He picked up her hand and played with her fingers. “All the violence.”
“Goes with your job. I won’t lie. That’s not easy for me. It scares me to death.” When he gave her a pained frown, she rushed to finish her point. “But I also get that you have friends and people who watch out for you and that you’re careful. You don’t take stupid risks.”
Davis cleared his throat. “He’s usually on his game, though he’s not doing so well here.”
“You begged for a date.” She ignored Connor’s laugh and Ben’s scowl. “You were relentless and now you want out? No. I’m not giving you a choice. You wanted me? Well, now I want you back.”
“You do?”
“I might even love you a little, which we’re not going to talk about now, certainly not with company listening in, but the one thing I am not doing is leaving you.” The truth sat out there now and she couldn’t call it back. She didn’t even want to. After everything they’d been through, he deserved to know the truth.
“I like her,” Davis said.
Connor nodded. “She fits in with the other women in the group.”
Davis made a sound like a hum. “And it wouldn’t be bad to have a nurse on staff.”
Ben didn’t even spare them a glance. He kept his attention on her as he slipped his fingers through hers and held on tight. “Both of you get out.”
“Maybe we’re watching out for her,” Connor said.
She didn’t break eye contact either. Couldn’t. “I can handle Ben on my own.”
“Yeah, I think you can.” Connor patted Ben on the shoulder. “We’ll find Joel and Pax and come back later.”
Davis laughed. “Much later.”
Ben barely waited until the door closed behind his friends. “Love?”
She knew he’d grab on to that one word. Other men, no. They’d ignore it and try to work around it. Not Ben. She said love, and excitement flared in his eyes. “A little and it’s just at the beginning stages, so don’t kill it by being a moron.”
He tugged her closer. “Come here.”
“Oh, now you get bossy.” She put her hands on either side of his shoulders. “I’ll tolerate that, since you’ve been shot and stabbed and who knows what else. But as your nurse, I would suggest you be careful.”
“I’m taking my bossiness cues from you.” He tried to lift his head and hissed instead.
She took pity on him and leaned in closer, letting her lips skim over his. “Honestly, you could use a clue or two.”
“I’m sorry,” he said when they broke apart again.
“For?” And this was a test. If he didn’t get it right...well, she wasn’t going anywhere. But she didn’t want to fight with him, either. “And do not say putting me in danger or anything like that.”
“How about for trying to push you away?”
She kissed him again. Short and sweet but enough for the desired connection. “Better.”
“I want you safe and am willing to do whatever that takes.” His hand brushed up and down her thigh. “But I’m also not stupid. When a woman like you throws around the L word, a man listens.”
The words knocked down the rest of her protective wall. This man, this amazing man who carried a gun and could probably scale buildings if he wanted to, meant everything. “Are you sure?”
“That falling thing.” He toyed with the end of her hair. “The love—”
She put her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Little bit and at the beginning.”
He pushed those fingers farther apart. “Me, too.”
Her heart jumped. “Really?”
“Why do you think I’m so desperate to lock you away where my job and this life can’t touch you?”
“I lived for months and months being afraid.” Talking about her life back then stole something from her, but she needed him to understand. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“After what happened to you and how you had to fight...all the attacks over the last week...how is that possible?”
Hearing him rendered almost speechless was just about the most flattering, attractive thing ever. The idea she could knock this controlled man off his game made her smile. “I think it had something to do with seeing a policeman step up and do the right thing.”
“Willoughby?”
She still had to figure out a way to apologize to the guy. He had even come to the hospital to check on Ben, Sharon and Kent and never once threatened or suggested the crimes rolled out any way other than the way they actually did. No blame. “He came through, but that wasn’t all.”