"Hey, don't cry." He reached to put his arms around her painfully aware of how awkward he felt. When she didn't lash out at him or drive a stake through his heart for trying to help, he gave her a hug and a brotherly pat.

It didn't surprise him at all that his gesture didn't help.

"I hurt so much," she sobbed, her words almost incomprehensible, given her tears and her accent. "It hurts to cry and I cannot stop."

"Just…you know, get it out." He rubbed her back gently. Physical contact had always distracted him from his troubles. She couldn't be much different.

"That feels good," she sniffed. "My back is like a fishing net, it has so many knots."

He let the opportunity to ridicule her primitive, old-world folkism pass, and slid behind her on the bed.

"What are you—"

"Nothing sleazy. A back rub will help." Before she could argue, he pulled her between his legs and went to work on her shoulders.

She groaned and her muscles seemed to melt under his hands. "Wait."

Here we go. This is where she goes off on her "You're getting it all wrong, I don't feel that way about you" kick.

To his surprise, she leaned forward and putted off her shirt. "The fabric was chaffing."

Faced with the smooth expanse of her warm back, he suddenly couldn't trust himself. He fixed his gaze on the dark lines of the curse tattooed on her arms, silently vowing not to notice the black straps of her lacy bra or the two tiny moles just above the small of her back, the ones he'd bent to kiss as he'd taken her from behind…

Just a friendly back rub for an injured person. Keep your dick out of her. It! Keep your dick out of it!

She moaned a little as his hands worked the base of her neck, and he shifted to keep her as far from his growing erection as possible.

"How long was I unconscious?" she asked, pulling her braid forward over her shoulder.

The silky rope of hair brushed his knuckles, sending shivers up his arm. "Well, we weren't with you when it started, and you were… gone when we got there. But after Carrie got you back, I brought you up here and that was about… six hours ago?"

Bella turned her head slightly. They couldn't make eye contact, but in profile he saw her mouth curve into a smile. "You carried me here?"

He shrugged. "You couldn't exactly walk."

"And you stayed with me?"

"Every second." He cleared his throat. "Except for when I went to get the water and the extra towels and the first aid kit. Those seemed kind of important to have, just in case."

"Ah!" She faced forward again and wiggled her shoulder, signaling he should continue what he hadn't even realized he'd stopped.