Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
GRIFF
“ W e should take this to the house.” My sleepy voice cut through the silence that surrounded us.
“But I don’t want to move.” Elle groaned as she hurried her head into my chest.
“We can make popcorn, watch a movie, and see where the rest of this night takes us.” I dragged my finger over her shoulder. “Clothing optional,” I whispered.
“An evening naked with you, is that a promise?” She shifted in my arms and sat up. I followed her and wrapped the blanket around her so she didn’t have to mess with her clothes. Reaching down to grab my pants, they slipped from my hand.
“Fuck.” Rolling my shoulder, I tried again, but this time, I couldn’t even grasp them.
“I’ve got it.” Elle dropped down, grabbed all the clothes, and set them on the bale beside her. “Here, slip into your shirt.” She let the blanket fall as she held out my shirt so I could get it on. “I’ll work on your shoulder when we get to the house.” Gazing down at her, the peace had left her eyes, and concern took its place.
I pulled the loft door with my good arm, latched it, and followed Elle out of the barn, turning lights off as we went. “Sorry, I’ve put a damper on the night,” I said as I put my good arm around her.
“We should work on some muscle exercises tomorrow. And maybe switch up our positioning next time so your arm has less weight on it.” Even in the light from the porch I could see her cheeks turn red.
“So I guess that means you’re on top for a while.” Wiggling my eyebrows I couldn’t hide my grin.
“Oh god,” she groaned as she pushed me away, even with her arms full of our clothes. The blanket slipped from her shoulder, and she didn’t even attempt to fix it.
“I mean, it would probably be doctor’s orders. Want me to run down to Jake’s and see what he says?” Reaching out, I wrapped my hand around her arm, pulled her to me, and let my hand drift down to her waist.
“This is not the way I wanted you to go see him, but I’ll take the embarrassment if it gets you there.” She grinned up at me.
“There’s no chance I’m going to see him tonight, babe, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.” Swinging the door open, she dropped our clothes into a pile on the couch.
“I’m going to put some clothes on. I’ll be right back.” Rolling up on her toes, she kissed me quickly. “I’ll be right back.”
“I thought clothing wasn’t part of this evening?” I called as she walked down the hallway away from me. Her laughter filtered back to me and I took a seat at the kitchen island.
I rolled my shoulder backwards, but every bone just felt like they were grinding together. Elle, returning down the hallway, caught my eye, and I turned to watch her. She hadn’t exactly gotten dressed but had on the shirt I’d given her the night she showed up here because of Billy Hays.
“Okay, just relax.” She said, walking back into the kitchen, as she set down the supplies she needed. The amount of oil she’d put on her hands made me feel like she was prepping me for Thanksgiving dinner.
“I went to see him, you know.” Why I felt the need to confess this to her, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to hide things from her.
Elle put her warm hands on my upper back and began working on me. “Saw who?”
“Jake. After I saw you the day with the horses, I went to him to see what he would say.”
“And what did the good doctor say?” The lightness of her voice made all the voices in my head quiet. Trusting people wasn’t high on my priority list, but I couldn’t believe she was even here.
“He said to see you.” I turned and looked at her, grinning.
“Professionally, he said to see me professionally. I highly doubt he said to move me into your house and have sex with me.” She moved her hand over my shoulder, and I grabbed it and pulled her down so she was peering over my shoulder.
“Jake better not think of the word sex and your name in the same sentence, ever.” My voice was a low growl, and I could feel the scowl cross my face as I looked at her.
“Griffin Harp, are you jealous?” Her tone was full of amusement and teasing. Even though she’d worked twelve-hour shifts for the last few days, her skin was sun-kissed from all the time she’d spent out with her horses and freckles dotted the bridge of her nose. The dark brown of her eyes was a contrast to her satin skin and blonde hair. I had already etched each and every detail of her into my memory. Even with my eyes closed, I could see her vividly.
“Yes,” I grumbled. There was no point in hiding it. She’d see right through me anyway.
She bit the corner of her lip, making her shining smile lopsided. “Good.” Elle pulled away from me and shifted so she was standing almost in front of me as she worked on me.
The muscles in her arms rippled as she worked and I was amazed at how strong she was. “Ahh.” I groaned when she dug her fingers into one spot on my arm.
“Was that a good ahh or bad?” She stilled her hands but they remained on the place that she’d just hit.
“Good,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, sounded like it was good.” She shook her head and moved her hand slightly and put a little extra pressure on my shoulder. “Tell me what just happened.”
“My heart raced, and all the blood rushed to my cock.” It wasn’t a lie. Apparently all she had to do was touch me, and I was ready to take her to bed.
“Griff,” she groaned as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Oh, you mean with my shoulder.” I nodded and winked at her. “A shooting pain ran from my shoulder to my middle finger.” Elle tilted her head and stared at my shoulder. It was like she was trying to use her brain to take an x-ray so she could actually see what was going on.
Gently, she lifted her hands back to me and pressed on the same spot. “Elle, stop.” Reaching up, I slammed my hand over hers to make her stop.
“You broke your collarbone right?” The woman changed before my eyes. With the furrow of her brows and the clench of her jaw, she crossed her arms and stared at me.
“Yeah. You were there for the aftermath.” I rolled my eyes and looked back to her and I was met with an arched brow.
“Did you follow every order the doctor gave you?”
“Of course.” I scoffed.
“Sure you did.” Elle huffed. Was this how she was at work? Of course, it was, she was no-nonsense and it’s one of the reasons I’d been drawn to her.
“Okay, well, if you don’t believe me, what do you think is happening?”
“You didn’t let your shoulder heal. The break healed wrong and I think it’s pinched a nerve, which is only getting worse with time.” She might as well have been talking gibberish because I didn’t really follow her train of thought. “You know when people have a slipped disk or compressed vertebrae in their back, it pinches a nerve?” I nodded convincingly in fear she’d press on that spot again. “I think that’s what’s happened, but in your shoulder.”
“Okay, so how do I fix it?” I leaned back in the chair and waited for her answer.
“You go to the doctor,” Elle smirked and then walked around to the sink to wash the massage oil off her hands.
Laughing, I shook my head. “Nope, not happening.”
“God, you’re stubborn.” She crossed her arms but didn’t move closer to me again.
Standing, I pushed my chair back and leaned on the island. “I just need you to get me through to winter. Things get a bit slower, and I take some time off from breaking horses.” My voice trailed off as I stared at her angry face. I didn’t think she liked my request at all.
“I’m not a miracle worker, Griff. This is so far beyond what I can do, and I hate watching you do more damage to your arm every day.” She let her gaze fall, and I moved to stand in front of her.
“Just get me through the fall, then I’ll go, I swear.” Wrapping my arms around her, I brought her to me. “Please,” I whispered.
“Fine,” Elle sighed, “but I won’t be happy about it.” Elle rest her head against my chest. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.” Her words were so quiet, and I almost didn’t hear her.
My heart broke, but I didn’t say anything. This was exactly why I hadn’t told anyone how bad my arm really was. I didn’t want the people I loved to feel like they had to tiptoe around me.
“I think I promised you a naughty movie night.” I needed to change the subject, and the only thing I wanted to do was hold her against me.
Elle wriggled out of my arms, and she reached down, grabbed the hem of the shirt, and pulled it off. “And popcorn.” She said as she walked away, and I let my eyes fall down her body. She grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and placed it over the seat, then took another one from the stool and curled up under it.
Pulling open the pantry door, I quickly found the popcorn and tossed the package in the microwave. Three minutes feels like an eternity when I can see her sprawled out on the sofa, her bare shoulder peeking over the back of the couch and her long legs propped up on the coffee table. Why the hell did this shit take so long?