“The bad guys don’t stop being bad just because the sun goes down. You need protection from this asshole, and since you won’t stay at my place, I have no choice but to stay here.”
She sighed. “You can be real y infuriating.”
“I’ve been told.”
She shifted her arm in an attempt to al eviate the stiffness. It didn’t work. “You can sleep on the couch.”
Jean laughed and pointed to Wade. “If it were me, no way would you be sleeping on the couch, sugar.”
Gracie’s mouth dropped open. “Jean!”
Color stained Wade’s cheeks as he stood. “Uh, I need to get a few things out of the trunk. Maybe Jean can help you get ready for bed before she leaves.”
Once Wade was gone, Jean turned toward her, al signs of joking gone. “You’re lucky to be alive, young lady.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Gracie couldn’t even focus on the accident, not with the thought of Wade sleeping in her home rattling inside her head. He’d be a few feet away, al night long. An image of him al sprawled out on her couch, his shirt gone, jeans unbuttoned and riding low sprang to mind. She had to remind herself to breathe.
“You like him, huh?”
Jean’s question tore her out of her little fantasy. “It’s complicated.” She didn’t know what she wanted from Wade, but she had a feeling it wasn’t just a quick tumble. She stood and waited for Jean to do the same. Together they walked to her bedroom.
When she entered, Jean flipped on the light, and Gracie grabbed a nightgown from the dresser drawer. She held it up, wondering what Wade would think of the plain garment. The white cotton, knee-length gown was soft and comfortable, and sleeveless, making it easier to put on over her cast. Stil , it was horribly plain. She looked up and saw her reflection in the dresser mirror. Crap, coupled with the bruises al over her face she’d be lucky if he didn’t run screaming.
“You know what I see?”
Gracie wasn’t sure she wanted to hear Jean’s next words, but she shook her head and said, “No. What?”
“I see two people dancing around each other. He’s not here because you’re his pal. He’s here because you belong to him, and he’s not about to let some freak hurt you.”
“I haven’t even agreed to go on a date yet! How could I possibly belong to him?”
Jean shrugged. “It’s in the way he looks at you, possessive, hot. He’s teetering on the edge of control, if you ask me. You could have him eating out of your hand, sweetie. So, what’s the holdup?”
She threw the gown on the bed. “My life is a mess! My dad showed up at the hospital drunk. His only child is in a car accident, and he shows up drunk and starts cussing everyone out. I have a creep
y stalker intent on making me his ‘love.’ I have to work two jobs just to keep my head above water because Dad’s always drinking away his rent money. I’m just not up for more drama in my life. I need to straighten some things out before I can even think of having a relationship with a man as dominating and tense as Wade.”
Jean picked up the gown and started to smooth out the wrinkles. “Take it from me, life wil always be ful of drama. There wil always be something more pressing, always be stress. But a man like the one out there”—she pointed toward the living room—“vowing to protect you at al costs, wel , they don’t come around every day. Keep pushing him away, and he may just take the hint.”
The idea made her heart speed up. To never know Wade’s touch, his kisses, to never feel him buried deep inside her where she so badly needed him the most, sent a shot of panic through her bloodstream. “I-I don’t want to push him away.”
Jean smiled. “I thought not. So, maybe tonight when you two are alone, you can show that boy what ‘protect and serve’ real y means.”
For the first time in days, Gracie laughed, so hard her bruised body protested. “I think you might just be onto something, Jean.”
Wade paced the length of the living room. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Al he could think about was how sweet and al uring Gracie had looked in her nightgown earlier. The oversized cotton sheet shouldn’t have been sexy. In fact, he’d been secretly grateful she’d picked something so concealing to sleep in. He didn’t need any more provocation where Gracie was concerned. Then she’d moved toward the couch and placed a sheet and a pil ow on the coffee table for him, and she’d inadvertently put her body on display for him as the light from the table lamp turned the gown al but transparent. She’d turned around and smiled at him. The soft curves of her body, so close, yet so far out of his reach, had been a temptation he nearly hadn’t been able to ignore. Hel , he’d had to leave the room just to keep from jumping her.
Wade had seen Gracie in her prim little outfits at Serene Comfort and thought her body perfect. He’d seen her in the flimsy hospital gown and knew instinctively that her ful , round breasts would fil his palms; the curve of her hips would create the perfect cradle for his cock. Stil , nothing could have prepared him for the eyeful he’d gotten earlier.
“Fuck,” he growled. Pushing a hand through his hair, Wade fel onto the couch and wished like hel he had the right to simply go to her, slip in between the sheets, and spend the rest of the night touching, tasting. He wanted to hear her cry out his name as she climaxed. He ached to strip her bare and lick every blessed inch of her.
“Don’t you ever sleep?”
Wade shot off the couch so fast he ran his shin into the coffee table. He cursed and twisted around, then froze. Gracie stood in the entrance of the dark room, her fiery red hair a disheveled mess. She’d removed the sling from her injured arm and was now cradling her fractured wrist in her good hand. He stepped around the couch, closing the distance between them. “You okay?”
She winced. “I rol ed over on my stomach and caught my wrist on the bedside table.”
He felt like a complete shit. He’d been wal owing in unrequited lust, and she’d been in pain. “Come on, you need your sleep.” He cupped her elbow and took her back to her room. Wade didn’t bother with the light. He’d memorized the layout of the entire place hours ago. He led her across the room and held the covers up for her to slip beneath. He tucked her in and started out of the room, away from temptation, when Gracie’s quiet voice floated over to him.