Angel's Dance by Heidi Angell Read Free Book Online

she was completely naked, in a bed,
rubbing… ‘ ugh! ’
    She pulled away and grabbed the
blanket as she went, pulling it tight around her and tucking her
hands under her armpits. Peeking at him through the strands of her
hair, for just a brief moment she saw a flicker of… something… then
he was back to business. He jumped from the bed and grabbed another
towel from the bathroom, tossing it over her head and rubbing
gently.
    “ How are your feet?” he
asked, glancing down.
    Clear had no idea, she couldn’t even
feel them. She stared dumbly at him, not really able to respond. He
knelt and taking a foot in one hand, began rubbing it vigorously.
She tried to pull away again as the tingling started. He dropped
that foot and rubbed the other one vigorously, the painful
sensation bringing tears to her eyes. Then he grabbed some socks
from the floor and put them on her.
    “ I know it hurts,” he
muttered gently as he continued to rub, “but if we don’t do this,
we can’t get the circulation going again.”
    After a few minutes she pulled her
feet away, the pain and numbness now past. Complete and utter
humiliation and embarrassment at the predicament she once again
found herself in warming every inch of her skin.
    “ I’m fine now,” she
murmured, trying not to cry.
    Grant looked up at her uncertainly.
After a moment he seemed to decide to trust her. He pulled himself
up onto the bed next to her. She scooted away wrapping the blankets
around her tighter, painfully aware of how nude she was.
    “ What happened?” he asked
gently.
    “ Just me… being me,” Clear
grumbled, the tears choking her.
    “ Was it…?” The question
hung. Clear knew he was asking if it was about his daughter, but
she really had no idea who the girl was. She might have gotten
something if he had just left her alone… then again she might have
frozen to death. She grimaced.
    “ I don’t know… what
happened, or who she was… or where… or when,” she shrugged in a
non-committal manner and put her head in her palms.
    Grant stood up abruptly and went and
grabbed the clothes she had laid out in the bathroom. He tossed
them on the bed. “I’ll just wait outside.” He headed out the
door.
    Clear quickly threw on her clothes,
her skin still burning, and groaned inwardly. What a mess. She
scrubbed her head hard to dry her hair and get her brain working
right. This wasn’t going to work if she kept getting into these
compromising positions. All she could think about was how warm and
comfortable it had been in Grant’s arms. That was the last place
she should be thinking about! She mentally slapped herself and
ripped a hairbrush through the knots she had engendered by the
vigorous hair drying. Pulling her hair into a tight ponytail, she
stomped to the door and opened it.
    “ You can come back in
now,” she said a little more harshly than she had intended. Grant
eyed her warily then came back in. He grabbed his bag and walked
into the bathroom. She started shoving her stuff back into her bag
and then scooped up the two bags and snatched the keys up, stomping
out to the car. She popped the trunk and launched her bags in
unceremoniously.
    The sun was out bright and warm,
despite the chill in the air. Clear glowered up at the sun and
wondered what time it was. Well after eight, she figured. How long
had she been in the shower? Long enough for the water in a hotel to
have gone cold. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the
light, trying to sift through what had happened.
    A shadow crossed her vision and she
opened her eyes to see Grant standing nearby. His bag was over his
shoulder. He had changed, but hadn’t shaved. She noticed how some
of the stubble across his chin reflected the light, making it
almost look like he had silver droplets on his face.
    “ Ready to go?” he asked
politely… a little too politely.
    Clear shrugged again and moved so he
could put his bag in with hers. He walked around to the other side
and waited