“What happened?” Her voice came out a whisper as she moved to the side of the bed. “Is he going to be okay?”
Duncan followed her. Reaching down, he removed the towel-wrapped bag of ice on Quinn’s leg, exposing the horrible scars. Slowly, she sank to the bed, her gaze glued to the swollen flesh. Images tumbled through her mind. Quinn’s odd gait the day they’d had the picnic. His refusal to go riding with her. Last night, only dancing to the slow songs.
Duncan replaced the ice before he answered her. “At best, he’s undone all the hard work we’ve put in since his last surgery. Even worse, he may have torn the muscles.”
“Have you called the doctor?”
“No.”
“Why not?” She glared at Duncan, her anger building again.
“Because I wouldn’t let him.” The mumbled words came from the bed. Quinn’s eyes were open a mere slit. “Didn’t want you feeling sorry for me.”
Her breath caught on a sob. “You’re an idiot, McAllister. Don’t you know I could never feel sorry for someone as hardheaded as you? You should have told me.” She brushed his hair back, much as she’d done with Zack earlier.
“Couldn’t.” With a sigh, his lids dropped.
“It’s the muscle relaxers,” Duncan commented. “Normally, they pretty much knock him out, but the pain is keeping him from sleeping soundly this time. You don’t have to stay. I can handle it.” Moving to the other side of the bed, he lowered himself to a chair.
Anger forgotten, Lanie watched him curiously. “Are you some kind of nurse? Is that why you go everywhere with him?”
Duncan tore his gaze away from Quinn and glanced at her. “I’m a physical therapist.”
She shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position without disturbing Quinn, and wound up sitting on the floor. She took Quinn’s hand in hers and felt his fingers tighten. He wasn’t totally awake, but he wasn’t unconscious either.
“You hate me, don’t you?” She faced Duncan with the question, keeping her voice low.
He hesitated only a second. “Let’s just say that if I’d known he was going to do this trial marriage thing, I’d have done everything in my power to stop him.”
“Why?”
“Why?” He spit the word, leaning forward in his chair. “Because I was there from the beginning, from the time they brought him into the emergency room, barely alive. I saw what you did to him, and I’ll be damned if I let you do it again.”
Lanie stopped breathing for a second. Was it possible she’d finally found someone who would tell her the truth about the accident? Duncan didn’t like her, but he had no reason to lie.
“Tell me,” she said. “What did I do to him?”
He hesitated again, and she continued desperately. “He’s sent for his medical records, so I’ll know soon whether you tell me or not.”
His gaze sharpened. “Why did he send for his records?”
“Because I asked him to. I want to know the truth.”
“Are you telling me you didn’t know about the accident?” His lip curled in a sneer.
“I only knew what Edward told me. That Quinn had a minor accident. A cut on his head, a broken leg. He said he’d already been released from the hospital.”
Duncan went still. “When did he tell you that?”
“About two weeks after Quinn left. I know now he lied to me. The other day, Quinn said something about a coma. Please, Duncan. Hate me if you want to, but I need to know what really happened.”
He leaned back in the chair, his gaze on Quinn again. “Maybe you do.” A sigh lifted his chest. “I’d worked late that night. I stopped in the ER on my way out to talk to a friend. That’s where I was when they brought Quinn in. The accident occurred on the state line between Nebraska and Iowa. Lincoln was the nearest big city so they air-lifted him there. But Edward wanted him in Chicago. As soon as he was stable, they flew him in to Northwest Hospital.”
Lifting a hand, he rubbed his eyes. “His heart stopped twice on the way. The second time, they almost didn’t bring him back. He was in a coma from the head injury and his thigh had been crushed, almost torn off. The doctors in Chicago wanted to amputate. They thought the trauma was weakening his condition, and Edward wasn’t making any attempt to talk them out of it. But by then, I’d seen the CT scans and X-rays of his leg. I knew that with half a chance I could help. It took a while, but I finally convinced the doctors to let me try.”
“Why?” Lanie fought the tears that were threatening to spill over. “What made you fight for him? Most people wouldn’t have.”
He shook his head. “Edward. I knew someone like him once. A man who let someone I loved die for his own selfish reasons. I couldn’t stand there and let them mutilate Quinn just because Edward didn’t seem to care.”
“Knowing Edward, he probably didn’t,” she said softly. “What better way to have complete control over his son than by making him an invalid?”
“Yeah, that’s the impression I got.”
“How long was he in the coma?”
“Two months. As soon as his leg was healed enough from the first surgery, I started working with him, keeping blood flowing to the muscles so they wouldn’t atrophy. By the time he woke up, I felt like I knew him.”
His heated brown gaze pinned hers. “The first word out of his mouth was your name. He could barely talk, but he kept asking for you. He was so sure you were there, that everyone was keeping you away from him. Until Edward showed up and told him you really weren’t there, that you’d filed for divorce. It damn near killed him. He wouldn’t talk to anyone, wouldn’t eat. He just lay there and stared at the ceiling.”
She lost her battle with the tears. They streamed down her cheeks, her body shaking at the force of the silent sobs. God, to know how betrayed he must have felt, how hurt. No wonder he’d hated her, could no longer trust her. She’d failed him when he needed her most.
A hand brushed the moisture from her face. “Don’t.” Quinn’s voice still sounded drugged but his eyes were open. “Not your fault. I know that now.”
“It was my fault.” She gripped his wrist, pressing the palm of his hand to her cheek. “I should have realized Edward was lying about the divorce. I should have checked for myself. If I’d known what he was doing, I would have fought him, Quinn. Nothing could have kept me away from that hospital.”
“Ssh. I know.”
Duncan was frowning. “What do you mean, he lied about the divorce?”
Lanie kept her gaze on Quinn’s. “I didn’t file for a divorce, Duncan. Edward told me Quinn had. He lied to both of us. We found out the day you got here. That’s why Quinn insisted on this trial marriage.”
“Is she telling the truth?”
Quinn’s eyes were closing again. “Yes. Was gonna tell you. Never seemed to be the right time.”
Silence fell for a few minutes until Duncan broke it. “Guess I owe you an apology.”
“No.” She wiped her eyes. “You were only trying to protect him. In a way, you were as much Edward’s victim as Quinn and I. If you hadn’t been there for him all these years…” She choked on another sob. “I’ll always be grateful he had you.”
Duncan cleared his throat. “I’m going to get more ice. Can you stay with him until I get back?”
She nodded, understanding what he’d offered her. His trust, his approval. Holding back tears again, she smiled at him. “Just try and get rid of me.”
* * * * *
Lanie woke instantly at the slight movement from the bed and lifted her head from the mattress to meet Quinn’s amber gaze. “You’re awake.”
“Looks that way.” He smiled at her. “Why are you sitting on the floor?”
She stretched, her bones popping with the action. “So I’d know if you woke up. How do you feel?”
His eyes unfocused for a second before clearing. “Better, I think. The worst of the pain is gone. It only aches now. Where’s Duncan?”
“In bed. He said if you needed anything to
wake him. Do you want me to get him?”
“No, let him sleep.” He ran a hand down her arm, then abruptly flipped the blankets back. “Come on. You’re freezing and you can’t be comfortable down there.”
A tingle shot through her. The thought of crawling into bed with him had her heart pounding against her ribs. She hesitated. After everything that had happened today, her emotions were in a state of turmoil. She wasn’t sure she could resist him right now. If she were going to be honest, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to.
“Quinn, I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
His gaze softened as he studied her face. “As much as I’d like to make love to you, Angel,” he murmured, “I think you’re safe for now. I’m in no shape to jump you, and you can’t spend the night sitting on the floor.”
She was cold and uncomfortable. A few more hours like this and she’d be too stiff to move. The bed was starting to look really good, and he was right. He was in no shape to seduce her.
Shifting a little, she put her hands behind her to brace as she toed her boots off, then stood and slid carefully under the blankets, trying not to jar the bed. Quinn moved his arm under her head and pulled her closer to his warmth. His other hand pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders.
“That’s better,” he said. “I think one of the things I’ve missed most was sleeping with you. You never realize how big a bed can be until you’re in it alone.”
“I know. There were so many times after you left that I’d reach for you before I woke up enough to remember you weren’t there.”
Gently, he stroked her hair. “I’m sorry, Lanie. So sorry about so many things. When we got married I promised you I’d stay here, that I wouldn’t go back to Chicago. But I let Edward get to me. I should have known better.”
She flattened her hand over his heart, feeling the strong comforting beat. “He’s your father.”
“And you’re my wife. Somewhere along the line I forgot that was supposed to be more important.” He hesitated, then touched her forehead with his lips. “I’d spent my whole life trying to make him proud of me, to make him love me. Until you, it was all I ever wanted. When he started calling every day, telling me how much he needed me, how much the company needed me—well, I went a little nuts. He even had me believing that if you really cared about me, you wouldn’t ask me to stay in Wyoming.”
“And what about now?” She slid her hand up to curl around his nape, her fingers tangling in his dark hair as she lifted her face to see him better. “He’s not going to leave you alone, Quinn. I’m surprised he hasn’t called yet. How do I know you won’t go running back the second he does?”
“I won’t.” His jaw clenched. “But I don’t how to prove it to you. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” He traced her lips with a finger, his gaze fixed on her mouth. “I love you. There’s only one thing that can make me leave you again, and that’s you.”
His words, his touch, the warmth from his hard, muscular body, all combined with her inner confusion and stress from the near accident with Zack. Explosions of heat were detonating in the secret places of her body. Places he’d once known so well that the lightest caress could send her plunging into the whirling waters of ecstasy. Even while she knew she shouldn’t, a small groan escaped her throat and she pulled his mouth to hers.
He tried to keep the kiss slow, but she wouldn’t allow it. Desperately, she arched against him as she deepened the kiss. All rational thought vanished when his tongue touched hers. This was Quinn, the man she’d loved since she was a little girl. The man who’d always been able to set her body aching with desire by merely walking into the room. His taste was familiar and exotic at the same time, and it had been so long. She needed… Oh, God, how she needed.
Without quite knowing how it happened, her T-shirt was gone. Quinn’s breath came in harsh gasps, a match for her own as his hand covered her breast, his thumb rasping over the nipple. She stifled a whimper as sensation streaked downward from the caress.
She shouldn’t be doing this. There was a reason why, but it eluded her as his mouth traveled down her neck, his lips closing on a breast. Her hands were everywhere, delighting in the feel of his tight muscles, and flat stomach. His breath sucked in sharply when she moved lower, and his skin quivered as she reached her goal, pulling a groan from deep inside him.
His hands were shaking when he fumbled with the button on her jeans and pushed them down her hips, taking her panties with them. She wiggled slightly to get them the rest of the way off, pushing them aside with her foot.
It was her turn to shake when his fingers found her, parted her to allow him access. His mouth covered hers to capture her cry as he set her ablaze.
“Sweet Angel,” he breathed. “I need you so much.”
The heat in his voice was tinged with pain, and she suddenly remembered part of what had bothered her before. “Your leg.”
“Forget my leg.” He bit down gently on her bottom lip, then kissed her again, his fingers still driving her mad.
It took all her willpower to pull away from him, but she managed it long enough to push him onto his back. Before he had time to protest, she swung her leg over him and sat up.
Holding her breath, she closed her eyes and eased down his length. Quinn surged to meet her, his hands clamped around her hips. As she moved, the hot scent of desire assailed her and her head dropped back.
It had been so long, too long since she’d let herself feel these emotions. Now they took control, the blaze he’d started raging into an inferno that consumed her. Body burning, she danced higher and higher, like a spark caught in the winds from a bonfire.
Quinn’s hands caught her, pulled her down to his chest and she opened her eyes to see the flames reflected in his.
“I love you, Lanie,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Her mouth found his, kissing him frantically. The touch of his tongue on hers was more than she could stand. Pressure that had built with each contact shattered, her climax swamping her senses until she was barely aware of Quinn’s cry as he joined her.
She didn’t know how long it lasted. It felt like hours. Prisms of light shimmered behind her eyelids before she began to descend from the place they’d gone together. Exhausted, she went limp, her body humming from the rapture it had experienced.
But even as she drifted into sleep with Quinn’s arms wrapped securely around her, a niggling question rose uneasily in her mind. Oh, God. What had she done?
Chapter Fourteen
The sound of someone moving around the room woke Quinn. Tentatively, he stretched. In spite of his leg, he felt good. Real good. Had he dreamed what happened last night, or had it been real? A smile curved his lips. That was no dream. He might not have been in any shape to seduce her, but she’d taken matters into her own hands. Lanie had made love to him.
“It’s about time.”
His eyes popped open at Duncan’s words and his smile faded. A frown took its place as another memory returned. “You ratted me out to Lanie last night. Remind me to cut your salary.”
Duncan grinned, his eyes sparking with amusement. “Unless you’ve had a few women stashed out of sight in the last five years, I think I deserve a raise.”
Quinn’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”
A pair of pink panties sailed through the air to land on his stomach. He stared at them a second before grabbing the silky material and shoving it under the blankets. “Damn. Was she still here when you came in?”
“Nope.”
Quinn groaned. “That means she left so fast she missed part of her clothes. I have to get dressed and find her.”
Duncan was around the bed in a flash, pushing him back down. “Oh, no you don’t. I’ll admit, it doesn’t look like you did as much damage as I thought, but there’s still some swelling. You need to stay off the leg for at least another day. We can do some massages and stretching to help the soreness.”
“Dunc, I have to talk to her be
fore she does something stupid, and I can promise you, she’s not going to set foot near this room.”
“Stupid like what?” He examined Quinn’s thigh.
“Stupid, like call Harper and confess. I’d take bets that right now she’s hiding somewhere, letting guilt eat her alive.”
“Maybe you should let her call him.” Snagging a bottle of liniment, he poured some on Quinn’s leg and dug in with his fingers. “If Harper’s any kind of man, he’ll step out of the picture.”
“That’s just it. He doesn’t deserve to find out that way. No one would. And if Lanie stays with me it has to be because she really wants to, not because Harper dumped her.”
“It almost sounds like you feel sorry for the guy.”
He winced as Duncan’s fingers hit a particularly sore spot. “I guess I do, in a way. I know Lanie better than anyone else alive, and deep down inside she understands she doesn’t love him. If she did, last night would never have happened. Her head just needs time to catch up with her heart. But Harper loves her, and I know what it’s like to feel that way about someone who doesn’t love you back.”
Duncan sighed, then wiped the excess liniment off with a towel. “Fine. I’ll get your clothes and we’ll see if you can walk, but only if you promise me you’ll hit the hot tub later today.”
“I promise.”
* * * * *
She was insane, a full-blown idiot. Lanie berated herself for the hundredth time since she’d snuck out of Quinn’s room in a panic before dawn. The roan mare she was brushing turned to look at her questioningly as dust flew into the air.
“Sorry,” she mumbled an apology to the horse and slowed her strokes. A quick check on Zack showed her he was still busy grooming his pony and hadn’t heard her. All four pups romped around his feet while Daisy kept an eye on her brood from a short distance away.
God, she felt so guilty. Not only had she betrayed Jared, Quinn probably thought she’d decided to make this trial marriage a real one. And she couldn’t even blame him. He hadn’t forced her. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the mare’s neck, inhaling the comforting smell of horse.