The Healer: First Touch Read Free Page B

his hands cradled my injured ankle, I felt a surge of hot prickling current course over my skin. Reflexively, I pulled my ankle out of his grasp, gasping slightly. "I'm sorry. Can we try again?" he asked apologetically, grimacing slightly.
    I nodded, very slowly placing my ankle in his open hands. I still felt the prickling sensation running across my exposed skin as he gingerly held my ankle. But I resisted the urge to pull away again. His hands were gentle, slowly turning my ankle and leg so that he could better examine it. The longer he touched my skin, the warmer and more soothing the tingling current was. His hands were very warm. A blush darkened my cheeks as I felt the intimacy of his hands on my skin.
    I took another deep breath, attempting to calm my frazzled nerves. That same clean, musky smell filled my senses. Involuntarily, I closed my eyes, breathing even deeper. My heart slowed to a normal pace. He smelled so good and so familiar. I opened my eyes and stared at him.
    "Does it hurt when I bend your ankle like this?" he said, putting pressure on the top of my foot while bending it down.
    "Huh?" I stammered. I stared at him as he knelt beside me. I didn't hear the question because I was too busy looking at him. His skin was smooth and flawless, with a slight olive tone. His hair was short, but wavy on top, the color deep brown like dark chocolate. He even had a small mole behind his ear.
    He looked at me and repeated his question while I stared directly into his eyes. They were a deep sapphire color framed with thick, dark lashes. I knew it wouldn't take much for me to get lost in those eyes. He cleared his throat and I blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
    He smiled again. "Does this hurt?" White teeth dazzled me as his lips turned into a smile.
    "No. It actually feels much better now," I answered. It really did feel much better. The throbbing had dulled to an annoying ache. Even the swelling had reduced.
    "Do you think you can stand on it?"
    "Maybe," I answered, hopefully. I took the hand he offered me. His other hand he used to help me stand by placing it under my upper arm. Gingerly, I put a little weight on my injured ankle, testing for pain. "Ouch! That hurts." I picked up my right foot leaving all my weight on my left. I leaned on his arms, grateful for the support. "Great. How am I going to get home now?"
    "I guess I'll just have to help you back home," he said. Narrowing my eyes, I searched his face looking for any signs of a deeper, more sinister motive. In what I could only imagine was his best attempt at an English accent, he joked, "Madam, I assure you my intentions are strictly honorable." When I didn't laugh, he did. "Come on," he said lightly, "Let's get you home." While I leaned on his arms for support we began the last half mile walk towards home.
    We trekked along the wooden boardwalk, me hopping on my one good foot and I began to apologize. "I'm really sorry about this. Thanks for helping me out."
    "Sure. It's a good thing I was in the area." He smiled, keeping his focus on the ground before us.
    "Yeah...about that. Were you....following me?" I asked. I knew I was being bold in asking the question but I had to know. He was following me, wasn't he? Why?
    "I like to think of it as looking out for you. You know, like a guardian angel or something. Hey, watch your step," he warned as he nimbly lifted me over a missing wooden plank. "Someone really needs to fix that."
    "Looking out for me? Why?"
    "How much farther?" he asked, avoiding the question as we continued hobbling down the boardwalk. There were more people now, making the boardwalk much harder to navigate in our three-legged manner.
    "Not much. A little less than a half of a mile to my house, I guess. We went a little farther in silence. I was having too hard of a time keeping up with him and concentrating on not falling to maintain any type of meaningful conversation. He seemed perfectly content to just support me the rest of the way