“Other than my ego?” She grinned and shook her head. “My hip took the brunt of the fall, too, but I think I’ll just have a nasty bruise. Nothing that needs treatment.”
She rubbed her right side, but he knew better than to ask her to lift her short skirt for a look. If he had to see what kind of panties she wore beneath, he’d be hard as a rock, and she’d notice. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to hide his desire for Braden’s sister, but more than once, his best friend had called him out on it.
“Ice it tonight and tomorrow. Twenty minutes on, twenty off. And if it gets worse, we’ll get you X-rayed,” Braden said of her hip.
He opened the cabinets and removed items to irrigate the wound, clean out the gravel, put antibiotic ointment on, and wrap her hands in sterile gauze to keep bacteria out and prevent infection. Then he got to work, icing the area to numb it as best he could, cleaning and using a tweezer, carefully removing pieces of gravel.
Though she was stoic, he felt every wince and sharp intake of breath when he hurt her and was grateful when he finally soothed the area with Neosporin and wrapped her palms down to her wrists in order to secure the area.
After he’d cleaned up, he walked back over to where she sat, long, tanned legs dangling from the table, her precious black pumps with red soles tempting him. Fuck-me heels if he’d ever seen a pair, and considering his mother’s taste and the fact that he came from money, he was familiar with the cost of those heels. Sexy, they had him envisioning Bri’s legs wrapped around his waist, ankles crossed at his back, as he fucked her hard and deep.
He ran a hand over his face as if he could wipe away the erotic vision and reminded himself this was his best friend’s sister. His twin. And though he had a hunch Braden would be okay with him dating his sister as long as his intentions were good, if things went bad, he’d lose not only his good buddy but a family he’d grown to love. One he needed because his father, in New York, was a selfish prick who liked to make demands and pull strings, more so since Hudson’s older brother, Evan, had passed away suddenly last year due to an aneurysm that couldn’t have been detected or prevented.
But there was no denying the woman on the exam table tempted him anyway. “How do you feel?” he asked.
“I won’t lie. It’s uncomfortable, but I’ll be fine.” Her forced smile did little to convince him she wasn’t in more pain than she admitted.
“Don’t lie to me. I know it hurts, but the best I can offer is Extra-Strength Tylenol or ibuprofen.”
She nodded. “If you have some, I’ll take it now, please.”
He left the room to get the pills and some water and returned, watching her take the meds. She put the empty cup behind her. “Thank you, Hudson. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”
“I’ve never known Jimmy to be violent, but he took things too far.” He stepped closer and grasped her uninjured wrists in his hands, ending up between her spread thighs. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
Her indigo eyes met his, the unique color screaming she wasn’t a Prescott but a Dare. Paul Dare was her biological father via sperm donation, something the Prescott kids had learned when Paul needed a kidney and he’d needed the children to get tested. Now that the truth was out, it was a shock nobody had realized the truth sooner based on eye color alone.
“I’m just glad I had you there tonight.” Her gaze never left his.
He gripped her wrists tighter, leaning forward as if pulled by an invisible string, reeling him in, closer and closer to the woman and her tempting shimmering lips. Pulse pounding, he waited for her to stop him. For all the reasons he’d counted earlier, he almost wished she would. Because nothing but her saying no was going to prevent him from kissing her.
But her eyes gleamed with anticipation, and she leaned in until their mouths met and his world exploded. He tasted mint and Bri, a heady combination. One that surpassed anything he’d experienced before. His tongue slid against hers, and desire ripped through him, fast and furious, making him question how he could feel this much with just one kiss.
A soft moan escaped the back of her throat, and he swallowed the sound, nipping at her bottom lip. Her legs wrapped around his waist, ankles crossing. It was his dream come true except they were both fully dressed.
The kiss went on, hungry and full of desire until a sudden knock sounded on the door.
“I hear you rescued a damsel in distress.” Before they could react, the door swung open and Braden stepped inside, his astute gaze sweeping the room and landing on first Hudson, then Bri.
And Hudson had no doubt they both looked guilty as hell.
Chapter Two
“What the hell did I just walk in on?” Braden’s glare flickered over Bri, settling directly on Hudson.
“What does it look like?” Bri asked. “And before you go all big brother on me, I’m an adult, and I can kiss whoever I want.”
She obviously wasn’t about to let her twin push her around, and Hudson admired her spunk.
“You’re in a public place,” Braden said, sounding still pissed off.
“We’re behind closed doors, and you didn’t knock.” Hudson stepped forward and put himself front and center. “Lay off your sister, Braden. We didn’t do a damn thing wrong,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. Braden might be his best friend, but he wasn’t about to let him harass Bri over something that was none of his business.
Braden raised both hands in defeat. “Fine. I’ll back off. You just took me by surprise. I don’t want to see my sister lip locked with anyone, let alone my best friend.” His frown epitomized every brother’s reaction to walking in the way he had.
Bri walked over and placed her hand on Braden’s shoulder. “Don’t walk in when a door’s shut and you won’t see anything that might make you want to scrub your eyeballs.”
His gaze fell to her hands, his eyes opening wide, obviously noticing her bandages for the first time. “What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m glad you realized what’s important.” She laughed and nodded. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“Jimmy asked her for money, and when she opened her purse, he went to grab it,” Hudson said.
“I pulled back and fell. Just a little road rash.” She waved her hands in the air. “I’ll live.”
“The man’s a hazard,” Braden muttered.
“He didn’t mean to hurt her, and you know it. We’ve treated him enough to know that his intentions are always good. That said, we should put installing cameras outside on our list of to-do things when we get the money to renovate this place.”
“What kind of renovations?” Bri glanced from her brother to Hudson. Their eyes met, and sizzling awareness flashed between them, that kiss still very much on his mind and obviously on hers.
“Hudson and I have plans for this clinic if we can raise the funds we need. I’m going to talk to Uncle Paul this weekend.” Braden’s pseudo uncle/father was wealthy enough to fund his half of their plan.
Hudson’s grandfather had left him a trust fund, but his father, Martin, was the trustee, and the chances of him giving him the money without strings were slim to none. Hence his upcoming trip to New York this coming weekend. Ever since Evan’s death, his father’s notion of continuing the family lineage with a grandchild had fallen on Hudson, and it was suffocating enough to prevent him from going home to New York after he left Doctors Without Borders. Now that he needed something from the man, Hudson was sure his parent would make him pay one way or another to get what he wanted.