Page 34
Her gaze flicked up to Connor, and she was surprised to see the anger on his face. “A man stomped on your leg?”
She nodded. “If I hadn’t landed on my side the way I did, he probably wouldn’t have been able to do that. The angle was just right, I guess.”
Connor reached out and cupped her cheek. “You knew you were going to lose it when you woke up?”
She shrugged. “I kind of assumed so. I had no idea if we were going to be rescued or not, so I started preparing in my head living life without a leg. Baylee felt terrible, but at the time there was no other option. She saved my life.”
“I think I would like to thank Baylee.”
Olivia grinned. “She’s really something. One of the strongest women I know.”
“I have a feeling she would say the same thing about you.”
“Yeah,” Olivia murmured, “she probably would.”
“So, you were flown to Germany, I assume…”
She nodded. “That was where they took my leg. I had to stay there a couple of weeks because I did turn septic, and it took a while to fight off the infection. I did my rehab in San Antonio and learned to walk again. That was over about four months.”
“So, there are pistons here…” he pointed.
“Yes. It’s all run on pistons. The foot flexes as I walk and retracts back to the original position for the next step.”
“That’s cool, that they can make it so lifelike. When you’re walking, there’s no sign you’re wearing a prosthetic.”
“Good.”
“And the leg beneath? Where does it end?”
Olivia pointed to the area where stump met prosthetic.
“And how do you take it off?”
Olivia hesitated, then forged through. If he wanted to see it, she would show it to him. But she bet he would come up with some excuse to end the night sooner rather than later.
Wedging a finger into the cup, she released the grip on the cup and pushed it off, then she set it aside. The neoprene sock, which she’d just placed after her shower, was still a little damp. She set it aside. Then she was naked before him, holding her breath.
Olivia gritted her teeth and wondered why this felt more personal than if she’d stripped off her bra and flung it away. Because this was a weakness, and the strong tended to look for weaknesses.
Connor reached out and touched her stump, making her gasp. He jerked his hand back and his head spun to her. “I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”
Olivia was startled into a laugh. “No, you didn’t hurt me. It’s just a little sensitive after a shower. Go ahead.”
He cupped her stump in his big palm and brushed his fingers over the old suture lines. “Do these hurt?”
“No,” she whispered.
“And this redness?”
“Aggravation from the damp sock.”
He nodded his head like he knew what she meant. “Let’s leave it off, then.”
Then, completely surprising her, he reached around and lifted her into his arms, settling her on his lap. Suddenly, she was very close to him, to his mouth. Her gaze drifted there, and one side of his lips tipped up. “So, now that this is out of the way,” he patted her leg, “are you going to kiss me?”
She needed no more prompting. Leaning in, she covered his mouth with her own.
* * *
