“All good, Mari-girl?”
“Yes, thank you.” She gave him a shy look.
He wiped her nose and she reared back. “Linc!”
“What? Do you need to blow?”
“No.” She gave him a disgruntled look. “Can I have another tissue please?”
He hid a smile. He’d get her comfortable enough with him eventually that she’d let him take care of her in all ways.
Well, hopefully. If she reacted well to what he had to tell her. He grabbed an antihistamine and some of the bottled water he’d brought with him. “You’re okay to take some antihistamines?”
“Yes, thank you.” She swallowed them down as he gently grasped hold of her foot.
“Oh, poor darling, it’s really swollen, isn’t it?”
She whimpered as he ran some cream over the red patch. “Does that hurt?”
“Just a little bit,” she sniffled. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry, little one?”
“I kind of ruined the picnic, didn’t I?”
“Hey.” Moving on instinct, he pulled her onto his lap. She tensed. “You didn’t ruin anything.” He ran his hand up and down her back. “If anyone is at fault, it’s me for letting you walk around without your sandals on. From now on, you wear shoes when you’re outside.”
“This is hardly your fault and you didn’t let me do anything. I make my own decisions.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “But I’m the kind of guy who likes to take care of people who are special to him.”
“Your old-fashioned views?” she asked, losing some of her tension and leaning against his chest with a sigh.
“Sort of. I want to ask you a question. You don’t have to answer it, but you mustn’t lie. All right?”
“Yes, okay.”
“Do any of those books you like to read have BDSM in them?”
“Um, yes.” She squirmed around and he had to hold her still before it became obvious just how much he enjoyed having her on his lap.
“Is there any aspect of BDSM that you particularly enjoy reading about?”
“I . . . I guess so.”
She didn’t elaborate. He decided to tread softly. The last thing he wanted was to send her running.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed to tell me what you like, Marisol. I’d like to know everything about you.”
“Why?” she breathed out. “I thought we were just friends?”
“We are. And I know you said you couldn’t be anything more than friends. But I’m attracted to you. And I think you might feel the same way about me?” He pulled her back so he could look down into her face.
She bit her lip but gave a small nod. “I don’t think there’s a woman alive who wouldn’t be attracted to you. There’s something about you. You can be sweet and funny, but also commanding and protective. I like the way you look after me. That you’re not trying to be someone you’re not. You can make fun of yourself. I think you like to be in control but you’re not a dick about it.”
“I certainly hope I’m not,” he told her. “And if I ever am, you can tell me.”
“I heard some gossip the other day at the spa.”
“Oh.” Was she trying to change the subject? “Gossip?”
She wiggled again. Christ, was she trying to kill him? He held her steady.
“I don’t usually listen, but I was covering for Eileen who was sick. Mrs. Long and her friends were talking about the ranch. I didn’t put much credence in what they were saying.”
“And what were they saying?” He knew Wilma Long and her friends. A bunch of narrow-minded women who made it their business to know everything that went on in Wishingbone. They weren’t nice people and he didn’t like Marisol being around them.
Easy, man.
“About how the men on the ranch are . . . well, that they spank the women.”
Damn. It was hard to keep things that happened on the ranch completely quiet but he hadn’t realized anyone had discovered any details about how the people at Sanctuary lived.
“Also that one woman lives with two men. I didn’t really believe that. I mean, that doesn’t happen in real life, right?”
Oh, it did. Caley lived with the two docs and she was very happy with both of them. What she didn’t need, though, was to be gossiped about. She was a private person. They all were.
“Are you okay? Should I not have mentioned it?” she asked worriedly, staring up at him in concern.
“Did you tell anyone?” he asked sharply.
Her eyes widened. “What? No, of course not. Who would I tell? I wouldn’t say anything anyway,” she told him with a frown. “It’s none of my business. But they did say they’d gone to the sheriff about it.”
“What?” he snapped.
“Yeah. Oh, Ed is the sheriff, isn’t he? Huh, guess he’s not such a bad guy. For a cop, that is.”
“They went to Ed about a rumor they’d heard?”
“Yeah. But don’t worry, he told them to mind their own business and stop making up stories.”
Well, there was that at least. But Ed should have told him. Or Clint anyway. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to bother him while he was getting ready for his wedding. Linc would talk to Kent though, just to give him a heads up.
It wasn’t like any of them cared what some small-minded people thought. But none of them would allow the women on Sanctuary to be slighted or upset.
Maybe, for the foreseeable future, the women shouldn’t go into town without one of the men with them. It wasn’t like they often went in on their own so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
“Linc? I really didn’t believe it. I enjoyed going to Sanctuary and meeting everyone the other evening. And Eden is one of my best customers.”
Marisol looked worried as she stared up at him, chewing on her lip. Crap. He hadn’t reacted well. Of course she wouldn’t gossip, she wasn’t like those other women.
“Shh, it’s okay. Sorry if I was a bit harsh. I just don’t want any of the women on Sanctuary to be hurt by rumors.”
“That’s really sweet of you. I don’t want that either.”
“Mrs. Long and her friends can be kind of . . .”
“Judgmental? Mean?” she supplied.
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve seen it. She’s narrow-minded about a lot of things.”
“Has she said something to you?” He frowned, not liking that.
She shrugged. “First time she came into the spa, she wanted to know if I had papers to work here legally.”
“That old bitch.” Anger flooded him. At least the women on Sanctuary had protection, but who did Marisol have? An aunt who frankly, seemed to be a complete bitch.
“It’s okay. I’ve met plenty of people like that.”
“That doesn’t make it all right. I don’t want you around that old bitch and her friends again.”
“Like I said, they’re Eileen’s customers. I don’t have to deal with them much.”
She shouldn’t have to deal with them at all. Linc glanced down at her, seeing her pale worried face. He needed to get her home. And talk to Kent.