“You think this is sexy?” She laughs, her mood lightening. “My God, what is in the well water around these parts?”
I grin. “I don’t think it’s necessary, but if you want, I can take you to the hospital.”
“No,” she says so quickly it takes me by surprise. “No hospitals.”
I note her strong reaction. Wow, did I hit a sore spot or something? “You don’t like hospitals, huh?”
“I just… I’m feeling better.” She sits up a little straighter in the chair.
“Okay, you should at least get yourself a bottle of Benadryl.” I nudge her playfully. “In case next time I’m not here to rescue you.”
“Fine, I’ll look into that.” Her brow furrows, and I’m about to make her promise she will when she changes the subject. “What is the credit card for? Payment so I don’t sue you?”
A laugh rumbles in my throat as I shake my head. “You really are a long way from home, aren’t you?” I spin the card in my fingers. “This is to take the stingers out. Once we do that, we need to wash the spots with warm soapy water. I’m going to have to look over your body. Is that okay with you? I’m not sure where or how many times you were stung, but we need to check. If the stinger is still embedded, it can release more venom, and with the way you reacted, I don’t want to take a chance.”
Dark lashes fall slowly over her blue eyes, and when they lift again, her gaze is directly on mine. “Oh, okay.”
I touch her elbow lightly to help her up, and she draws in a breath as I sweep my fingers over her flesh. “Do you think you could stand?”
She nods, and I help her to her feet. The shirt she’s wearing falls to her knees, brushing over one of the stings, and she yelps a little.
“Would you be comfortable taking off the shirt? I need to see where you’ve been stung.”
“Okay.” She toys with the top button, her fingers hesitant.
“If you want, I have a mirror, and you can check yourself,” I say. “I can teach you how to remove the stinger.”
A nervous laugh catches in her throat as she releases the first button. “You’ve already seen me in my underwear, Jay, remember?”
Oh, I remember. I remember all too well.
“It’s weird that I have to keep getting undressed in front of you.” She grins and tries to make light of it by adding, “And you didn’t even buy me dinner first.”
I shrug, equally astounded. “I don’t know what to say, Alyson, but for some strange reason, we keep finding ourselves in these weird situations.”
“Lesson or blessing,” she says under her breath as she finishes unbuttoning the long shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Heat flares through me, and a bolt of lust zaps my balls. I work to dial down my body’s reactions and try not to make a noise as I swallow. I do not want to broadcast what her near nakedness is doing to me. But there is nothing I can do to hide the truth. Nope, nothing I can do at all. Not when I have a foul-mouthed parrot who doesn’t know when to keep his trap shut.
“Alyson’s hot stuff.”
I drop my head, press my palm into my forehead. “Motherfucker.”
Chapter Seven
Alyson
“What the—”
I spin around and cover my body, expecting to find someone standing behind us. Instead I spot a great big parrot prancing around his cage like a cocky MMA fighter before a championship match. Yes, I’ve watched MMA. My ex was a big fan, although I hated the brutality of the sport.
“I… He… What…” I work to get words out through puffy lips.
“Sorry about that,” Jay says as I stumble for my next words.
I blink once, then twice as I take in the pretty bird. “Did he just say what I think he said?”
“You heard him right.” Jay sighs heavily, his frustration and embarrassment wrapping around me. “Alyson, meet Capone. Capone, keep your trap shut.”
“Jay’s an asshole.”
My mouth drops open as I turn back to Jay. “Ohmigod, did he just call you—”
“An asshole, yeah.” Jay rakes an agitated hand through his hair and shakes his head. I let my gaze drop, take in his bare chest. All the boys in the family are good-looking, but this guy… Well, he’s killing it. They clearly come from great genes, and I really shouldn’t be taking pleasure in his near