“No.” She said the word firmly and then settled the sheet over him, dragging the blanket and comforter off the end of the bed. “You don’t need this weight on you, and it’s hot, anyway.” She extinguished the light and moved around to ease beneath the sheet with him. Snuggling closer, she rested her hand softly on his solar plexus. “Where does it hurt?”
Everywhere. “I’m fine now.” He gingerly settled an arm around her, comforting himself with the scent of orange blossoms.
“Okay.” She drew circles lightly across his skin, brushing his upper chest and over his clavicle. “How mad are you at me?”
It was a good question. While he understood her reasoning, he didn’t like her going behind his back. “I’m not sure, and I don’t want to deal with it right now.” He didn’t push her hand away, enjoying this sweet and adorable side of her, even though they had a difficult discussion coming when he regained his strength.
“Fine.” She kept her hand over his heart and stopped moving. “I’ll wait a while and then get you a new ice pack.”
He planted his hand over hers, feeling his steady heartbeat through both. “You go to sleep.” He’d never had anybody indulge him like this, and it was oddly appealing.
“I’m going to take care of you, Wolfe.” Her minty breath brushed his jaw.
“That’s my job.” The woman kept getting their roles mixed up. “I take care of you. Remember?”
She kissed his neck. “We take care of each other.”
“I don’t get you.” He shut his eyelids, letting his body slowly relax. If there was any trouble, Roscoe would awaken him.
“Nobody has ever fussed over you?” Her voice was soft and sleepy, but she seemed determined to chat.
He thought back through the years. “Not really. Grams was a good woman, but frail by the time she took us in, so we looked out for her. My sister was just a kid when we lost her, but she was always sweet to me.” He’d do anything to bring her back, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Then I was in the service, and there’s not much coddling there.”
Dana rubbed her cheek against his collarbone, her skin feeling like silk. “What about women? You’ve dated, I’m sure.”
“Sure.” He’d always liked women and sex, and he’d had a girlfriend or two through the years. “My job always got in the way, and they usually moved on. I understood.” Wait. Was this the talking about old relationships part of dating? He’d never really gotten into that part, but he’d give it a shot. “What about you?”
“I’ve dated but never really gotten serious. Most people are kind of boring, and my job has also taken me away a lot.” She nipped his earlobe. “You are not boring.”
“I appreciate that.” He paused, almost asking if Mike had called again, but then remembered that he’d destroyed her phone. The crime scene filtered through his mind, and he held Dana closer, remembering the dead woman on the bed. “At some point in the near future, you’re gonna have to let me take care of you.” He turned his head, ignoring the pain that flared inside his brain, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“That’s what you’re doing.”
“No.” He’d given in earlier, but now he’d seen firsthand what Gary liked to do for fun. However, Wolfe had learned that bossing Dana around only resulted in her challenging him to a boxing match, and at the moment, she’d probably win. So he tried for logic, which certainly wasn’t his strong suit. “You said we were dating, right?”
“Yes.” She cuddled closer.
“You know me, better than I’ve let anybody else know me.” The words were coming more slowly as sleep tried to draw him in, but this was important.
She sighed and settled against him. “I know.”
The aspirin, ice, and woman were having a calming effect, and his heart rate slowed. “Then you understand, whether you like it or not, that I’ll do everything I have to in order to keep you safe. Even piss you off.”
“I don’t think—”
He cut her off before he dropped into sleep against his will. “You do think and you do know. Make sure that you really want this and you really want me, because I’ve never had anything or anybody that was just mine.” The words poured out of him with no filter, because his energy was gone. “There are consequences to being with me, whether you like it or not. Sleep on it and let me know where we stand in the morning.” His words might’ve slurred on the end.
“Wolfe, I don’t want to argue with an injured man.” Her yawn cracked her jaw.
“There’s no argument.” He kissed her forehead. “Some things just are. Tell me you get me so we can sleep and heal.” He tightened his hold.
“Fine. I get you.” She buried her nose in his neck. “I can decide now and not wait until we wake up. I do really want this, but you need to know me, too.”
“Fair enough.”
She kissed his jaw, snuggled down, and was asleep in seconds.
Wolfe followed her into dreamland, hoping she really did understand him. He’d allowed his life and this relationship to enter the fuzzy gray zone where he wasn’t sure what was happening, and that had to end now. The crime scene had proven that.
