Page 36 of The Payback Adventure
She couldn’t fire him.
Henry was staying. For now.
Frustration sped along her spine, followed by a surge of relief. It had to be about the check. There couldn’t be anotherreason for the tangle of emotions she felt. There just couldn’t be.
“Let’s get your blisters fixed up.”
Elisabeth gathered the supplies, then cleaned the blisters with antibacterial soap. “Does this hurt?”
“No.”
She wondered if he would admit if it hurt. As she rinsed his hands with water, she noticed how large they were. He might not be used to manual labor, but his hands looked strong. And felt warm. She turned off the water. “Better?”
He nodded.
“You have nice hands.”
“So do you.”
What was she doing? Saying? They were just hands. Male hands. They were supposed to be big and strong and warm. She patted his hands dry, placed a dab of ointment on them, and covered them with bandages. Elisabeth put everything back in the first-aid kit. “That should help them heal faster.”
He flexed his fingers. “Thanks.”
“You need to be more careful.” She focused on his blisters. “If you feel any burning or aching, stop what you’re doing and see if a blister is forming. You also don’t want these to get infected.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” His gaze captured hers. “I don’t always think things through like I should.”
“That can get you into trouble.”
“Sometimes it gets me what I want.” He smiled. “Like now. I want to kiss you.”
His words took her by surprise. She didn’t say anything, but she parted her lips slightly.
Henry slowly lowered his lips toward hers as if giving her a chance to say no.
Step back,a voice in her head warned. Except Elisabeth had no room to do that.
One little kiss wouldn’t hurt anything. Wouldn’t hurt her.
Soft.His lips were soft against hers. And warm.
Henry didn’t push. He didn’t do anything except send tingles running all over her body. He cupped the back of her head and wove his fingers through her hair. She soaked up the feel and the taste of his lips. It had been so long since she’d been kissed.
Too long.
And she wanted more.
Elisabeth put her hands on his back and pulled him toward her. Henry took the hint and increased the pressure. Increased…everything.
He tasted. He teased. But most of all, he kissed.
Oh boy, she’d never been kissed like this before.
Her knees had never gone weak before. They were weak now. She’d heard of women swooning but never thought she’d be one of them. Thank goodness her back was against the counter, or she’d be on the floor. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Henry left no part of her mouth untouched. She didn’t want to think about how he got to be such a great kisser. But he was so good. Maybe this was what they taught at Harvard. Maybe he had been born that way.
That had to be it. A natural talent for kissing.
