Shades of Gray - Maya Banks Page 0,65
her reapply the dressing until she got it looked at the next day at the hospital.
She put on a pair of gym shorts so the wound was easily accessible and then pulled on a T-shirt, not bothering with a bra. One, she didn’t have that much up top to worry over, and two, Cole had already seen everything she had. They should be well past the coy and modest stage by now.
After putting on socks to keep her feet warm, she carefully made her way back toward the living room. Cole wasn’t there, but she heard noise from the kitchen, so she went in search of him.
He was just placing the steaks on a platter to take them outside when he looked up and saw her.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Feel better?”
“You have no idea,” she breathed. “Almost human again.”
He set down the plate with the steaks and wiped his hands on a towel. Then he picked up a medicine bottle, shook out a pill and handed it to her.
“Just a sec, I’ll get you some milk to take it with. Not a good idea to take these on an empty stomach.”
She took the pill and waited while he poured a glass of milk and pushed it toward her on the counter. She sipped at the milk, grimacing before finally popping the pill into her mouth and drinking more to down it.
“Not a milk fan?”
She shook her head. “I don’t even like the smell of it. I get my calcium by eating cheese. Lots of it.”
“What would you like to drink with dinner? I’d offer you a beer but it wouldn’t go too well with that painkiller you just took.”
“Tea or water is fine. I’m more focused on the steak anyway. I’m already drooling over it and it’s still raw.”
He grinned. “Girl after my own heart. I’m a big fan of cow.”
“Oh, I’m not particular. I’ll eat a chicken or a pig with as much enthusiasm.”
He glanced down at her bare leg and frowned. “That wound looks pretty nasty. We should get another bandage on it.”
“Yeah, I thought you could help once you got the steaks on. I wanted to clean it in the shower. Plus the hot water felt good on it.”
“Can you make it outside or you want me to go put the steaks on then come back for you?”
She took a hesitant step forward, gripping the countertop. “You lead and I’ll follow. I’ll do my very best not to take a header.”
He smiled and picked up the platter, placing the tongs on top. As he walked out of the kitchen to the French doors overlooking the patio, she followed slowly behind him. By the time she made it to the door, he was already putting the steaks on the fire.
She stepped outside and breathed in the honeysuckle-scented air. Crickets chirped in the distance and the low hum of tree locusts rose in the evening air. The sky was covered with the pale shade of dusk and the sun was barely clinging to the horizon as it slipped lower and lower.
It was a perfect evening for a cookout.
She took a seat at the table and stretched her leg out to its full length underneath. The pain medication was already dulling the vicious ache, turning it to a more tolerable hum.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said as Cole lowered the lid to the grill.
“I like it. It’s close to work but it’s still private. I don’t have to worry about tripping over anyone when I’m here. It’s kind of nice after coming off a mission to hole up away from the world for a few days.”
“Steele had been bugging me to move out this way. You know, before that last mission and all.”
Cole studied her intently. “And? Were you considering it?”
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “Before, I would have likely given it thought but probably would have put it off or made an excuse. I was comfortable in my routine and I liked that work was a world away from where I lived.”
“And now? You said before like things have changed, or at least your thinking has.”
She gazed over the pond, watching as the first firefly popped and glowed a line over the water before blinking off again.
There was something mesmerizing about fireflies. Something that took her back to her childhood when things were simple and summer days were spent chasing dreams.
It was a wake-up call that so much of her adulthood had been spent being unsatisfied with herself, her