Page 16 of The Last Goodbye

He led me up the few steps to the dock before we moved onto the boat, which I assumed he lived on.

My hands and knees were stinging so badly that my eyes pricked with tears, yet I was also enjoying the closeness, which completely shocked me.

He’s warm and strong, and what can I say? I’m only human, and the man looks ridiculously good without a shirt on.

I reached up to touch my cheek, which throbbed intensely.

Bass led me down a few steps and inside a modern galley kitchen that was larger than I would have guessed a kitchen could be on a houseboat.

Then again, I’d also never been on a houseboat.

Like the brute he was, he pulled out a chair and pointed at it for me to sit.

I sat down and glanced around the kitchen, surprised at all the natural light flooding in from the skylight above. He had top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances and black cabinets with a sleek black stone countertop.

He moved to the freezer and returned with an ice pack that he’d wrapped in a dish towel. He glanced at my face again. “You’ve got a good scrape there. Hold this on your cheek, and I’ll grab the first aid kit and clean you up.”

“Why are you even helping me?” I asked. I’d tried several times to speak to him, but he hadn’t even had the decency to talk to me. And now here I was, bleeding in his kitchen.

Is this what I have to do to get five minutes with the man?

He walked to the sink and ran some water over the gauze pads and then made his way back to me. As he bent down to clean up my knee, I couldn’t help but take in the ripped muscles along his back, and the way his biceps flexed with each movement. The ink on his fingers had me trying to make out what the words said.

“Is it that shocking that someone would offer to help you after you took a bad fall and you’re bleeding?” He moved to the other knee, cleaning the blood away before spraying Bactine on each one. He reached for some bandages.

“Umm, not someone—we’re talking about you. So yes, it’s that shocking.” I blew out a frustrated breath, because one side of my face was throbbing, and I was mad that he’d refused to see me for the last week, yet he was acting like it was strange that I was surprised by his kindness. “You’ve refused to meet with me. Refused to just show me even a moment of decency.”

He looked up at me, his sapphire blue eyes narrowing the slightest bit as they met mine. “‘A moment of decency’? That’s a bit dramatic for someone who’s trying to put me out of business, is it not?”

“‘Put you out of business’?” I opened my mouth at the audacity. He held out his hand, motioning for me to give him mine. I rested my hand in the center of his large palm, noting the size difference along with the calluses on his fingers. I winced when he started cleaning the blood away.

“Am I hurting you?”

The empathy in his voice, in his eyes—it caught me off guard.

“No. I’m fine.”

“I’m not sure how you think me closing the doors to my restaurant won’t be a problem. You’ve made it clear that you do this for a living, so I’m sure you know how catastrophic it can be to a thriving business to abruptly close its doors. It’s not rocket science.” He reached for my other hand.

I wanted to tear it away and storm out of here because this guy was clearly insulting my intelligence, but I didn’t want the hand he was currently working on to scab up before I got home to clean it myself.

“Are you always this condescending and judgmental, or did you save your best just for me?” I snipped and then tried to keep from smiling, because it felt damn good to put the arrogant bastard in his place.

Loud laughter bellowed from him, and my eyes widened. I didn’t even know Bass Bennett had a sense of humor.

“My sister would probably argue that I save my best for her.” A sexy smirk settled on his face.

“I can only imagine how difficult it must be for her.” I feigned annoyance while trying to hide my smile.

He stood up. The guy had such a presence about him, and as he towered over me, I took a moment to appreciate the masterpiece that was his chest. I allowed my eyes to scan down to the waistband of his gray joggers, and the deep V that showed where the fabric hung low on his hips.

I looked up and found him watching me. He’d totally caught me gawking at him.

Apparently, it’s very possible to be extremely good-looking while also being an arrogant prick.

Both had proven true.

He pulled the ice pack from my face and set it on the table beside him.