Of course Byron was not happy that Katrina was in so much pain but he had to admit, at least to himself, that he rather enjoyed being able to “save the day”. There was also fringe benefit of being able to feel the crush of her soft curves against his chest. She smelled like wild flowers and he was having a very hard time keeping his mind on the road. At least his injury prevented her from detecting his arousal. He slowly wheeled them back to the lodge. It wasn’t that she was heavy, he just wanted to savor the contact as long as he could.
Katrina could feel Byron’s muscles bunch as he worked the wheels on his chair. Despite his protests she prayed she wasn’t too heavy a burden. She couldn’t read any strain on his face but a slight sheen of sweat had broken out on his brow. Oh well, if we wasn’t complaining then she was just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.
She remembered when she wanted to touch the muscled surface beneath his tuxedo shirt at the banquet. It was wonderful to confirm her suspicions. He was indeed firmly muscled and the rhythmic contractions in his chest wall were having a very pleasant effect on her. She didn’t even have to bend to smell the clean scent of his hair. She hoped the ride would last a while longer because she was in no hurry to get up and break the contact.
“Okay, this is the one tricky part.” They had arrived at the downslope at the end of the trial and she was glad that he didn’t even really sound out of breath after carrying her all that way. “Just hold on tight and enjoy the ride.” He smiled as she squeezed him a bit tighter. Momentum carried them down the hill and Byron’s strong, gloved hands made sure they didn’t descend too fast.
The hill ended in the small yard area in front of the lodge. Most of the campers and staff were out in their own cabins so no one was around when he wheeled her inside and straight to her bedroom. She climbed off of his lap and sat on the firm comfortable bed then swung her good leg up after her. She then began to tug gingerly at the sore one.
"Here, let me help you." He bent to grab her behind the knee and ankle noting her wasted calf muscle. “I’ll get you some extra pillows so you can prop that up. Do you want a heating pad or an ice pack? Should I call the nurse?”
“No I don’t need a nurse. I just need to stay off it for a while. Some pillows and a heating pad do sound nice though if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Not at all, don’t go anywhere.” He winked and wheeled around and left but returned just a few moments later with the promised supplies. “Around here aches and pains come with the territory. We always keep supplies on hand.”
He helped her get situated. “Well I guess I’ll leave you to get some rest now.” He hoped his reluctance to leave wasn’t audible in his voice.
“Actually I’m not tired at all.” She hoped she didn’t sound too eager for him to stay.
He smiled. “Well then as your host I feel it my duty to entertain you while you recuperate!” He thought a minute. “Want to watch a movie? I have lots. Sometimes the satellite dish goes out for days and it’s hard to get someone come fix it this far out. We have to entertain ourselves somehow around here.”
“I’d love to watch a movie! I’ll even let you pick. I’m pretty much open to anything.”
He whizzed off to choose a couple of titles. On his way to the DVD collection he stopped by the kitchen and tossed in a bag of microwave popcorn. It took a while to find the right selection. He choose a trilogy of cheesy horror thrillers. They were campy and fun mostly but he was secretly hoping if he left his hand on the bed she’d grab for it in one of the tense moments. With a full bowl of popcorn and movies in lap he made his way back to his “patient”.
He showed her the three titles. “Figured we could have a fright fest.”
“Sure, sounds like fun!” She suddenly became serious, “but listen, if you have better things to do than baby sit me I understand perfectly”
He smiled at her again and looked straight into her eyes. “There’s not a thing in the world I’d rather be doing right now.” Then he lightened the mood “So take this popcorn from me! For all I know I could have 3rd degree burns from it.” He hoped she wouldn’t be put off by his joking. It wasn’t always easy for him to talk straight about his disability and sometimes the jokes conveyed important points that he wanted to make sure people understood. She laughed easily and he relaxed.
He sat next to her bed in his chair with his hand resting on her comforter as planned and the immediately rewarded him by grabbing it at the first tense moment. Their fingers interlaced and she began absently stroking the side of his hand with her thumb. He felt certain she had no idea how sensitive the upper body of a paraplegic became when aroused. He was doing everything in his power to remain absolutely still so as not to break the spell.
“Would you be more comfortable up here on the bed with me?” She held her breath as he stared at her for several heartbeats, his face absolutely unreadable.
Finally, he nodded and wheeled around to the other side of the bed. He set the breaks and turned beat red as he lifted his lifeless feet out of the footrests and onto the floor. He kept his head down refusing to look at her. He placed one hand on the bed and smoothly swung himself up onto the mattress. Then he pulled his legs up one at a time and situated himself comfortably against the pillows.
“Are you freaked out?” He must have caught a glimpse of her confused frown. “Transfers are not the most sexy or macho things to witness. It upset my last girlfriend a lot to watch me do it.”
She couldn’t help forming a very unflattering opinion about his “last girlfriend.” “Actually, I was just thinking how graceful you look doing that, almost like a gymnast. It must take an awful lot of strength to have that much control. I wish I looked half as good hauling my one bad leg into bed every night as you do moving your whole body!”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure how good ‘graceful gymnast’ is for my macho image but I’ll take that over ‘disturbing gimp flop’ any day!” He finally looked at her, “And thanks, it means a lot that you’re okay with it.”
Their faces were inches apart and without thinking he bent and pressed his lips gently against hers. The contact sent fire through both of them and their eager hands began to explore each other’s bodies.
“AAAHHH! DON’T KILL ME!” the television proclaimed loudly. The startled couple immediately broke contact. Frustrated, Byron reached across her to grab the remote and turn off the offending noise.