she eyed the wound. “I’ve never done anything like that before, though.” She didn’t know how she would stomach sticking a needle through his skin, but come to that, just three months ago she wouldn’t have thought she could handle any of the things that defined her life now. She had, and if Ben needed stitches she would manage that, too.
“Just stick some butterfly bandages on it, that’s all it needs.”
She didn’t quite agree with that, but used more antiseptic pads to make certain the wound was clean, then applied antibiotic salve. As she worked she became aware that this certainly wasn’t the first time he’d been hurt. A puckered scar formed a white star close to his waistline on the left. A long, narrow ridge bisected his back from the left shoulder across his spine to wrap around his rib cage on the right. The pad of his right shoulder, right above the current wound, bore a small, thick scar as if the muscle had been gouged. This would be yet another scar, given the unevenness of the break in the skin.
She didn’t know much about the military but she did know he’d been in service and his was a warrior’s body, a living testimony to pain, sacrifice, and a spirit of steel. With these scars he’d either seen combat or maybe had a hell of a vehicle accident. She put her money on combat. Perhaps he’d always been a solitary person, but she thought his withdrawal from people had more to do with his experiences than his personality. Her heart swelled with pain for him. She would have stroked those scars, but sensed that he wouldn’t welcome it. However he had gotten them was his past to share or not.
As gently as possible she pulled the ragged edges together and positioned several butterfly bandages over the wound, then covered that with a thick gauze pad that she taped into place. “I’m not a doctor, but I’ve seen plenty on television, and I doctored plenty of Olivia’s boo-boos. Don’t chop any wood for a week, and don’t get this wet.”
He glanced over his shoulder and this time she definitely saw amusement. “How am I supposed to shower?”
“Ah . . . okay, don’t shower for two days. If you’re not doing hard manual labor, you won’t be getting all that dirty and sweaty, right?” She began putting the first-aid kit to rights. “But keep an eye on it. If it shows signs of infection, don’t ignore that. Come down to the valley and I’ll do something. We have a couple of herbalists who can make a good poultice.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He got to his feet and turned to face her, and wow, his chest. Sela quickly looked away before she embarrassed herself again. She had regained her equilibrium thanks to the way he’d kissed her, but that didn’t mean she’d lost her memory of how he’d so easily said “no” to her offer.
He put his hands on her waist just as he had before, his thumbs rubbing on each side of her navel in a subtle but potent caress that made her nipples and vagina tighten in response, made her want to flow toward him until their bodies were touching. Part of her was still astonished that he was touching her, and that astonishment kept her in place though she couldn’t stop herself from putting her own hands on his muscled forearms. “I’ll be there tomorrow morning, and I’ll talk to the valley people,” he muttered, his sharp green gaze on her mouth, then moving down to her breasts. “When we have sex, it won’t be because of any negotiation or part of any deal. It’ll be because we want it. Are you clear on that?”
Mutely she nodded. When they had sex. Like it was inevitable.
It was.
She accepted that. Wanted that. The only question was the one he’d pointed out: When?
“I have to get back,” she said, wishing the when was now even though she knew it wasn’t. She needed to check on Carol, see about supper. Thank goodness Nancy had volunteered to stay with Carol tonight, because Sela was fast running out of steam. She wanted to curl up under a quilt on her couch, in front of a fire, and catch up on the sleep she hadn’t gotten the night before.
He tilted his head toward the shower. “Want a shower before you go?”
She stared up at him, her lips parting. He couldn’t have offered her a new car and