Read 01 Winters Thaw for Free Online

weeks she’d begun to soften toward him? “Don’t get excited, cowboy. I’m just going to rub some of this ointment on your sore shoulder.”
    “You know, I’m a firm believer in paying my way. I could return the favor. I’ve been told I give very good massages and you look like you could use some relaxing after your long day.” He took a step toward her, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his chest.
    “Your gratitude is more than enough for me.” She definitely wasn’t annoyed. Sienna was smiling, clearly enjoying their flirting dance. Her hand lingered on his chest. Daniel tried to ignore how good it felt there.
    “My shoulder is pretty sore. I might need some help with these buttons.”
    Sienna laughed. “Just take the damn thing off.”
    He grinned and began to unbutton his flannel shirt. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, Sienna.”
    Her smile dimmed. “You didn’t, but I did. I’m sorry I snapped at you the first day we met. I’ve been in a really shitty mood lately and you ended up in the line of fire.”
    He shrugged off his shirt and waited for the inevitable pity. He’d seen it in the eyes of plenty of nurses as he recovered from his injuries. Though the scars weren’t quite as red or as angry-looking as they had been right after the accident, they still managed to cut a fairly nasty swath across his pale skin. He hoped when summer arrived, the tan he usually acquired would tone down the paths of destruction wrought by the bull.
    Sienna didn’t speak for several moments, her face completely inscrutable. Finally, she lifted her gaze to his, her playful eyes capturing his. “Ouch.”
    Her unexpected joke caught him off-guard, and he laughed. “You can say that again.”
    She stepped toward him, her close proximity allowing him to catch a whiff of her floral perfume. Lilacs? Roses? He sucked when it came to distinguishing flower scents, but either way, she smelled damn fine.
    “RDL?” she asked, pointing to the small tattoo etched just above his heart.
    He glanced down, running his fingers across the letters. “My brother’s initials.”
    “Oh.”
    “Got the tattoo on what would have been his twenty-first birthday. Might sound corny, but I sort of thought it was a way to show I’d never forget him.”
    She shook her head. “Nothing corny about that. I think it’s a beautiful gesture. My dad and uncles have tattoos on their backs. Amazing ones that represent Compass Ranch. When I was little, I used to run my finger along the pictures on my dad’s while he explained what everything signified.”
    “No ink on you?”
    She grinned. “God no.”
    “Why do you say it like that? Sounds like you like tattoos.”
    “Oh, I do. I love them. I guess I’ve just never found anything meaningful enough to have it etched on my skin forever. Suppose I’m still searching for that memory I want to last.”
    He could understand that. The small tattoo on his chest was his only one. Like her, he believed the sentiment behind the ink needed to be significant. Important.
    She pointed down the narrow hallway toward the rear of his trailer. “I assume your bedroom is back there?”
    “Won you over with my hot body, didn’t I?”
    She uncapped the salve and he crinkled his nose at the potent scent. “You wish. This will be easier on the bed.”
    He wiggled his eyebrows. “Most things are easier on the bed.”
    She tilted her head. “One more sexual innuendo from you and I’m walking. Got it?”
    “Spoilsport.”
    She laughed as she headed down the hall. “Grab a bath towel if you have one.”
    He stopped briefly by his small bathroom and plucked one from the rack. Then he joined her in his bedroom. “What’s this for?”
    “I thought you could lay on it. It’ll keep your bedspread from getting sticky.” She kept her eyes glued to his face as she spoke, daring him to make another dirty comment.
    “You’re not playing fair.”
    Sienna winked. “Never said I would. Lay down, cowboy.