Only Her (A K2 Team Novel)(50)

Taking him at his word that he might try to hurt her if he didn’t realize who she was, she was at a loss as to what to do. If she went up to him, would he grab her or fight her? If he did anything to her, he would hate himself. That much she knew about him already. He fisted a hand and aimed it for Sally. The dog dropped his belly to the floor before he was knocked across the room, and Riley let out a relieved breath, wondering if Sally expected Cody would come at him and was prepared for it.

That was so sad that tears pooled in her eyes for both of them, and for Pretty Girl as she cowered in fear. When Cody yelled again, Sally sat up and licked his face. He kicked off the afghan, giving Riley a view of his magnificent body. The man was all muscle from head to feet, and if she weren’t watching him in the middle of a nightmare, she’d take the time to admire the hottest male physique she’d ever seen.

He grumbled something and pushed Sally’s face away, and then turned onto his side with his back to the room. Since he seemed to be over his nightmare, and since he’d presented such a perfect view, she let her gaze roam over him, up his long legs, pausing at his butt, which unfortunately was hidden by his briefs, then over a broad back that she couldn’t wait to get her hands on.

“You going to stand there and stare at me all night?”

“Oh, you’re awake.” She started toward him.

“Go to bed, Riley. Turn off the lamp on your way.” He kept his back to her.

If she had to guess, she’d say he was embarrassed that she’d seen him having a nightmare. She hesitated, wanting to comfort him. He pulled up the afghan, covering his beautiful body, and buried his head under the pillow. Fine, she could take a hint. She switched off the light, and stomped back to bed, making as much noise on her wood floors as possible. Pissy, she knew, but he’d been there for her when she needed him, so why couldn’t she return the favor? She left the door open so she could hear if he called out again.

Although her head still hurt, the pain had eased significantly, and she didn’t feel as out of it as she had the day before. Even so, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t go back to sleep, and finally gave up, letting her mind do what it wanted, which was to think about Cody.

Was she making a mistake wanting to be with him? Maybe his problems were too deep for her. Her biggest worry was that she didn’t know how to help him. She could clip an animal’s toenails, set a broken leg, treat pretty much any ailment, but delving into the mindset of a man having nightmares from his past was out of her league.

And who was her? He’d called out, begging someone not to hurt “her.” Was it a woman he’d had a relationship with, someone he’d loved? Still loved? All questions she had no answers for, and if he had them, she doubted he’d share. More than anything, she wanted to know about the “her” that was haunting his dreams.

It was impossible to fall back asleep, and as light from the rising sun crept through the sides of the blinds, she gave up trying. Two of her cats had returned to the bed, Merlin in his usual place at her feet, and Pelli curled up next to her neck. Arthur was missing. When she sat up, the kitten opened one eye, blinked at her, then stuck his head under his tail and went back to sleep. Merlin’s attention was on the open doorway, where Cody was visible. Riley peered out and found her missing cat. Arthur was snuggled between the two dogs, all three fast asleep.

“Silly boy,” she murmured.

She went into the bathroom, flipped on the light, eyed herself in the mirror, and gasped at the rat’s nest that was her hair. She’d washed the bottom half when she’d showered after returning home, but hadn’t wanted to get shampoo in her wound. Along with the mess that was her hair, there were purple bags under her eyes.

“You look like crap, my friend,” she told her reflection. She turned on the water to let it warm up, then returned to her bedroom to get clean clothes.

Feeling much better after cleaning the rest of the blood out of her hair, she came out of the bathroom, and as she smelled coffee and bacon, her stomach rumbled. When she followed the aroma to the kitchen, the first thing she saw was her cats eating their breakfast while Sally and Pretty Girl sat to the side, avidly watching. The second thing to catch her eye was Cody, wearing only his jeans, standing at her stove with his back to her, and she paused, captivated by the way the muscles in his back and shoulders flexed as he worked.

“Your coffee’s on the table and breakfast is almost ready. Sit.”

She saluted him.

“I saw that.”

He had eyes in the back of his head? Then she noticed he was looking at her kitchen window where a fuzzy image of her was reflected back. “Sneaky,” she said, heading for the cup of coffee. “I didn’t know I had bacon and eggs.”