He was such a rogue, but she couldn’t stop the smile that touched her lips. Hand-holding she could handle. But she swore that was all Levi Kincaid was getting out of her.
* * *
As soon as Levi arrived at the hospital, he was whisked away for a multitude of tests, leaving Sarah to worry and pace out in the waiting room by herself. She wanted to ask for an update, but since she wasn’t family, she knew there was no way anyone would release any kind of information to her. Which left her biting her thumbnail as she wore a back-and-forth path through the industrial-strength carpeting.
Nearly an hour later—which seemed like a lifetime—a nurse came out and approached her. “Are you Sarah Robins?”
“Yes,” she replied anxiously.
The other woman smiled, obviously used to dealing with nervous visitors. “Levi’s tests are complete and he’s been assigned a private room.”
Sarah exhaled a relieved breath. “So, he’s okay?”
“For now, he seems fine,” the nurse said, not confirming or denying anything. “The doctor will know more as soon as he has the chance to go over the test results, which should be soon.”
“Can I see him?” Sarah asked, unable to stand waiting in the lounge any longer.
The nurse nodded, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Actually, he sent me out here to get you, so follow me and I’ll take you to his room.”
Sarah trailed behind the woman as they walked past the emergency room triage and down a corridor lined with numbered rooms. The nurse stopped at a door marked with a number eight.
“He’s right inside,” she said, then turned around and walked back toward the ER.
Sarah pushed the door open and tentatively stepped into the small room, the rubber on the bottom of her tennis shoes letting out a tiny squeak on the linoleum floor. Levi glanced in her direction with an irritable scowl, but as soon as he realized that it was her, an undeniably pleased smile lit up his face, causing her heart to race a bit faster and making her weak in the knees.
From the very first night she’d met him, the man had had that kind of bone-melting effect on her, and it was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. He also made her want to throw caution and common sense to the wind, so just one time she could experience being the sole focus of Levi’s affection and attention. The sensual thought made her shiver as she moved toward him.
He was sitting up in bed, and she took in the hospital gown he still wore, which left his legs bare from the knees down, and yeah, she looked. His calves were nice and toned, and she couldn’t believe she was even thinking this, but even his feet were sexy.
“What was the grumpy look for when I walked in?” she asked as she rounded his bed to the other side. There were two chairs situated there for visitors, but she decided to stand. She didn’t intend to stay long. As soon as she was assured he was all right, she planned to leave.
“Oh, you saw that?” he asked with a small smirk. “I thought you were the nurse coming back for more blood tests, and I was hoping to scare her off.”
She laughed. “They don’t seem easily intimidated around here.”
“It was worth a try,” he said, then his expression turned serious as he met her gaze. “You stayed,” he said, the low, husky tone of his voice stroking along her body like a caress. “I wasn’t sure you’d stick around once they admitted me for the tests.”
“You took a bullet for me,” she pointed out, just in case he’d forgotten that not-so-little detail in tonight’s excitement. “I wasn’t going to leave without knowing you were okay.”
“I appreciate it.” He pushed his fingers through his dark blond hair, which only tousled the thick strands even more. As he lowered his hand, his IV tubing got tangled around another cord that tugged at an electrode patch attached to his chest. The wires pulled taut, causing his gown to slip down a few inches, and he released an annoyed growl.
“Hold on.” Before his frustration got the better of him, Sarah moved closer and separated the cables so he didn’t rip the IV out of his hand or disengage the machine monitoring his pulse and heartbeat. “There you go.”
“Thank you,” he muttered. “Jesus, I don’t know why they need to have me hooked up to all this crap.” He settled back against the raised mattress, his expression surly. “They even took six vials of my blood,” he added, showing her the small bandage on the inside of his arm.
God, he was a terrible patient, and it took effort for Sarah not to laugh at his cranky disposition. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to hold your hand while they stuck that big, bad needle into your arm,” she teased.
His grumpiness vanished as a very sly look flitted across his features. “It’s not too late to make up for that. You can hold my hand now,” he dared, and extended his right hand toward her.
There was no doubt in Sarah’s mind that he was goading her to touch him—and hand-holding, as innocent as it seemed, would be deliberate and intimate contact between them. Still, she wasn’t about to let him win the challenge, and she reached out and settled her hand in his much larger, warmer one. He curled his fingers around hers, capturing her in more ways than one.
He gently skimmed his thumb across her knuckles, the caress making her envision what it would feel like to have that same finger grazing over her taut, sensitive nipple. Which was incredibly stupid of her to even imagine, considering the mere thought made the tips of her breasts tingle and peak against her cotton T-shirt.
Levi’s gaze lowered to her chest for a few lingering seconds to enjoy her telling reaction to him, then gradually lifted back up to her face again.
There was no missing the heat building behind his gaze, which matched the one smoldering in her belly. “So, I think you’ve had more than enough time to think about the question I asked you back at the store before we were rudely interrupted by a robber,” he said, injecting humor into his voice. “Are you finally going to say yes to a date and put me out of my misery? And before you answer that, don’t forget . . . I did take a bullet to protect you.”
The man was utterly shameless, using her gratitude against her, and it took effort for her not to laugh out loud, because despite everything, she found him so damn charming. “Are you seriously going to use the I-took-a-bullet-for-you card and blackmail me?”