Joshua surged to his feet, swearing pungently as he stalked toward her. The leather jacket fell to her feet, forgotten in the face of his anger.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked wild, his body practically vibrating with anger. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” he growled menacingly. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were shot?”
Chapter Eighteen
Joshua grabbed Alex just as her knees crumpled. Her face was completely white as she stared up at him in growing horror.
“I didn’t know.” She twisted her head so she could see the wound better. “I thought a piece of one of the trees had splintered or I’d bruised it on a rock or something.” Her voice got fainter with every word.
He eased them both to the ground and examined her arm. “It seems to have just grazed you,” he told her gruffly. “You were lucky.” He didn’t want to think about how close he’d come to losing her just when he’d found her. If the hunter responsible weren’t already dead, he’d find him and kill him.
“Yeah. I feel really lucky these days.” He ignored her sarcasm as he grabbed the wet rag, dipped it into the cool water and began to clean the six-inch furrow that stretched from just above her elbow to just below her shoulder. She flinched and he could hear her breath hiss out from between her clenched teeth, but she didn’t cry out.
Easing himself into a seated position behind her, he wet the cloth again and resumed cleaning. There was dried blood and bits of cloth from the lining of the jacket embedded in the wound. “Lean against me.” He pressed against her stomach with his free hand, loving the way the soft skin felt as he slid his palm over it.
She seemed to hesitate, keeping her body erect, but finally she slumped against him. He concentrated on cleaning the dirt and blood from her arm, but he was very aware of the warm weight of her pressed against him.
Her head was tucked beneath his chin and he could still smell the slight scent of the soap she’d used in the shower this morning. He moved his head back and forth, brushing the top of her head with his chin.
She was still wearing a bra, but the thin pink cotton didn’t leave much to the imagination. Besides which, the firm, silky texture of her breasts was burned into his brain. He knew exactly what they looked like. Felt like. And how they tasted.
His body stirred and his cock lengthened and thickened in response to her presence. She definitely brought out the elemental side of his nature. He shifted so that he was closer, his erection pressing against the small of her back. He swallowed a groan of pure pleasure as he touched his hard flesh against her softer skin.
“Joshua?” Her voice was shaky and he could feel her trembling. He was an idiot. Here she was injured and he was busy copping a feel.
He inspected her arm and, satisfied he’d cleaned it as best he could, he tossed the cloth to one side. “I don’t think we should cover your wound. It’s probably better to let the air get to it.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. “Okay.” He could tell he was confusing her. Hell, he was confusing himself.
“Do you want to get a quick bath before we go back to the cave?” He stood, leaned down and lifted her easily.
A light rosy flush covered her cheeks as she glanced at him and then away. “Yes.”
He settled her on a rock and went down on one knee in front of her and unlaced her boots.
“I can get that,” she protested.
He pushed her hand away. “You need to take it easy.” He slipped one boot off and swore when he saw the blood on her sock. “Why didn’t you tell me your feet were hurting?”
“We couldn’t stop.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal. Technically, he knew it was just some blisters that would heal, but it still hit him like a punch in the gut. He removed her other boot and sock very carefully, lifting and examining her other abused foot.
He sat back on his haunches and stared at her. A bluish-purple bruise covered part of her face, a blatant reminder of the truck accident earlier in the day. She also had a long bruise across her chest and he knew it was from where her seatbelt had kept her from going through the windshield when the truck had rolled. Circles could be seen beneath her tired gray eyes, making them appear almost sunken in her face. Her lips were pursed and he could tell she was in pain.
Her arm had a six-inch gash from where a bullet had grazed her and her hands were covered in dirt and blood from her forced trek through the woods. Her feet were bloody and raw in places and he knew she wouldn’t have an easy time walking tomorrow, but he had no doubt she’d march along beside him without a word of complaint. He almost didn’t want to remove her jeans, afraid to find more bruises.
Joshua scrubbed his hand over his face. All he wanted to do was to take care of her and get her to safety. Instead, she had been battered and bruised and was running for her life. Some protector he was. Disgusted with himself, he got to his feet. “Can you stand?”
“Of course.”
“Of course,” he muttered.
“Look,” she snapped, her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what’s sticking in your paw buddy, but don’t take it out on me. All I want is a bath and some sleep. No one is forcing you to stay.”
He stood there amazed and amused by her feistiness. Only a few moments before she’d looked like she would collapse any moment and now she was giving him hell.
“I’m definitely staying.” Reaching out, he unbuttoned her jeans and tugged down the zipper while she batted ineffectually at his hands. “And I’m certainly helping.” He whisked her jeans down around her ankles and had her step out one foot at a time.
“I can do it by myself,” she muttered, taking a step back when he reached for the clasp of her bra.
“Surely you can’t be shy.” But he realized that she was. “Not after this morning.”
Her scowl deepened as her cheeks got redder. “It might be no big deal for you to run around naked, but it’s not something I’m used to, okay.”
Shaking his head, he scooped her up into his arms and waded out into the stream, aiming for a rock right in the center of the slow-running water. He settled her on the rock so that only her legs from the knees down were actually in the stream, and waded back to the shore for the makeshift washcloth. The water barely touched his thighs, but it was cool and wet and that was good enough for him.
He tossed her the cloth as he lay down in the stream, submerging himself totally. He heard her protest and knew he was going to catch hell for getting his bandaged shoulder wet. She didn’t understand it wasn’t that big a deal to him. He’d been hurt worse so many times before that today’s injuries barely qualified as scratches.
Raising his head out of the water, he barely had time to snag the wet rag out of the air before it struck him.
“Now I’ll have to bandage your shoulder again.”
Shaking out the cloth, he rubbed it over his neck and chest, working his way lower. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she watched his every move. Her scantily clad breasts shifted up and down with every breath. Her nipples were visible beneath the thin fabric. She shifted, parting her legs slightly.
He swallowed a groan.
He continued to wash his body, paying particular attention to his groin and thighs. She licked her lips as he stroked the cloth over his erection. The sac between his legs was heavy even as it pulled closer to his body. Damn, but he wanted her.