took another soothing pass down her spine. “We haven’t been to bed here. Is that what’s bothering you? Me and you in this particular house?”
It was today that continued to bother her, Skye knew. It was the time she’d spent with Mara. As much as she liked and empathized with the other woman, those afternoon hours had reminded her of the danger looming in Gage’s future. He’d be on his way to more risk soon, while every moment she spent with him risked her heart.
Insist on sleeping by yourself, her common sense whispered again. Make a move. Start putting distance between you.
“It’s not the house,” Skye told him, and she massaged her right temple where an ice pick was suddenly trying to gouge through her skull to get to her brain.
He made a soft, sympathetic noise. “You have a headache.” His fingers closed around her wrist and drew her hand away. “I can fix that,” he said, then started towing her, his touch gentle.
To her surprise, he turned into the bathroom that had two doors, one that opened into the hall and the other into her bedroom. It was a large space, tiled in old-fashioned white and pale yellow, and included two pedestal sinks, as well as a walk-in shower with nozzles on opposite walls.
“Wha—” she started.
“Shh,” he said, disappearing for a moment to turn on a bedroom lamp. When he reappeared, he flipped off the overhead so that the only light was what spilled from the other room. She found the dimness soothing and, bemused, allowed him to press her down onto the closed lid of the commode.
He reached inside the tiled enclosure and flipped on both fixtures. Water pattered down like rain from the circular showerheads. Then he crossed to her and knelt to tug the sandals from her feet.
“I can do that,” she protested, but he hushed her again.
“Let Dr. Lowell do his work,” he said.
In moments she was naked and so was he, and they were under the soft, warm spray. “Close your eyes,” Gage whispered, tilting back her head to drench it thoroughly. Next she smelled her shampoo, and he had his hands on her again, his fingers massaging her scalp, creating light suds.
The headache was barely a whimper now, and seemed to wash down the drain when he drew her back under the water to rinse her hair. “Good,” she said, feeling lethargic now that the pain had abated.
“Good,” he confirmed, kissing her lightly. Then he went to work with soap and cloth, washing her with slow, hypnotic strokes. No flesh went untended; he started at her forehead and ended at her feet, always unhurried, always with deliberate movements that were caring but not sexual in nature.
The attention loosened her joints and liquefied her muscles until she had to lean against him to stay upright. His chuckle was soft in her ear, and she kissed his bare shoulder as he shuffled her back under the spray. “I think I could fold you into a Jell-O mold about now.”
“Mmm,” she said, feeling like a spoiled lap cat.
“Better?” he asked.
“So much better,” she said. “Today...”
“Today?”
“It hit me hard. Mara’s pain—”
“I know,” he said, and held her against him, with the water raining down and his heartbeat a comfort in her ear. He was semiaroused, but he didn’t seem impatient to stoke her fire. “Let’s go to sleep, Skye.”
She blinked up at him, her lashes sticky with wetness. “Sleep?”
His smile was fond. “Just sleep. We have all the time in the world for the other.”
But they didn’t! They didn’t have time! Skye was loath to be the one to point that out, however, and said nothing as he wrapped a towel around his waist then dried her off with more tenderness.
In the bedroom, he reversed the process with the lights, turning on the one in the bathroom, then flipping the switch on the lamp so that the room was near dark. “Nightgown?” he asked, and she nodded, crossing to the bureau herself.
The sleeveless, thin cotton garment floated over her damp body and when she crawled between the cool sheets, she shivered. Gage gathered her close, his nakedness already warm, and she burrowed her back to his front and let herself drift away, floating on an ocean of sweet forgetfulness.
Later, she woke, instantly aware of Gage’s heavy arm across her waist and a need to use the facilities. She slipped free of his hold, took care of business, then flipped off the bathroom light. Tiptoeing across her floor,