Her smile wavered as she watched me. “Your entire team was on the news. They said you’d been injured and were in serious condition at the hospital.”
“Ah, fuck. One of guys was injured, but he’ll be fine. I gave him my jacket is all. It has my name on the lapel. The reporters just got it wrong.”
Her deep breath was infused with a slight moan that I could hear over the steady drumbeat of whatever music was playing.
She gripped my tee shirt, shaking her head. “Damn them. I was so worried about you. I didn’t get a chance to return your things. I didn’t have a chance to really say thank you.”
As soon as I stepped back, I was blown away by the woman. She was stunning in every way. With damp hair. No makeup. Even with her hair plastered to her head when I’d carried her from the raging waters she’d captured my attention as she had so many times in the past.
But now, I was given a full-scale view of her in a way that stripped every bit of breath from my lungs.
“Is that what you were worried about? Returning my things?” I wasn’t certain whether to be incensed or hurt.
“Very funny. You know what I mean. I just…”
“No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me what you mean.”
We were standing in the middle of a crowded bar, people all around us, yet I was blinded to anyone but the beauty standing in front of me.
She was wearing tight-fitting jeans and a ruffled blouse that brought out the intense color of her eyes. I allowed my gaze to fall from the shimmer of her cheeks to her rosy lips. It was difficult to keep my eyes in a decent location, their instinct and mine to fall even further, capturing the deep v highlighting the swell in her breasts. Jesus, her legs were long and I was reminded of how they felt when wrapped around me.
I’d be damned if it wasn’t going to be difficult to walk in my condition.
Her long hair was in soft curls cascading over her shoulders and halfway down her back. But it was the way her eyes lit up around me that captured a part of me I’d never given to anyone.
They were still full of the fire I’d seen earlier, her mouth twisted in frustration from me obviously not showing as much concern as perhaps she would like.
And the way her dark lashes fell against her cheeks had my entire body stiffening. Did she have any understanding she was by far the most gorgeous woman in the place?
She was debating what she should do now that she’d exposed our connection. The slight laugh she issued was exactly as I’d remembered from all those years before. The only sound I’d carried with me, holding onto the memory during long nights.
“I need a drink,” I said, breaking the sudden awkward silence.
“Mine’s at the bar.” She leaned in, using her thumb and brushing the thick pad across my lips. The move was intimate, sensual.
“Well, then I’ll meet you there.”
The tilt of her head indicated she was still debating whether being around me was a good idea or not. In the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t.
“If you insist.” She backed away, offering the kind of smile that she used when trying to get her way. That was a trait that had also never changed. I watched her walk into the crowd, disappearing a few seconds later.
I waited until she’d escaped my view before adjusting my cock, feeling a presence only seconds later.
“You do know she’s trouble. Right?”
Why was it every time I heard a certain tone in my brother’s voice I was ready to brandish both middle fingers? This time, I shoved one hand into the pocket of my jeans, noticing he was making a peace offering of a cold brew. The bottle felt good in my clammy hand. As I brought the lip to my mouth, I sensed he was watching me intently.
“So word has it that you found her floating in the river?”
I tossed him a glance. “Something like that.”
“She’s a Sterling.”
The accusation had been one I’d heard for years. “So what? We don’t live in the Wild West, you know.”
“That depends on who you ask, including our father.” He pulled his bottle to his lips. “Is this thing serious?”
“For God’s sake. I saved her life a couple days ago. She stayed with me for less than twenty-four hours. Then I had to go off andfight a fire. I don’t think you need to worry about telling Mom and Dad there’s going to be a wedding.”
