then it will help reduce the swelling.’
‘You’re the boss,’ Hal quipped ruefully.
‘It’s good to know you don’t have a problem with a woman being in charge.’
‘This is a one time and one time only deal. My tolerance and acceptance will only stretch so far. Once I’m back on my feet again you’d be unwise to push any advantage you’d gained while I was laid up.’
Raising her brows, Kit responded smartly, ‘When you’re back on your feet again you’ll no longer need my services, so such a possibility won’t even arise. I’ll be looking after another client...hopefully one a little less egotistical than you. Now, I’ll just go and get a couple of pillows to elevate that knee.’
Any response he might normally have made to such an unflattering observation worryingly deserted Hal. The idea that Kit was already eagerly contemplating a new client—one ‘a little less egotistical’ than he was—seriously bothered him. And neither did he welcome the sense of vulnerability it left him with. Weakness of any kind didn’t sit well with him.
As she exited the room to fetch the pillows he breathed out a disgruntled sigh. But when she returned carrying them, and leaned towards him to carry out the necessary manoeuvre, he immediately noted that her smooth alabaster cheeks had a faintly scarlet tint to them. How interesting, he thought. Perhaps it wasn’t just his egotistical nature that ruffled this coolly efficient redhead?
‘Lift up,’ she instructed, her bright blue eyes skimming his features with the merest brief glance.
Raising himself in order that she could slide the pillows beneath him, Hal wasn’t about to let the fact go unremarked...
‘You’re blushing, Ms Blessington. Does it disturb you to get this close to your client? Because if it does I don’t know how you’re going to manage when you help me into my bath later,’ he taunted.
Carefully assisting him to lower his legs down onto the pillows, Kit met his amused glance with a similarly mocking one.
‘If you think it’s going to make me squirm with embarrassment seeing an injured man in his birthday suit then I hate to disappoint you, Mr Treverne. Trust me—I’ve seen it all before!’
For the second time in a few short minutes Hal found himself worryingly bereft of an apt rejoinder and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit!
THE LUXURIOUS BATHROOM adjacent to Hal’s equally opulent bedroom had a vast sunken bath and shower and a gleaming marble floor with a striking snakeskin finish. If Kit hadn’t known it to be true already, it screamed out that its owner was undoubtedly male, seriously charismatic and frighteningly rich. And so far her new employer was proving to be the most challenging one she’d ever worked for...
Dropping down onto a seriously comfy-looking chair, Hal handed over his crutches to her without preamble. It was nearly eleven o’clock at night and Kit knew that he was still tired, still hurting, and cranky because of it. Trying not to pay too much attention to the unhappy expression on his handsome face, she stood the crutches against the wall, leant down to the bath and turned on the taps.
As the water gushed out into the tub she glanced over her shoulder and asked, ‘What kind of temperature do you like?’
‘What?’
He was staring at her as though in a trance. Straightening, she crossed her arms over her chest, feeling as though she were suddenly being examined under the searching glare of an intense spotlight. It was hard to string a single coherent thought together when her heart felt as though she was careening downhill at breakneck speed because it beat so fast.
‘I asked what kind of temperature you wanted?’
‘Hot.’
Such a simple, commonplace word shouldn’t sound so...so provocative. But it did. And it didn’t help her case that she remembered telling Hal that she was hardly fazed by seeing a man’s naked body and had ‘seen it all before’. She didn’t doubt he thought she must be referring to her intimate experiences. Perhaps he thought she’d had several? The truth was she’d had just one briefly intimate liaison and that had turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. She’d been stupidly bluffing when she’d made her comment, so that he wouldn’t think he had the upper hand. And she’d called him egotistical!
‘Okay,’ she said.
‘I’ll need you to help me get in the water—also to put the waterproof cast protector on.’
‘Of course.’
‘Then I suppose I’d better get undressed.’
Swallowing hard at the very idea of seeing this man’s toned, athletic body bared for her eyes only—albeit so that he could take a bath—Kit had to dig deep to retain her composure. ‘Do you need any assistance with that?’ she asked.
Hal’s golden eyes glimmered almost painfully.
‘Not to get undressed, no. But you might as well stay in here until I’m ready to get into the bath. Think you can do that?’
‘No problem.’ She sensed heat flare in her cheeks even before she answered.
‘I’ll put a towel round me to spare your blushes,’ he declared, his tone indisputably provocative. ‘Even though you’ve assured me that you’ve seen it all before.’
Kit might have known he wouldn’t let her forget she’d said that. ‘Do you want me to put in some bath salts or foam?’ she enquired.
‘Some of that blue stuff on the shelf will do,’ he responded blithely, as if it scarcely mattered.
The ‘blue stuff’ he’d indicated was a seriously high-end exclusive product that probably cost the earth, she noted, a helpless little smile curving her lips. It certainly smelt nice. While Hal lifted off his sweater and T-shirt she kept herself occupied by watching over the bathwater and regularly testing the temperature. When he indicated that he was ready she turned off the taps and swivelled to see that he had wound a slim white bathtowel round the lower half of his torso, while he supported his injured leg on a handy footstool.
But that wasn’t the only thing Kit noticed. Exposed in all their glory, the sheer tantalising breadth of his shoulders and his strongly defined biceps were even more magnificent than she’d guessed they would be. But she couldn’t afford to let the fact distract her...not even for a second.
‘The bath is ready, so I think we’d better get the cast protector on,’ she said briskly.
‘Then let’s do it.’
With the waterproof protector fitted over his cast, Kit made sure to support him strongly as Hal gingerly lowered himself into the fragrant bubbles. Her heart raced in concern when she felt his muscles tensing and saw him bite his lip. ‘Is the water too hot?’ she breathed.
As she assisted him to position his injured leg on one of the marble bath sides he surprised her with an unrestrained grin. ‘It’s perfect. Just the way I like it.’
‘Good...that’s
