Free Hard Edge by Tess Oliver Page B

sorrow from the last week had taken its toll on him. Something about his expression brought me back to a day in high school when I’d gone to the office to deliver a note for the chemistry teacher. I’d found Caden sitting on the bench outside of the principal’s office, yet again. His dad was inside talking to the principal and a policeman. The look on Caden’s face was so pained, so anguished, I knew he’d gotten into some grave trouble. I wanted badly to sit down on the bench next to him and tell him how important he was to me, but he looked away to avoid my gaze. It turned out later that he’d been caught being truant. The policeman had discovered Caden and some of his less savory friends drinking beer at the park instead of being in class.
    Caden held up both bottles as he stepped into the building. “One for first aid and one to drink.” He untwisted one cap and knelt down in front of me. Gently, he took hold of one of my hands and turned it palm up. I stared at the top of his dark head. His long lashes shaded his eyes as he concentrated on his task. He used his finger to lightly rub away the grit that was still ground into my palms. My skin was tender and sore, but his touch soothed me. He held my fingers in his as he trickled the cool water over my palm. It was such a simple gesture, but the way he held my hand as he took care of me sent a rush of heat through me. It circled through my whole body and then wrapped around my heart, making my chest tighten around my thumping heart.
    A fast, short breath shot from my lips as he lowered his mouth to my palm and blew on my skin.
    I stared down at him. The air pumped through my lungs in short, fast spurts as his thick curtain of lashes lifted and he looked up at me. His gaze stayed riveted on my face as he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my wrist.
    My lips parted. I badly wanted to say something, but no words came out. He released my hand and moved to my knees to repeat the same incredibly memorable first aid. He blew my skin off as he trickled water over the scrapes on my knees. Then without warning, he pressed his mouth against the skin just above the abrasion.
    He lifted his face. “Better?”
    The words stuck in my throat. “Uh—huh, much better.”
    Caden pushed to his feet and opened the second bottle. He handed it to me for the first drink. I could hardly remember how to swallow. I was nearly shaking from his tender ministrations, but he was his usual cool, calm self. It seemed he had no idea what a tailspin he’d put me in with his caring touch and, more notably, his kisses.
    “I’ll go home and get the truck. Will you be all right here alone?”
    I actually needed some time just to come back to earth and slow my pulse and everything else that had been thrown into turmoil. I nodded. “As long as that mama bird doesn’t come back with an angry posse, I’ll be fine.”
    There was the smallest hint of a grin as he turned to leave. It seemed I’d been wrong. It seemed he knew exactly how flustered his first aid had left me.
    The short span of time it took Caden to ride back and get the truck helped me regain some of the composure I’d lost. But I could still feel his mouth on my skin, long after. That was probably not a good sign. I tried hard to remember when, or if, Jeremy had ever left me so breathless. I couldn’t pinpoint a time. Not even in the heat of sex. Again, not a good sign . . . for anything, and especially my future nuptials, something I grew less certain about every day.
    Of course, I wasn’t delusional. Caden and I were both back in Mayfair for a short time, but soon he’d travel back to his life, and, no doubt, his women friends, and I would board a plane back to the east coast. I’d given it some thought after talking with my Mom. I’d poured a lot of time, energy and brain power into my schooling. Leaving it now would be nothing short of foolish. Even with my uncertainty about the path I’d chosen, I had to at least see