The Billionaire's Courageous Lover (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 3) (10 page)

“Andie!” he roared, and the crowds parted to make room for his stampede. 

“I’m fine!” she said, lifting her hands to reassure him. 

“You’re not fine!” he came right back, his eyes moving over her from her head to her toes.  And when that wasn’t a good enough perusal, he carried her away from the crowds, moving to the side of the building so they were protected from the curious eyes of the crowd.  As soon as they were hidden, he searched for injuries on the crazy woman himself with his hands, unzipping her jacket and touching her all over. 

Unfortunately, his confirmation that she wasn’t hurt only caused a great deal of pain.  In a different way.  “Don’t stop,” she begged, when his examination was over and she was leaning against the side of the building, her mind hazy with desire.  “Please, Knox.”

He stood up and saw the way she was looking at him, her eyes filled with desire, need, and passion.  Instantly, his body hardened.  He wanted her so badly that it was a physical ache most of the time, even when he wasn’t around her.  But when she looked at him like that, coupled with the plea from that soft voice, he couldn’t hold back.  Pulling her into his arms, he slid his hands underneath her still-open jacket and kissed her as if he was starving.  For her.  Which he was. 

He wasn’t aware of anything other than Andie’s soft curves pressing against his body.  He was frustrated with the thick clothing, wanting to strip them both naked and feel all of her against his hard body.  But he couldn’t stop kissing her to make that happen. Not here.  Not right at the moment.  He could….

The ambulance sirens going off broke them apart quickly, and Knox looked around, stunned that he’d been kissing her like this with so many people around.  Thankfully, it looked like they were all watching the activity surrounding the emergency and hadn’t witnessed him getting out of control.  But still…

They were both breathing heavily and he took a step backwards, still holding her arm, needing the connection even if he wouldn’t allow himself to kiss her again.  Kissing Andie was dangerous. 

“Let’s go,” he grumbled and took her hand. 

The hiss that came back at him with that gesture had him confused for a long moment.  But looking down at her, he realized that she was now holding her hand.  “What’s wrong?” he demanded, quickly moving so that he was blocking the sun from her eyes and he could look down at her. 

Andie knew that she should have kept quiet. But the pain that shot through her arm when he took her hand had been unexpected. 

Knox noticed that her cheeks were no longer rosy from the wind and desire.  They were pale and there was a different look to her pretty eyes now.  His touch gentled and he moved back to shield her from curious onlookers.  “Andie, talk to me.  What’s wrong?”

She was cradling her hand against her chest when she looked up at him.  “Well, I’m trying to figure that out for myself.”

He gently took her hand and looked down at the fingers.  “Looks like you broke your middle finger,” he said, noticing the blue color starting to form around the base of her hand.  “You need to get it x-rayed.”

A hospital?  X-rays?  Oh no!  That wasn’t a good idea! 

Immediately, she shook her head.  “No.  I’m fine.  Really,” she told him, trying to reassure him even while her hand throbbed with pain.  Funny, it hadn’t hurt when he was kissing her.  Maybe she should just ask him to kiss her again so the pain would go away.  She almost laughed at that idea.  But she also knew that he wouldn’t help her in that way.  He’d already moved away from the lust part of their kiss to the regret aspect.  Darn it, if she could figure out how to eliminate that shift, she might be able to…. 

“Andie, I told you…”

Darn it!  If she’d just…hadn’t…Oh the man just irritated her with this idea that she had to go back where she was safe.  Ugh! 

“Don’t say it!” she snapped at him and started to walk away.  But he grabbed her arm and swung her around. 

“Let me see your hand, Andie.”

She hid it behind her back.  “No.  Go away.”

Knox sighed, obviously trying to find more patience.  “Andie!”

She was angry now.  “No!  You keep kissing me, letting me think that you want me, but then you pull away and tell me we shouldn’t have kissed.  That I’m too soft and delicate for Alaska!  Well, no longer, Knox!  I’m…”

“You’re going to show me your hand, Andie!” he said, bending lower so that his growl was right in her face.  He even reached around and pulled her hand forward.  When he looked at her fingers, he shook his head.  “Can you move them?”

She wiggled her fingers and it hurt, but at least she could move them.  “See?  I’m fine!”

Knox couldn’t believe she was being so stubborn!  The silly woman was obviously in pain and she needed to see a doctor!  Why in the world was she resisting?  “You’re not fine!  And you weren’t sitting in the lodge drinking hot chocolate.  You lied to me, Andie.”

Her finger throbbed, her body ached, her thighs were on fire, and she was exhausted.  Not a good combination when dealing with Knox because his anger sparked her own.  “Yes, I lied. But only because you weren’t going to go off and fly around with your friends.  I didn’t want to be the one holding you back.  It looked like a perfect day to go flying, so I lied to get you to have some fun.”

“I didn’t need to ski down the mountain.  I needed to be here for you.  If I had been here, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Andie was too absorbed in what he’d just said to move on to arguing against his presence with her this afternoon.  “Wait a minute.  What do you mean, you skied down the mountain?  What does that mean?  You went up in a helicopter.  You just went for a ride.”

He almost laughed at her assumption, but he was too concerned with her darkening finger.  “Andie, stop changing the subject.  You need to see a doctor.”

Andie whipped her hand out of his gentle hold.  “What do you mean?” she demanded again, her body shaking with the fear of what he might have being doing all afternoon.  Surely she’d misunderstood.  Please, she waited while holding her breath, please let him tell her that he hadn’t actually flown in a helicopter, dropped out of it, and skied down the mountainside!  Oh please don’t let him say those words!  She’d seen videos of athletes who did that and it looked…crazy!

“We went to the top, Andie!” he snapped at her, wondering what she’d thought he’d been doing.  Why else would someone fly up in a helicopter?  “Now let me see your hand!”

“NO!  Tell me you didn’t do that crazy stuff I see on television.  Tell me you didn’t jump out of the helicopter and ski down that peak!”

Even as she said the words, she started to feel faint just thinking about him doing something so crazy. 

Once again, he ignored her plea and focused on the pain in her hand.  “Andie, we’re going to get this looked at.”  And with those words, he nudged her along.  The others had already stored their skis, Violet had returned Andie’s skis and poles to the rental area and they were ready to take off. 

When the two of them walked up to the group, they all looked at Knox and Andie, obviously expecting some sort of announcement. 

“I’m taking Andie to the doctor,” he announced in an angry growl.  “You guys can head back.”

Andie shook her head, hiding her swollen finger in her glove so the others wouldn’t be able to see that she’d injured herself.  “No.  I came with Tyla and Saeger, so I’ll go back with them.”

He glared down at her, nostrils flaring once again.  “You’re coming with me,” he snapped right back.  He didn’t wait for her agreement this time but took her arm and dragged her over to his SUV.  “Get in,” he commanded. 

She glared right back at him.  “No!”  She knew she was poking the bear, but she didn’t care.  Not this time.  He was being obnoxious and she wasn’t going to take it.  She was too tired, her hand hurt like the devil, and she was sick and tired of him trying to boss her around. 

Unfortunately, she probably should have cared.  Because a moment later, she was lifted up and plunked down into the passenger seat. 

Andie was going to get out, but she saw Saeger’s SUV drive out of the parking lot, all the others with him.  So she either had to drive back with Knox or walk back.  Since it was an hour’s drive, she decided it was better to just deal with his ornery company than be stuck here. 

“You’re being a bully,” she muttered as soon as he was in the driver’s seat.

He slammed his door shut and started the engine, obviously furious with her.  “And you lied to me, Andie.”

“Yep.”  She wasn’t the least bit sorry either.  She was only sorry that she’d gotten caught because of a teenage boy who’d slammed into her.  The last run, she thought!  Seconds later and she would have been down the mountain, happily ensconced on a leather chair with a steaming cup of hot chocolate.  He’d be none the wiser, and he wouldn’t be threatening to take her to the hospital. 

He glanced at her as he pulled out of the parking lot.  “You don’t seem overly concerned with your lie.”

Andie sat there for several moments, a plan forming in her mind.  Was she ashamed?  Not a bit.  Was she going to keep doing it? 

She glanced over at Knox.  He was so strong and virile, so amazingly handsome.  Not in a traditional way.  Nope, he was too hard for that.  And he forgot to shave about every other day.  Maybe that was intentional because he looked so much more…scruffy and sexy…with that dark shadow across his jaw. 

It didn’t matter.  She wanted him.  She was going to have him.  Even if it involved tricking him. 

“Nope.  Not ashamed.” 

They sat there in silence for the rest of the drive.  But he didn’t take her to her house.  He stopped in front of a different house and got out.  “You’re seeing a doctor about your finger,” he explained when he opened her door for her.  He practically lifted her out of the seat and then nudged the small of her back to get her moving towards the house.  “I’ve already called and told Dennis about your finger.  He’ll look at it and let me know if you need x-rays.”

“I don’t,” she told him stubbornly glaring up at him. 

He didn’t budge.  He simply lowered his head and glared right back.  “You’re seeing him.  Dennis is a good doctor.”

Andie sighed, but her hand really was throbbing something awful now.  Besides, her legs were too sore, her body too tired, to argue with him.  All she wanted to do was curl up beside him in front of her fireplace and relax.  Unfortunately, he was probably going to run away as soon as he dumped her at her house. 

An intriguing thought suddenly occurred to her.  She wanted to be with him tonight…so maybe she should just slow down and enjoy his company while she had it. 

Before she knew what was going on, Knox had nudged her towards the entrance to the small house.  A kind looking man answered the door, a dark pair of glasses balanced on the end of his nose and a magazine in his hand. 

“Hi Dennis,” Knox said when the door was opened up.  The doctor was older with a friendly smile invited them in and Andie was surprised to find that they were in an actual doctor’s office.  It wasn’t a home.  Well, it was, but it was set up for the man to see patients.

Happily, there were no chemical smells, no one rushing around to fix an emergency, no announcements asking some doctor to come to surgery “stat” and, best of all, no fear clogged her throat, making it hard for her to breathe.  This was much better than a hospital, so she walked into the examining room, relief showing on her features. 

The doctor came into the room after them and pulled his glasses off of his nose.  “Been skiing, I see,” he said as he took in their bulky jackets and snow pants.  “Let’s take a look, shall we?” he said and gestured for Andie to take a seat on the examining table. 

Knox stood over in the corner, his big, muscular arms crossed over his chest as he watched her carefully. 

After several moments of wiggling Andie’s finger, he nodded his head with satisfaction.  “Doesn’t appear to be broken, but I’m guessing you’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you?”

Andie glanced up at Knox, saw his jaw clench and shook her head.  “No, it isn’t bad at all,” she told the man.

“She’s lying,” Knox announced, his eyes narrowing on her features. 

“I’m fine,” she argued right back, even though her hand was aching like nothing she’d ever experienced before.  She wasn’t going to concede that he was right because that would mean she was too delicate for this area.  No way was she going to tell him that. 

Dennis glanced back at Knox, then at his patient, a secret smile forming on his aging features.  “I understand,” he said with a nod, and Andie suspected that he understood a whole lot more than he was letting on.  What that was, she wasn’t completely sure about, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it too much since he was doing something with her finger and it really hurt.  She had to keep a straight face though, not wanting Knox to worry about her. 

Strange that she’d gone from not wanting him to know that she was really hurt, to not wanting him to worry about her being hurt.  She was protecting the big lumberjack, she thought with an inner sigh.  But if the good doctor twitched her finger again, she was going to snap.  This new feeling, this need to protect Knox, was strange and she didn’t understand it. 

Nor was she going to examine the emotion too closely.  She had to focus on not cringing when the man started to do something else to her finger.  He went back into what she suspected was a supply closet, coming out a moment later with a few things that he laid out on the table beside her.