Maybe he did need seduction pointers, after all?
“How goes the work?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to call them back. If you’re hoping to get her into bed, maybe don’t remind her of the one reason she thinks she can’t go there with you?
“It’s going. I’m almost done with the inventory of assets. Once I’m happy with it I’ll pass it to you, and… Owwww!”
She collapsed onto the sofa and clasped her foot in both hands. He rushed over. “What’s wrong?”
Her body balled tight with pain while she rocked back and forth, clutching her right foot. “I don’t know.” Her voice was a gasp. “Sudden pain, right here. Oh, God, it’s awful.”
He wrapped his hands over hers, skimmed his thumbs gently over the back of her uppermost hand gripping the sole of her foot. “Down here in the arch?”
She nodded, a bit desperately. “Yes. It’s relentless. Jesus. Like something’s twisted or—I don’t know—torn? I think I need a doctor.”
While sympathetic to her pain, the first slippery bubbles of concern popped. “Oh, baby, you’re okay. You just need to flex your foot.”
“I can’t. I can’t move it.”
“Yes, you can.” Gently, he unwrapped her hands from her foot and took it in his own, pausing a moment to let her get used to his touch. “Just try to relax. I’m going to help you.”
She wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “No, no, no. It really hurts. I hate to be a baby, but I don’t want to cause more damage.”
“Izzy.” He waited until her eyes met his, dismayed to see hers were glassy with unshed tears. “Relief is seconds away. I promise. Trust me?”
“Oh, God. Okay.” She squeezed her eyes shut and released his wrists. “Be careful. Please.”
“Careful is my middle name.” While he spoke, he eased his fingers between her toes. “I’ll always be careful with you. Ready?”
She nodded, but then her eyes popped open, and she shook her head. “Wait.”
“Izzy—”
“Just give me”—she straightened her spine, placed on palm on her chest, the other below her rib cage, and slowly lowered her eyelids—“a minute.” While he watched she inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled through pursed lips, as if whistling. Once, twice, a third time and a forth, each round becoming successively more shallow and rapid.
“What are you doing?”
“Belly breathing. Reduces stress. Breaths through pain,” she said without opening her eyes, and managed another three breaths between the quick bursts of words.
“I don’t know about breathing through the pain, but you’re going to hyperventilate if you keep that up.”
She opened her eyes and sagged out of the posture. “You’re right. I should have tried figure eight breathing to regulate my speed.”
“Come on, Izzy.” He cupped a hand around her heel to prevent her from pulling away at the moment of truth. “Just trust me. Ready?”
He took her reluctant whimper as a yes, and slowly worked her foot from an arched position to a flexed position. Her whimper rose to a thin, high-pitched keen, that, after a few moments, segued into a moan of relief.
Very throaty. Profoundly relieved. It vibrated through him, settling in his balls while his overactive imagination suggested the sound was a close relative of the noises she’d make when she came.
“Ohhh.” Eyes still closed, she relaxed back onto the sofa, letting her shoulders sag against the arm rest. “Oooh.” She sighed as he slid a hand up to hold her calf, and cautiously rotated her ankle.
“Better?”
“So much better.” Nodding, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Thank you.”
The soul-deep gratitude in those two little words brought a smile to his lips. “Anytime.” He switched to massaging her arch.
“Mmm.” Her eyelids fluttered—pleasure this time—and her lips curved. “How did you know what to do?”
“I’m a certified Emergency Trauma Tech. Since we fly sick and injured to Juneau regularly, I figured someone ought to have some medical skills. But even without the credentials, I know a charley horse when I see one.”
Surprise widened her eyes. She lifted her head a degree to aim them at him. “That was a charley horse?”
“Yep.” He ran his palm down her shin, then back up. “Probably from snowshoeing in the wrong boots. I take it you’ve never had one before?”
“Never.” She lay back against the sofa and let her eyelids droop. The front of her robe gaped to reveal a shoulder, chest, and a hint of lace trimming the snug top beneath.
She wasn’t trying to seduce him, he reminded himself. She’d trusted him to help her, not take advantage. He moved his hands back to her foot and flexed her arch. “Exercising in extreme cold can trigger them. Especially when you don’t normally participate in a lot of winter sports.”
“Snow’s scarce in Southern Nevada and my family’s vacation budget didn’t extend to winter getaways. To be honest, sports weren’t really my thing.”
“Kept that cute little nose in the books, huh?”
He figured it was memories more than his compliment that brought a small smile to her lips.
“Mostly. But I feel like a big baby now. I never dreamed a measly muscle cramp could feel so debilitating.”
“At least now you know what to do if it happens again.”
That brought her head up once more. “Again? It could happen again?”
“It’s possible. Sore muscles can be caused by a buildup of lactic acid.” He gently squeezed her foot. “Encouraging reabsorption usually helps.”
“Okay, Dr. Shanahan.” She reclined again. “I put myself in your hands.”
God, if only she would. He could ease all kinds of discomfort for both of them, but he knew that wasn’t what she was suggesting, and he wasn’t here to pervert her moment of need into something illicit. His gaze snagged on the bottle of lotion Rose had provided. As usual, the woman thought of everything. He reached for it, then hesitated as he eyed Izzy’s pajama pants. He didn’t know a lot about fabrics but suspected the lotion might stain silk. “Mind if I clear the area?”
“Hmm?”
He pushed her pajama legs up past the bend in her knees, exposing more smooth, tan skin. “That’s better. Sit back. Relax.” Upending the bottle, he squeezed a generous amount into his palm.