As she stepped into the shower, she clipped the door with her side. Pain shot through her rib cage, and wincing, she pushed herself under the spray, standing there a long moment, her chest heaving as she sucked in deep breaths.
Finally the pain subsided and she began the arduous task of soaping her hair and body. By the time she was done, she was exhausted by the effort it had taken her to do something so simple.
She was careful as she rubbed the towel over her body. There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t hurt in some way or another. Her arm was still weak but she was relieved to note that the swelling had gone down and the bruising was already fading. It only bothered her when she flexed and extended her fingers.
After wrapping a towel around her hair, she then pulled another of the big, soft towels around her body and went back into the bedroom.
She saw clothing laid out on the bed and headed toward it. She was halfway there when she abruptly pulled up, realizing she wasn’t alone in the room.
Clutching the towel tighter around her, she cast a wary glance in Diego’s direction.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he said softly, almost like he was trying to calm a wild animal. “I thought Rio had let you know that I was going to examine you.”
“H-He did, but…” She clamped her lips shut to prevent the warbling and then tried again. “I’m not dressed. I mean he said he’d leave clothing out for me.”
“I need to check you over before you dress,” he said.
She took an instinctive step back.
He put his h">Hand she and up. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll get Rio. He should have been here by now with your food. It wasn’t my intention to frighten you. He was supposed to be here when I looked you over. Tell you what. I’ll go see what’s keeping him. There’s a robe in the closet you can put on until we get all this sorted out.”
He opened the closet door, and a moment later came back with a thick, white robe. He laid it beside her clothing on the bed, flashed her a reassuring smile, and then went for the door.
Grace’s shoulders sagged. Then she grabbed for the robe and hurried back to the bathroom before anyone else came into the bedroom while she was wearing nothing better than a towel.
RIO was heading down the hall when he met up with Diego. He stopped and frowned. “I thought you were going to take a look at Grace?”
“Yeah and I thought you’d have your ass back before she got out of the shower. I scared the piss out of her. She came out of the bathroom in just a towel because you left her clothes on the bed. She wasn’t expecting me to be there, and when I mentioned that I’d need her not to be dressed when I looked her over, she went into meltdown mode.”
Rio cursed under his breath. The last thing he’d wanted to do was frighten her.
He turned sideways and slipped past Diego and entered the bedroom, only to find it empty. The clothes were still on the bed.
“I gave her a robe,” Diego said from behind him. “She was just wearing that towel, and she looked cold and extremely nervous. I thought the robe would make her feel not quite so vulnerable and it’s possible that we can work it so that she stays mostly covered except for each part I check out in turn.”
Rio thrust the tray at Diego. “Here, you take this. I’ll get Grace out of the bathroom.”
Diego took the tray and Rio hurried toward the bathroom door. He knocked softly. “Grace? Honey, you can come out now. I brought you some food. If you’ll let Diego check you over, then I’ll get rid of him so you can relax and eat and then we’ll talk about Shea.”
Rio turned to see Diego throw him a sour look. “Gee thanks,” Diego mouthed.
The door cracked open and Rio turned back around to see Grace peering out, her eyes wide and wary.
“Hey,” he said softly. “You ready to do this? We just need to make sure you’re okay and don’t need more medical attention than what we can provide you. He’ll be quick.”
“I want you here,” she said in barely above a whisper.
His chest kind of caved in at the vulnerability in her voice. Already, whether she realized it or acknowledged it, there was a thread of trust between them. She felt safe with him. It was a start.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. “Come on out so we can get this over with before your food gets cold. I had gumbo in the freezer and I nuked it. It’ll cure what ails you for sure. The ultimate comfort food.”
He held out his hand, holding it just outside the crack in the door where she could see it. Slowly, she opened the door wider and then slid her hand into his.
It was soft against the roughness of his. Velvety. An electric sensation shivered up his arm, prickling the hair all the way to his nape. Then she wrapped her slender fingers more firmly around his.
She was enveloped in his robe. It dragged the floor at her feet and the sleeves fell to her knuckles. She had it wrapped almost double around her and he smiled at the image she presented, all damp and, e fd shiny and wearing his clothing. He liked it and felt rather stupid about that fact.
He shook himself out of his stupor and tugged her into the bedroom. Diego had put her tray on the nightstand and stood away as if not wanting to overwhelm Grace more than she already was.
He led her to the bed and then paused. He put one hand on her shoulder and turned her so she looked directly into his eyes.
“Now you tell me how you want to do this, okay? I can leave, I can stay, I can sit beside you and not look. I’ll hold your hand. You’ll know I’m here but I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.”