Midnight Hero - By Diana Duncan Page 0,80
one. In fact, she was darned glad he did. It upped his odds for survival exponentially. “On your back again so I can do the Florence Nightingale routine.”
He collapsed onto the pillow with a barely concealed sigh of relief. His smoky eyes watched her, caressing her, as she applied antibiotic ointment and butterfly bandages. His skin was warm and smooth under her fingertips. A steady pulse beat at his temples.
Everything could have gone so differently. So wrong. She could be keeping vigil over his cold, broken body, instead of nursing him.
Her earlier insistence on planning her life to the minutest detail now struck her as incredibly foolish. Fate rolled the dice, and you accepted what you got. Looking so far into the future, she’d been blind to the present.
She slid her fingers into his silky hair. Cradling his face, she stared down at him. Every moment he was hers to cherish was precious. She hoped she would have a lifetime to do just that. “There. How does that feel?”
“Pretty damn fine.”
“I meant your wound.”
“What wound?” His muscular arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her to him, so her upper body was draped across his hard chest. “Lay with me for a while.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” He held her gaze, their faces a breath apart. “For the record,” he purred, “I have no complaints whatsoever about your bedside manner.”
Would he, later, if they had the chance finally become lovers? “I—I hope not. You’re so good at everything.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “The total sum of my knowledge comes from reading books.”
“Ah, sweetheart.” He soothed her lip with the pad of his thumb, making every nerve ending tingle. “You could never disappoint me.”
“You don’t mind, then?”
“Mind?” His husky chuckle brushed her with delight. “Baby, I love knowing you’re my woman. That you belong only to me.” He paused. “FYI, I don’t have the wild background you think I do. Sex just for the hell of it isn’t all that great.”
“You’re not trying to tell me that you’ve never…”
“No.” He shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I have. It feels good at the time. But it leaves you empty inside.”
Awed, she shook her head. Would this man ever stop amazing her?
He smoothed back her hair. “You look exhausted, and no wonder. Climb under the covers.”
“I’m too warm after all that exercise,” she lied. She wanted to be able to move fast if the robbers discovered their hiding place. Instead, she snuggled beside him, sharing his pillow. “Con? How did you know I was in trouble? When you didn’t come, I…I thought the robber had hurt you, or—” She couldn’t finish.
Keeping his arms around her, he rolled to his side, facing her. The awkward movement told her he was in more pain than he was letting on. After the jolt he’d sustained, every inch of his body had to be stiff and aching. “When I got downstairs, the guy was gone. I figured he’d reported in, and the robbers would be pretty steamed. I’d run toward the bank to do a recon on the hostages. When I heard your conversation with Tony break off midstream…” His eyes closed briefly, then he opened them again. “My guts went ice cold. I knew what had happened.” He exhaled sharply. “My heart damn near burst out of my chest before I made it back upstairs.”
“He would have killed me. He had me in the electronics store.” Bile rose in her throat. “He’s sick. He was going to—”
Con clenched his jaw, and a muscle jumped in his cheek. “Baby, did he hurt you? Are you all right?”
She shook her head. “I’m okay. I got away.”
His big hand cupped her cheek. “How?”
“I threw computers and a big screen TV at him.”
His smile was subdued. “Hooray for technology. Good job, darlin’.” He stroked her face. “How can I make it better?”
“You already have.” She’d probably have nightmares for a while, though. “I’m so glad he didn’t find Nan and Constance.”
“Yeah. Speaking of courage…” His callused fingers traced the shell of her ear, sending a quiver through her. “You know I hold my mom in high regard, always knew she was strong. But after delivering Constance, I have a new respect for women.” His intense gaze darkened. “I can also see why a woman would want to adopt, instead of going through all that.”
She smiled in wonder. Aidan thought she was starting to sound like Con, but part of her had also rubbed off