and their questions as she’d assured everyone that one, she hadn’t been trespassing, and two, that Mr. Newberry had not in fact been trying to kill her, she’d handled as well. Sitting in a hospital room waiting to be released, though—that had been torture given how she’d hounded the hospital staff for her release papers.
The doctor had finally released her with a whispered “Good luck” to Brady beneath his breath as he left.
It had taken all three of them, Adam, Dell, and himself, to bring her home. And a silent battle of wills to see who would get to stay to take care of her. But then Adam had been called out on an S&R call.
“I’m not leaving,” Dell said.
“Yes,” Lilah said groggily from her bed where Brady had set her. “You are.”
“Lil—”
“Don’t, Dell. I’m too tired to fight with you, but if you want tears, I’ll work some up.”
Dell grimaced. “But—”
“I’ll cry all over you,” Lilah promised weakly as Brady pulled off her boots and covered her with a quilt. “Besides, you heard the doctor. I’m going to be fine. I just want to sleep off the drugs he gave me.”
“Actually,” Dell said, “he didn’t say you were fine. He said you were a pain in his—”
“Go,” Lilah said.
“You were shot because of me,” he said tightly. “I sent you out there.”
“I was shot because I didn’t realize I looked like a raccoon from fifty yards. I want to be alone, Dell. That’s all.”
Dell looked pointedly at Brady.
Brady stared back at him evenly. He wasn’t going anywhere. Not with the fury still churning within him.
She’d been shot.
She was the best thing to ever happen to him, even though he’d tried like hell to push her away. In fact, he’d very nearly succeeded at that, and she could have died today.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Lilah burst out. “If you both don’t get the hell out of here ”—she looked at Dell—“I’ll sic Lorraine on you.”
Dell paled. “That’s just mean. If he’s staying, I’m staying.”
“He’s not.” She held her ground. “Lorraine,” she said again, softly, with a steel undertone.
Brady was impressed. Especially when Dell caved like a cheap suitcase, giving in with gracious defeat as he kissed her cheek and made her promise to call him if she needed anything.
He passed Jade coming in at the doorway. Jade had the latest issue of Cosmo. “It’s what I brought my sisters when they had babies,” she said to Lilah. “Wasn’t sure what to bring for a gunshot wound. Which, by the way? Pretty damn cool.” She eyed Brady. “Do you think if I get myself shot, I can get a bodyguard that looks like him?”
Brady decided to ignore that. “See if you can get her to agree to rest. She’s not real good at that.”
“No kidding. She thinks she’s the Energizer Bunny.” Jade looked Lilah over, still speaking to Brady. “You could try bribing her. Your woman has a love affair with crap food. You try that yet?”
“Excuse me,” Lilah said. “His woman?”
Jade grinned and dropped the Cosmo on the nightstand. “I can see you’re well taken care of here. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lil.”
“I’m my own woman!” Lilah yelled after Jade, who merely laughed and shut the cabin door.
Alone now, Lilah turned her glassy eyes on an admittedly smug Brady.
“You heard me,” she said. “Out with the others.”
“No.”
She arched a brow. Or she tried. But she was doped up pretty damn good. Finally she gave up with a sigh and rubbed her forehead as if it hurt. “I don’t want to hear no. I want to hear the sound of the door hitting you on your very fine ass as you follow everyone out.”
“Yeah, that was pretty impressive how you managed to kick them out.” He sat in the chair in the corner of the room and crossed his arms.
She attempted a glare but she was drooping. “Dammit. My eyes keep closing.”
He blew out a breath and leaned in to stroke her hair from her face. “Let them.”
“You . . . ”
She drifted off before she could finish the sentence, which undoubtedly was for the best. He waited another five full minutes to be sure, then pulled the quilt off her. Without hesitation, he stripped her out of her bloodstained clothes. He went through her dresser for something comfortable for her to sleep in.
One of his T-shirts lay neatly folded on top of her pj’s. He stared down at it for a beat, discombobulated by the sight.
She had one of his shirts.
Something happened inside him at that, a warmth spread through his chest. It felt good and hurt all at the same time. “You’re killing me,” he murmured.
Turning back to the bed, he slipped the shirt—his shirt—over her head, taking care of her arm as he tucked her in.
“Glad you stayed,” she murmured. “You’re the only one who can ever make me feel better.”
He stared down at her pale, beautiful face, unable to think past the surprise of that. Surprise and . . . satisfaction and pride as well, that he’d given her something, after all.
Himself.
He hadn’t meant to, God knew he’d tried not to, but he had. He sat on the chair again, and with Twinkles at his feet, settled in to watch her breathe.
Lilah woke up disoriented and groggy. Her clock said four, and given the blackness at the window, it was A.M. and she’d just slept for twelve straight hours. There was a dark figure sitting near her.
“Just me,” Brady said.
She let out a breath and swiped a hand over her face. “I was having a weird dream. I was shot—”
“Yes.”
She let out a breath. Right. Not a dream.
He rose and offered her a pretty pink pill and two white chalky ones. “Take these and go back to sleep.”
“No, I don’t need them.” Her arm was throbbing, but she hated the way they made her feel.
“You’re taking the antibiotic, Lilah.”
“Fine.” She swallowed it with the water he handed her, then grabbed at him when he started for the door, ridiculously panicked over the thought of him going, when earlier she’d wanted nothing more than to be alone. “Don’t.” To make sure, she pulled him over her.
“Careful,” he murmured, holding his weight off her by the palms he had planted on either side of her hips. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She ran her good hand over him, humming in pleasure at the feel of his biceps, taut and straining. Yes, she needed more of that. She tried to pull him closer, but he held back from full contact.
Stubborn man.
She tugged again, wanting a kiss. Needing a kiss.
“Lilah—”
“Please,” she whispered, her hand curling around his neck, pulling him in. “Please, Brady.”
“Just one.” He let their lips meet, lightly.
“Mmm,” she murmured, the small brushing closed-mouthed kisses warming her from the inside out. But then it wasn’t enough and she opened her mouth and touched her tongue to his lower lip.
A rough groan rumbled up from his chest, as if she were causing him physical pain. She closed her eyes and let herself live in the moment, in the delicious sensations as their tongues touched and explored with increasing pressure and hunger. His scent, his taste, the heat, everything, she loved it all, and it swirled around her like a spell, draping over her like a magical coat, suspending any ability to think.
Okay, that might have been the last of the drugs leaving her system.
But he was the best drug of all. “You take away my pain,” she whispered. He also took away her ability to think straight. And she wasn’t the only one affected, either. From deep in his throat came another low, masculine sound and she slid her hand down his shoulders to his chest, feeling his heart beating solidly beneath her palm. Below that, where their lower bodies were pressed together, he was hard. “You’re better than pain meds, Brady.”
He shifted and rested his forehead against hers, sliding his hands into her hair, his fingertips shockingly gentle against her scalp. “You’re not all the way here with me.”
How to tell him she was more with him than she’d ever been with anyone in her entire life? “I am. Trust me, the meds have worn off. Please, Brady, I need—”
“Rest.”
“I can rest when I’m dead.”
He let out a long breath, clearly fighting with his old-fashioned male moral ground. “Go back to sleep for a while.” His mouth was at her ear, his breath hot against her skin.
“Can’t.”
Leaning over her, he rubbed his jaw to hers. “Close your eyes.”
When she did, he ran his hand over her body, a light touch, caressing, teasing. She rocked up for more, but he held her down. “Just relax,” he murmured, his mouth leaving hot kisses along her throat.
Her nipples were hard and pressed against the soft fabric of the shirt—his shirt, she realized. He must have removed her bloody clothes. His eyes went heavy-lidded and hot at the sight of her nipples. Then he slid his fingers beneath the cotton and desire shot through her, centering between her legs.
“Is this what you need?” he asked, strumming her like an instrument. “This?”
“Yes,” she gasped, rocking into him.
His other hand went to her hips and held her still. “Don’t move, you’ll hurt yourself.” With another long, deep kiss, he lifted the shirt up and over her head, taking great care with her arm. Then he bent to her breasts, the tip of his tongue stroking her nipple as his other hand slid between her legs.
She gasped again, writhing beneath him.
“Stay still,” he reminded her sternly as his fingers worked their magic. “God, you feel like silk.” He stroked her and she moaned. “Wet silk.” And then he slid lower on the bed and gently pulled the material aside, out of his way. Holding her legs open with his broad shoulders, he put his mouth on her.
At the first touch of his tongue, she started to shoot straight up, but his hands caught her before she could. “No moving,” he reminded her, gently holding her effortlessly immobile as he not so gently took her straight out of her mind with pleasure.
Afterward, he held her while she attempted to get herself under control. Or as under control as she could get for someone who’d been shot, drugged, and had just had the mother of all orgasms. He was sprawled on his back. She lay curled at his side, one leg and her bandaged arm over the top of him. She had no idea why having his arms tight on her calmed her more than anything she’d ever known. Maybe because she’d never let herself be vulnerable before, with anyone else.
Ever.
Even thinking it had peace settling in her heart, and she knew that she was right where she belonged. She tilted her head up to study him. His eyes were closed but she knew he wasn’t sleeping. “Brady?”
“Yeah?”
She sighed dreamily. I love you, she thought.
He ran a hand over her, scooping her hair from her face. “Now you’ll be able to sleep.”
Yes. Yes she would . . . But she forced her eyes open one last time to make sure he was still there.
His arms tightened on her and he nuzzled his face in her hair. He breathed her in, his arms tightening on her. “You’d make a shitty soldier. I’ll take care of you.”
She knew that all his life, people had needed him in one form or another, and he’d taken care of them. He’d always come through.
But who took care of him? She wanted to be the one. “Stay,” she said, knowing that if he’d only let her, she’d give him as much comfort as he always gave her.
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
She held her breath when he cracked open an eye and leveled it on her. He wasn’t big on promises, she knew this. But if he gave his word, it was as good as gold.
“Promise,” he said, and brushed a kiss against her jaw. “Now close your damn eyes and zip it.”
She closed her eyes and fell asleep smiling.
The next time she woke up, her arm felt like fire, her mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert, and . . .
And she was in Brady’s T-shirt and nothing else. The sun was peeking through the blinds, casting shadows on the sheets. The other side of her bed was empty and she rolled over and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Brady.
He’d slept with her.
A smile broke on her face, but then it all came back to her. Being shot. Getting stitches while pretending she didn’t have a needle phobia. And then . . .
Nothing.
Wait—Brady, Dell, and Adam had taken her home, then argued over who was going to stay. She remembered Adam leaving, and then Dell, and Brady covering her with a blanket. She remembered his delicious method of helping her sleep . . . That had ended well for her, very well.
She looked at the clock. It was nine. In the morning! She’d never slept past six thirty before, never, and suddenly her grogginess was gone, replaced by panic.
Cruz was on vacation, and she had the animals!
Struggling out of the covers, she staggered across the room, tripped over a startled Boss and jammed her legs into sweats. The best she could with one arm. She looked down at herself. More disconcerting than her commando status was the fact that she couldn’t rein in her hair.
Glancing fondly at the painkillers sitting by her bed, she bypassed them for Motrin instead. She wouldn’t be able to run the kennel if she was high as a kite, so she was going to have to suck it up, bad hair and all. Jamming her feet into boots, she bent over to tie them, got dizzy, and nearly fell on her head. Note to self: no bending. Which meant no lacing her boots.
She was going with the thug look today.
Moving as fast as she could without tripping over her own laces, she hit the bathroom and brushed her teeth—about all she could manage. She ran out the door and into the kennels, and skidded to a shocked halt.
Brady was behind the front counter. He had a cat on his lap and another at his elbow. Abigail stood guard at his feet next to Twinkles. In front of him was a short line of people and pets, waiting patiently to check in.
Actually, not quite patiently. Mrs. Lyons was in Brady’s face, waggling a finger at him. “You’d best be good to my babies,” she was saying. “I hear what they call you, you know. Dr. Death. Honestly, I don’t know what Lilah was thinking, letting you work here.”
Brady shoved his hand through his hair. “Your animals will be fine.”
“My babies.”
Brady looked at her, and with an utterly straight face, nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Lilah covered her mouth and bit back her laugh as her heart slid to the floor at his feet. She couldn’t help it. Watching him so completely out of his element and yet trying his best to run her world for her when he had no idea what he was doing, was it for her.
Even as she thought it, he looked up and frowned. “What are you doing out of bed?”
“No rest for the weary. Thanks for opening for me. I can take it from here.”
He put his hand over hers when she tried to scoot behind the counter. “I’m also closing, Lilah.”
“I’m fine.”