Know Me Well (Wishful 3)

“Does that kind of thing happen often?” he asked.

“What kind of thing?”

“People doctor shopping, trying to get more pain meds or whatever?”

“Mmm, a fair bit. Since they clamped down on Sudafed, people shifted from meth to prescription pain meds. Mississippi has one of the worst abuse rates in the nation.”

“How did you know?”

“We’ve got an electronic database. Any time somebody comes in with a prescription for controlled substances, we run a check to find out when and where they last got them. If it’s too close together, we call the prescribing doc and verify. In this particular case, the doctor requested the prescription be shredded.” After the thumb stopped bubbling, she dabbed it clean with some sterile cotton and examined the wound, which still bled sluggishly.

“You shouldn’t be alone here.”

“I rarely am. But I’m completely fine, Liam. I know how to handle that kind of thing.”

He could too easily imagine how such a situation could go south in a hurry, and he didn’t like the idea of her facing it by herself one bit. “I don’t like it.”

Her mouth quirked, but she didn’t look away from what she was doing. “You don’t have to like it. It’s part of the job. Your mom’s dealt with it for years and never had any trouble. Neither have I. And there’s a panic button if anything goes sideways. And you’ve already made sure I’ve been getting a refresher on self defense.”

Liam frowned. “I guess I never thought much about Mom having to deal with stuff like that. She never talked about it.”

“Because it’s never been a problem. We’re fine. I don’t think you have any wood splinters in here. You could probably do with a stitch or two.”

He’d already been over the security and it was solid, so he let the subject drop. “I’m not going to lose the entire afternoon of work just to get a couple of measly stitches.” This renovation was the first time he felt like he’d accomplished something since he came home. “Just slap a Band-aid or three on and be done with it.”

She rolled her eyes. “You are such a man.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was more commentary on your pig-headedness.” But she bandaged the thumb as requested.

After taping off the gauze bandage on his thumb, Riley turned over his hand to examine the abraded knuckles. The sense of déjà vu swamped him as she paused, fingers curling gently to hold his. She’d done this before, that long ago night. Cleaned and bandaged his bruised and bloody knuckles. Her hands had trembled then. They’d both trembled then, in the wake of what he’d done to protect her.

Riley traced a finger along the unabraded skin, and he knew she was remembering, too. Liam brought his free hand up to trap her hand between his and gently squeezed. Lifting her gaze to his, she offered a fleeting smile before resuming her ministrations with cool efficiency.

“There.” She released him.

“Thanks.”

“Now, let’s take a look at your head.” Moving in close, she probed around the knot with light fingers.

Liam hissed, though it was more from the feel of her body brushing his than from the pressure of her touch.

“Sorry. It’s definitely going to bruise.” She stepped back. “But you didn’t break the skin, so that’s something.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Unless there’s some other injury you’re hiding. I know you’re not about to sit here with an ice pack, even though you should.”

He pointed to his temple. “Mom would’ve kissed it.”

Riley’s lips quirked. “The big bad Marine needs that kind of special attention?”

Liam gave her his best puppy dog face.

“Fine.” She laughed and cupped his face in both hands, tipping it down so she could reach.

Her lips pressed his wounded temple, soft and smooth, and Liam closed his eyes with a sigh. Something inside him settled, even as his heart stumbled and sped up. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. Wanted to bury his face against her throat and lose himself in the scent and taste of her skin. He just plain wanted. But he curled his hands around the edge of the desk instead, accepting the small thing she offered without pushing for more than she wanted to give.