Promises by Jo Barrett

family friend.   One who needed her help whether he wanted it or not.   Still, she was going to have a terrible time changing his bandage with him watching and smiling at her with that Cheshire cat grin of his.  
    Squaring her shoulders, she speedily unwrapped the bandage.   The sooner she got it over with, the better.
    Travis watched her trembling fingers and sucked in his breath as they brushed against his skin.
    “I’m sorry, am I hurting you?”   Her hands hovered above him.
    “No.”   He cleared his throat.   “It’s all right.   Go ahead.”   Laying his head back, he closed his eyes.   Maybe if he didn’t watch.  
    After their little spill onto the bed, it took a monumental effort to calm his pounding heart.   She’d felt so good in his arms, filling them perfectly.   And the way she wriggled against him.   Man, what a feeling.
    If he hadn’t been so weak, and if she wasn’t his best friend’s sister, his lips would have slowly made their way up the smooth column of her throat until he reached her perfect bow of a mouth.   Once there he’d lose himself in the heady taste of her.
    Shifting the covers slightly, he hid his growing arousal.   He didn’t want to scare her off or make her angrier.   She’d done a pretty good job of taking care of him so far, and he didn’t want her to stop.   He thoroughly enjoyed her ministrations, torture though it was.  
    Needing a change in the direction of his thoughts, he concentrated on the gauze pulling at the stitches.   Not a pleasant feeling, but once the bandage had been removed and the air touched his wound, it felt better.   He’d taken a bullet once before a long time ago, a memory he repeatedly ignored, but he’d forgotten how it could hurt like hell.
    The gentleness of her hands soothed as she re-wrapped his leg, but the feel of her unsteady breath brushing across his skin intoxicated him.   His mind strayed back down its previous path, creating all sorts of tantalizing images.   He’d never been so turned on by a woman before.  
    What was it about Barbara that made him want her so badly?   She was beautiful, sure.   She had a fantastic figure too, but something about her tugged at him.   Tugged at his heart.   Just like before.
    He stifled a growl.   That memory he refused to pay heed to resurfaced.   Sylvia.   The only woman he ever let get to him.   The woman who’d betrayed him.   
    “There.   Now, stop trying to get out of bed,” Barbara said, pulling him from his agonizing thoughts.  
    He buried the unwanted memory and concentrated on her voice.   Slowly lifting his lids, he gazed up into a pair of bright blue eyes.   Very pretty, but nothing compared to the natural wonder of their true color.  
    She was close enough to pull down for a kiss, but her crinkled brow and slight frown reminded him of his duty, of his promise.   He was her protector, her self-appointed bodyguard, dog not included, and she had information he needed.   Why else would Steele’s men be looking for her?   And sooner or later he would have to break the news to her about Jase.   But right now, he just wanted to look at her.  
    No, that was a lie.   He wanted to do a whole lot more.   As he absorbed every nuance of her face, his gaze lingered on her lips admiring their size, their color, the way she nervously chewed at the edges.   He never wanted to kiss a woman as badly as he did at that moment.
    Reaching up, he brushed his fingertips down the side of her cheek and across her mouth.   The catch in her breath brought his gaze back to hers.   He could see the awareness, the arousal, dark and wanting, and she fought it with everything she had.   Slowly, he slipped his fingers behind her head and pulled her closer.   Just one taste.   What could it hurt?
    She broke away at the sound of a low growl coming from the edge of the bed.  
    Tripped-up by the dog.   Or was that saved by the dog?   Either way, he was in deep trouble.