Stone Cold Cowboy(60)
“Take your clothes off.”
Her eyes flew open and went wide. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. “What? Here?”
“Yes.” He loved teasing her, but had to put a stop to this before he couldn’t stop. “You’re covered in blood. You need to change out of those dirty things and put on the clean clothes I brought you.”
“Oh.” She released him and stared into the bag he’d packed.
“When I finally get you naked, we will be somewhere private. We will have all the time in the world to be alone and together.”
She stared up at him. “I wish that’s where we were now instead of here.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Me too.” He held her gaze, letting her see in him how much he wanted her. How much being with her mattered to him.
She sorted through the clothes he’d packed, looked up, and smiled. “So your brother prefers lace panties, but you’d rather I wear none.”
“Um, I guess I wasn’t thinking when I packed.”
Her mouth turned down into a fake frown. “Perhaps your subconscious made the slip on purpose.”
“I’ll be sure to thank it later.”
Sadie smiled, gathered her stack of clothes in her hands, sidestepped around him, and set the clothes on the toilet tank. He turned away, giving her space to get dressed. Didn’t mean he didn’t sneak a peek at the back of her in the mirror. She pulled her soiled T-shirt over her head and dropped it to the tile floor. Ruined, better to just throw it away than try to clean it. She probably didn’t want to wear it again and remember today.
She shimmied out of her jeans, giving him a nice view of her round bottom encased in pink cotton panties with white lace trim. He gulped and averted his gaze.
“The blood soaked through everything.” The tremble in her voice made his chest tight.
“Take it all off. There’s no one here you need to impress or be embarrassed in front of.”
“Can you pull out the dark purple shirt you brought? I don’t want to wear the white without a bra. Don’t want to give the whole hospital a show.”
Rory wet some paper towels for her to clean up. He handed them back to her and she cleaned the blood from her body and tossed the mess in the trash. He pulled the shirt out of the bag and held it out behind him without turning around. She took it from his grasp, and he caught a glimpse of the side of her breast and her bare bottom in the mirror. Not even the faint puncture scars dotted all over her took away from her beauty.
“Are you peeking?” The teasing lilt in her voice made his immediate fear she’d be pissed at him turn to embarrassment.
“Uh, I’m a guy. Of course I peeked.”
“See anything you like?” This time her voice held a hint of shyness.
“I like everything about you, sweetheart.”
She pulled the leggings up over her hips. He had to admit, the disappointment hit him hard. She had a really great ass.
She glanced over her shoulder and met his gaze in the mirror. “What would you do if I turned around right now?”
He swallowed, knowing exactly what he’d see. Her bare breasts. His mouth watered just thinking about putting his lips on her skin and sliding his tongue over her nipples.
“Have mercy.”
Her eyes narrowed and her lips hinted at a wicked smile. She turned just slightly. He held his breath, his gaze dipping to her bare shoulder, anticipating what he’d see. At the last second, she turned back, grabbed the shirt, and pulled it over her head, giving him another glimpse of the curve of her side and full breast.
“You’re killing me.”
Her soft laugh didn’t hold much humor.
“Sweetheart?” He hoped he hadn’t made her uncomfortable.
She quickly pulled on her socks and stuffed her feet back into the pair of tennis shoes she’d slid off earlier.
“I’m fine.”
Rory turned to her as she bent to pick up her discarded clothes and rolled them into her jeans.
“I’ll ask the nurse if she’s got a bag to put these in.”
“I’m sure we can find something.”
“Okay.” She turned and headed for the door. With her hand on the knob, she stopped and hung her head.
“Sweetheart, what is it?”
“In here, it’s you and me talking, teasing, being together, and experiencing this thing between us that seems so new but is as comfortable as a favorite blanket. Out there, my father is dying.”
Rory closed the distance between them, letting her feel his body pressed to the back of hers. He kissed the top of her head. “As much as I like being in here with you, I’ll still be out there with you, too. You’re not alone, sweetheart, but you are strong enough to face this.”