you should seriously consider going to bed.’
‘That would sound like a much more attractive proposition if I didn’t have to go there alone.’
Hal’s huskily voiced statement—its meaning all too clear—nailed Kit’s feet to the floor. The shock that eddied through her was so strong it made her feel dizzy.
Over a dry mouth, she answered, ‘Is that so? Look, what you do in your private life is none of my business, but I’d urge you to give your body a chance to heal a bit more before you—before you—’
‘Before I attend to needs of a more...shall we say... personal nature?’
After holding her stunned gaze for what seemed like a heart-pounding lifetime, with a wry twist of his lips he suddenly grimaced and shook his head.
‘You’re right, of course. But then it seems that you always are , Kit. I’d like to have a talk with you about how you came to be so eminently sensible. But right now I’m too tired, so our little chat will have to wait until tomorrow.’
Her acute discomfort at his previous incendiary comment thankfully easing, Kit collected Hal’s walking aid and helped him get to his feet again. Once she was satisfied that he had his balance she walked by his side out into the corridor, then accompanied him into the kitchen...
CHAPTER FIVE
I T WAS IMPOSSIBLE to drift off into a relaxed sleep after the day’s events—events that had upsettingly culminated in Hal’s shocking fall. Kit thanked her lucky stars that he hadn’t injured himself more, but she was still anxious to have the nurse check him over when she visited tomorrow. She prayed the woman wouldn’t think she hadn’t done her job properly because she’d left Hal unsupervised and in doing so proved herself incompetent. The last thing Kit wanted was to have her report back to Hal’s sister with the suggestion that she hire someone else. It would be the first black mark on her unblemished record with the agency if she did.
Unable to banish the worry and doubt that plagued her, she thumped the luxurious feather pillow she’d been resting her head on and turned over onto her side. Her mind raced on. More than anything else she wanted Hal Treverne to see that she was the very best at what she did, and for him to realise that she was totally dedicated to helping aid his recovery.
Is that all you want him to see? That you’re competent and good at what you do?
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’
Once more Kit sat up and drove her fingers
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