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“Okay.” Violet’s hand was warm on his other shoulder and he groaned as he ignored that ever-present surge of attraction that ran through his blood.

God, he had it bad. He was half-crippled with pain, and all he wanted to do was kiss her.

In the bright torchlight as she crouched beside him, he could see Violet in her faded jeans, her white T-shirt hugging her curves. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her lips were set in a straight line.

“What are we going to do with you, Joe Rossiter? This is the third accident you’ve had since I’ve been at your place.”

The others were just little scratches.”

Violet had insisted on dressing a couple of the cuts when he’d injured himself when he was working on the fence.

“Maybe it’s because you distract me so much,” he said.

“Distraction? You can’t blame me for this. I was nowhere near you when you fell down a hole, you silly man.”

“Yeah, but I only came out walking so I wouldn’t be tempted to—”

He bit off his words. He’d said too much.

“Tempted to what?” Her eyes held his.

“Tempted to take you in my arms? Tempted to kiss you?”

Even in the dim light, he could still see Violet’s cheeks go bright red. She dropped her gaze and looked away from him.

“Not the best time to start being romantic, I guess,” he said.

“No,” she said quietly. “Not the best time.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Must be the pain sending my brain crazy.”

Before he could move, Violet leaned over him. “Maybe if I give you something else to think about, the pain might ease a little bit.” His eyes widened as her head blocked out the torchlight, and for a long moment, her soft lips settled on his.

“Well,” Joe said, when Violet lifted her head from his, “I passed out from the pain before. I might pass out from lack of blood to my brain this time.”

Her hand moved down from his shoulder and gripped his hand firmly. “I just needed you to know how I’ve been feeling too.”

“Really?” Hope dulled the pain so it was almost bearable.

“Really. Even with a shitty day dealing with all sorts of things, I worried about you.”

“We’ve wasted a few days, haven’t we, Violet?”

“I’ve never felt like this before,” she said, “but I do know I can trust you. We’ve done lots of talking this week. But we need to do more. You need to understand me.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes, if you kiss me again.”

“No, we have to get you home, and look at that shoulder, and we have to get Molly somewhere secure.”

“Okay, let’s do this.”

Chapter 20

Violet

Once Joe was on his feet, it was much easier, although Violet wouldn’t want to go through the process of getting him to his feet again. She’d seen how much pain Joe had been in as he rolled over, finally got to a sitting position, and then a few minutes later, she helped him to his feet. His left hand had gripped hers firmly and he hadn’t let go. Her skin tingled all the way up her arm, sending a warm feeling down through her chest to her lower regions.

How could one spark turn into this intense feeling of longing for one man a week after meeting him?