“Red?” he prompted brusquely.
Keep it light. “I was just wondering if it’d be presumptuous to ask you for a pedicure too.”
“Definitely.” He flashed her that knee-weakening grin.
In her bedroom, she perched on the edge of her bed. Kane followed a beat later, wielding a brush and a comb. He closed the door behind him and propped a knee on the mattress. “If I pull too hard, let me know.”
Ginger let her eyes drift shut, allowing herself to enjoy the feel of Kane’s hands on her head, straightening and smoothing the coarse strands, one section at a time.
“I see them wheels turnin’, counselor. You’re wondering how many heads of women’s hair I’ve combed before yours, aren’t you?”
Was she that transparent? “Maybe.”
“No women, but I have untangled wild child Eliza’s hair a time or two.”
Grateful for the subject change, she asked, “Do you spend much time with Kade and Skylar’s girls?”
“As much as I can. Eliza more than the twins, since she’s older.” He chuckled. “Last year? She was complaining to her parents about them goin’ away for ‘alone’ time and demanded alone time too.”
“What did they do?”
“Sent her to my house for the weekend. We ate junk food and watched girlie movies and played High Ho! Cherry-O and Go Fish. However, I drew the line at playin’ Barbies or painting her nails,” he said dryly. “So your pedicure chances are slim to none.”
Ginger laughed.
“And while I was workin’ on the tractor? Little sneak ran off to play with Shep in the shelterbelt. She came back an hour later with her hair in knots. I figured Kade and Sky would throw a fit if I chopped off Little Miss’s long locks, which woulda been a damn sight easier than combin’ through it. Took me two solid hours to untangle that rat’s nest.”
He couldn’t fool her. Warm amusement for his niece’s antics lurked beneath the words. It appeared the man was great with all kids, not just hers.
“So yesterday when I went to check on Shep, Kade and Miz Eliza showed up. She got teary eyed that my dog was ‘all alone’ and convinced her daddy to take him home for the weekend.” He sighed. “Poor Shep will probably have pink ribbons attached to his collar when I pick him up.”
Ginger had forgotten Kane had a dog. And he hadn’t asked to bring him along, knowing Hayden’s allergies. “I’m sorry you had to make other arrangements for Shep, Kane.”
The brush stopped.
“What?”
“I like hearin’ the sexy way you say my name.”
A blush spread across her cheeks. Her heart pounded. “Oh. Really?”
“There’s no need to apologize since I volunteered to be here and Shep would’ve been fine sleepin’ in the barn.”
Silence stretched. Not uncomfortable. The gentle, yet thorough way his hands stroked her hair was as relaxing as it was arousing. Unconsciously, Ginger rubbed her thighs together. How amazing would those stroking motions feel all over? Her br**sts? Her belly? Her pu**y? A sound of pure pleasure escaped before she could stop it.
“You like this,” he murmured in her ear.
“Yes.”
“Me too.” Then he didn’t say another word, but he seemed to take even more care, even more time.
The soft sound of the bristles gliding through her hair slowed.
“As much as I like seein’ this red mass down around your pretty face, I’m gonna pull it into a ponytail.” Once her hair was slicked back, he said, “You wanna check my handiwork to see if it’s up to your standards?”
“I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t trust me. ’Cause I’ve been havin’ all sorts of naughty thoughts about you.”
“Since when?”
“Truthfully? Since always.” His silky voice drifted across her ear. “But it’s gotten much more intense in the last hour since I busted in on you in the bathroom.”
A dizzy, disconnected feeling buzzed through her system and she found it difficult to breathe. “And yet you were a perfect gentleman.”
His deep-throated laugh vibrated through her body.
“Oh, maybe I looked like that on the outside. But on the inside? I would’ve liked nothin’ better than to lock that damn bathroom door behind me and put my hands and my mouth all over your perfectly lush curves. All over. Every inch. Over and over. Until I knew that body as well as my own.”
Ginger looked sideways at the bulge in the crotch of his jeans and then met his dark gaze. “You’re attracted to me after the very unsexy way I mooned you?”
“Are you serious? Lord woman. With you bent over like that?” He rubbed his fingers across his goatee, staring at her hungrily from beneath lowered lashes. “’Bout the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen.
Took every ounce of restraint for me not to drop my jeans and just drive into you. No sweet-talkin’, no foreplay. Just down-and-dirty, hard-and-fast sex.”
A wave of lust swamped her.
“But I ain’t the type to take advantage.”
Talk about a cold dash of reality. “Meaning what? Since I’m a captive audience, my attractiveness has markedly increased for you solely because we’re in such close proximity?”
“You wanna explain that in English, counselor?”
She huffed out a breath. “Fine. You find me appealing because I’m the only woman who’s here.”
Kane bent down so they were nose to nose. “Not. Even. Fucking. Close.”
The door opened and Hayden raced in.
She and Kane broke apart, but not as fast as she imagined they would.
Without preamble Hayden blurted, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings—”
“I know. Look.” She flattened her palm over her scalp. “No more porcupine.” She brought him down beside her on the bed and brushed the hair from his brow. “Now I’m ready to get out of this bedroom for a while. I’m starved. What did you guys eat last night?”
“Spaghetti. And we had chicken noodle soup today.”
“Sounds yummy.”
“Let me help you up,” Kane said.
“I’m fine.”
He moved in front of her and growled, “That was not a request, Red. Give me your damn hand.”
Using Kane for support instead of the wall did have advantages. Muscles, muscles and more muscles.
Plus, he smelled good. She let him maneuver her to the kitchen.