Completely Smitten

She bit her lower lip as she approached. “You look really beat up. How do you feel?”

“Like I was shot.”

“I saw you being taken away on television. That’s how I found out what happened.”

“Thanks for visiting.” He motioned to a straight-back chair against the wall. “Take a load off.”

She pulled the chair closer and settled next to him. Without thinking, she took his hand in hers and squeezed. His fingers were warm and strong, and more than a little distracting.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

His mouth curved up again. “Yeah. Don’t talk to me about being fruit.”

She remembered bits and pieces of their conversation of last night, when she’d wanted to be forbidden fruit. Embarrassment flooded her, making her cheeks burn. She quickly dropped his hand and stared at the floor.

“Yes…well, I wasn’t exactly myself.”

“For what it’s worth, I liked whoever you were.”

She raised her head and stared at him. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“But I was an idiot.”

“You were charming.”

“I was drunk.”

“A charming drunk.”

Their eyes locked. Despite the bruising and the bandage, Haley found herself getting lost in his gaze. Her insides shivered slightly. Her heart beat faster. A strange, unexpected yearning filled her and while she couldn’t say for what, she ached with need.

The powerful sensation frightened her, so she did her best to ignore it. She forced herself to look away from Kevin’s face. Instead, she focused on the bandage around his head.

“Was the riot the reason you were called away last night?” she asked.

“Yeah. They knew I was still in the area. All available personnel were summoned. By the time I got there, the riot had already turned dangerous.”

“What started it?”

“It seems the prisoner I delivered yesterday had a lot of enemies in residence. A few of them got together and tried to kill him. They jumped a guard and took his gun.” He touched his injured leg. “I got caught in the cross fire. Just dumb luck.”

Haley didn’t know what to say. Kevin spoke matter-of-factly, as if this sort of thing happened every day. “Have you ever been shot before?” she asked.

“Nope. And let me tell you, it hurts like a sonofa—” He caught himself and grinned. “It hurts a lot.”

“You can swear. I don’t mind. In fact, I plan on learning to swear.”

“You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to do it a lot and there are some words I’m not interested in using. Once I learn to do it, then I can figure out if I like it or not. I was thinking of mostly the D-word or the H-word.”

Kevin closed his eyes. “I’ve never heard anyone call it ‘the D-word’ before.”

“I can’t actually say it here.”

He opened one eye. “In my room?”

“I’m in a hospital.”

“That’s not exactly like being in church.”

“I know, but serious things happen here. Sometimes people die.”

He opened his other eye. “You can’t swear where people are dying?”

“No. Death is a sacred experience.”

He rubbed his forehead. “You’re from another planet, aren’t you?”

“Sometimes it feels like I am,” she admitted, thinking how different her world was from his. “I did very well in my classes at college, but none of them prepared me for this sort of thing.”

“Are we talking about swearing or prison riots.”

“Both.”

“Uh-huh.” He closed his eyes again.

She took the opportunity to study him. Even with his injuries, he was a tough-looking man. She supposed he should have frightened her, but he didn’t. She knew that underneath the power and muscles beat a good and noble heart. He wasn’t the kind of man to take advantage of a defenseless woman. Which was just her bad luck.

“How long will they keep you in the hospital?” she asked.

“Overnight. They want to make sure my head injury isn’t serious. Somebody nailed me with a metal chair. I ducked, but not fast enough.” He fingered the bandage. “There’s some bruising around my inner ear, so I’m a little wobbly.”

After last night, she knew the feeling.

“What about your leg?”

“It was a clean shot. Through the meat. It’ll need regular changing, but it’s just a matter of letting it heal.”

He’d spoken without opening his eyes. Haley had the feeling that he was getting tired. She knew she should go and let him rest, but first she had to thank him for all that he’d done for her. And apologize.

“Kevin, I—”

A faint ringing interrupted her. He opened his eyes.

“Dammit, that’s my cell phone,” he mumbled, turning his head toward the sound. “It’s in my jacket pocket. Probably in the closet. Would you get it?”