She narrowed her eyes. “And you’re offering your services?” The thought of spending any time with this man who pulled her mind, her heart, and her body in opposing directions was impossible.
She didn’t trust her response to him, yet she trusted him to keep her safe. The contradiction wasn’t lost on her. It was just one of many. “No way are you staying with me.”
“You won’t put your sister at risk, which leaves you alone. What if the guy shows up again? You were no match for him the first time. What makes you think you’ll do a better job injured?”
“Like I said, you’re –”
“An asshole. I got it. And I never argued the point.”
Kayla saw Captain Reid approach. “I’m through here. Feeling better?” he asked.
“If I don’t move,” she said wryly.
He turned to Kane. “Remember what I said. Call if things turn serious—and enjoy your time off.” The older man walked out into the cold afternoon.
“Time off?”
“Looking after you,” Kane said. “And before you give me shit, remember I already won this argument. I’ll go square things with Catherine.”
She opened her mouth and shut it again. He might have played on every weakness she possessed at the moment, but he was right. Catherine wouldn’t leave her for the night unless she knew she had protection. And Kayla wouldn’t be comfortable alone in the first floor of the old two-family house in which they lived. She loved the many windows because they let in light, but they left her vulnerable. Besides, she could barely lift her head.
Like it or not, she needed Kane.
* * *
“This place is a burglar’s dream,” Kane muttered to himself. He paced the kitchen and small family area of the rented house. One step inside the unprotected home had cemented his decision to stay no matter how high the personal risk. Good thing Catherine had agreed to stay at a friend’s. Kane needed his focus on one Luck woman at a time.
He’d waited outside the bedroom while Kayla changed into a T-shirt he’d found in a drawer filled with satin and lace, scented with the tempting fragrance his body associated with Kayla. Her full breasts and soft flesh were known to him now. Desire and arousal would be his companions as long as he remained in this house.
Apparently, so would longing and misplaced dreams. He’d settled her into bed, a pastel, feminine mass of ruffles and pillows. A safe haven that, like Kayla, reminded him of warmth, home, and a sharing of lives. Things he never had and never would.
She was a luxury he couldn’t afford. They hadn’t just shared quick and easy sex, the kind that left both parties unfulfilled after the initial peak subsided. With Kayla, it was complicated, involved, and made him inefficient in his job—the one area of life he’d always been able to count on before.
He scrounged through the old, wooden kitchen cabinets and found a can of soup. She needed something to eat, and this was about all he was capable of making without turning her stomach even more. He’d check her again and then fix her a warm meal.
He entered her room and watched her in silence. Eyes closed, pale skin, and blond hair falling over her cheek. She looked like an angel. His angel, he thought and stifled a curse. More softness he didn’t need. Focus on the job, McDermott. He eased himself to sit beside her on the bed. The mattress shifted under his weight. She rolled toward him and moaned.
The sound twisted his gut. “Are you in pain?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Her eyes remained tightly closed, her arms wrapping the down comforter even more tightly around her body.
“I can’t give you anything except Tylenol.”
“I…took…some.” Her teeth began to chatter. “Can you turn up the heat?”
“I already did.” He’d anticipated the chills. Once the aftermath of her ordeal hit and her adrenaline levels decreased, he’d expected some reaction.
“Not…working.”
“How about a cup of hot soup?”
“Can’t sit up.”
Kane muttered a prayer for strength and slid beneath the covers. She curled into his waiting warmth. Her soft curves molded against him, and her satisfied sigh echoed in his ears. Two things hit at once. A hot, urgent desire to be inside her, and the need to protect her from further harm.
Reminding himself she needed his body heat and not him, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, the only advantage he’d take under the circumstances. “Better?” he asked.
“Much.”