His finger threaded into her hair possessively, even as he winced in pain. “I’m feeling much better, Doc.”
This time she shoved harder, jumping to her feet. “You’ll reopen your wound.” Snatching her T-shirt off the floor, she clutched it to her chest, hiding what he kept staring at.
“God, you’re gorgeous. Come back here.”
His husky voice sent more hot ripples of excitement through her, dampening her panties. She wanted him. And he obviously wanted her. Desire warred with common sense, telling her the patient said he felt better and he should know, so why was she worried if he wasn’t? He wouldn’t even have to move. She’d done a good job of stitching him up and stopping the bleeding. Her gaze strayed to the clean white bandage at his side for proof.
A small circle of blood colored one end of the bandage. “You’re still bleeding.”
He glanced down. “It’s nothing. Come here.”
With a huff, she turned away from him, fumbling her way into the bra and T-shirt.
He chuckled. “Did you just turn your back to get dressed?”
“Shut up.” She tugged her shirt down and turned around, glaring at him.
“How are you going to take care of me from way over there?”
“You’re fine,” she reminded him. If she truly believed it, she’d be all over him, testing whether he really could break through the inhibitions that had frustrated her for so long. But not at the risk of injuring him further, and not before Kyle checked him out.
Unfortunately, he had a point about taking care of him. He still needed help. “You lost a lot of blood. You need fluids.”
She got a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He sighed in defeat as he accepted it, opening it and guzzling half. She cleaned up as he finished it, repacking the first-aid kit.
He lay back down. “Since I can’t have the best possible medicine, which would be you, can you find any aspirin in there?”
“There’s nothing. I have Motrin in my suitcase. Want one?”
“Two or three sounds better.”
So it did still hurt. She brought two pills, offering them with a sympathetic smile. The circle of blood hadn’t gotten much bigger so she didn’t offer to check it. The less she touched him right now the better. His eyes still watched her with fevered intent, even if his body wouldn’t let him follow up on it. Well, part of his body. Another part was evident beneath his pants, still ready for action.
Their kiss had reopened a door, and she knew that this time he wouldn’t slam it closed. Nor did she want him to. She wouldn’t let it get in the way of the mission and knew without question that Donovan wouldn’t either, but acting on their impulses had become inevitable.
She’d never felt as alive as she was in his arms. The strong sense of danger about him that should have scared her into running the other way had sparked an attraction she couldn’t explain. Somehow she knew she was safe with him. There was control behind everything he did, a sense of danger held in check. That was power, a sexy kind she’d had no experience with in her safe, sheltered life.
It was time to change that.
…
In the stifling heat of the afternoon, with ebbing adrenaline turning into sheer exhaustion, sleep overcame the dull throb in his side. Donovan awoke to a hand caressing his forehead and he reached up to clasp the delicate fingers in his own before opening his eyes. He found himself holding hands with a smiling Avery.
“No fever,” she reported. “Good reflexes.”
He pulled his hand back as Kyle knelt and, without asking, pulled off the gauze dressing. “Good job,” he approved as Donovan gritted his teeth and said nothing. Kyle probed lightly around the wound, then more firmly all around his abdomen. “Seems normal, no internal bleeding. How’s it feel?”
“It’s okay,” he said, sticking to the man code of what didn’t make you cry was merely a scratch. It wasn’t exactly a lie. The knife wound felt exactly as it should, like a painful assault to his body that had missed vital organs and would heal without complications.
Jess apparently didn’t believe him. “It bled a lot,” she told Kyle anxiously.
“Not too much, or he’d be more pale and weak. He’ll be fine. You did a nice job.”
Avery peered over his shoulder as she peeled off her hijab and abaya, stripping down to jean shorts and a T-shirt that read Property of the U.S. Army. She seconded Kyle’s opinion as he set about applying a new dressing.
Jess wrung her hands. “How badly does this set us back?”
Kyle laughed. “Not at all. In fact, it helps us. Here, I picked this up for you on the way back,” he said, handing Donovan a couple pills as he got to his feet. “One now, one before bed. Give it half an hour to kick in and you’ll be good to go, cowboy.”