Lori Foster - Dash of Peril

Her parents disdained her cat, or disdained her for loving him, yet Dash seemed pleased to have the cat’s approval.

It had to be the meds, but damn it, her eyes grew wet. “You haven’t yet been exposed to his bad habits.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“He sometimes misses the cat box.”

That turned Dash’s smile into a soft chuckle.

A chuckle. Oh, God, how she liked the sound of that. She squirmed in her seat.

Dash gently rubbed Ollie’s ear...leaving her mesmerized. “Given he’s blind, I’d say if he’s hitting it fifty percent of the time, he’s doing pretty good.”

Not understanding her reaction to him, Margo said in distraction, “I put a large rubber mat under the box. When he misses, it doesn’t hurt anything.”

“He looks like he’s going to nod off.” Dash treated the cat to another long stroke. “Soft fur.”

“He’s a rag doll.” To divert her concentration from Dash’s gentle touch, Margo looked away at the clock on the wall. Nearing 7:00 a.m. “He was probably frightened when I didn’t come home, so he hasn’t slept as much as usual. Before he goes to sleep, I need to feed him.”

“Why don’t I take care of that for you?”

How easy would it be to let him take over? Too easy. “I can do it.” Now that her arm was encased in the splint, she could walk without jarring it. But even the smallest movement amplified the ache in her head.

Dash moved around in front of her, caught her under her arms and easily brought her to her feet—without causing her any more pain.

So tall and leanly muscled. Other than the ruined shirt and beard shadow, no one would know that Dash had been up all night with her. The comparison to her present pathetic state made her want to throw up. Or maybe that was the concussion, too.

She could not be this pitiful.

Not with him. Not ever. “You don’t need to stay.”

He followed her sluggish path to the kitchen. “We already sang this tune, remember?”

“You can’t treat me like an invalid.”

“Trust me, Margo, that’s not how I see you.” When she stopped and stared at him, he held up his hands. “Sorry, but I can’t help it. Even wounded, you’re impressive.”

Her back teeth clenched. “That’s a joke, right?”

He lowered his hands—and his eyes. Taking her in from breasts to thighs, he said roughly, “No.” He looked up at her face. “It can be frustrating as hell, but overall I like it that you’re not the average woman.”

She absolutely could not have this conversation right now. “Fine. Suit yourself.” She pointed to a cabinet. “The cat food is in there. Open him up a can, but put it on a big plate by his water fountain.”

Dash looked at the gurgling water bowl. “That makes enough noise for a...” Realization dawned. “A blind cat to find.”

She turned away from his admiration. “I need a shower.”

“No.”

Disbelieving, she stared at him.

“You aren’t supposed to get the splint wet.”

Here we go again . “But I can’t sleep with blood in my hair.”

He stepped up behind her. “It’s not as bad now that the nurse cleaned you up, but...” He touched his fingertips to her short hair, skimmed those rasping fingertips down her throat to her shoulder. “How about I run a bath for you?”

“I can’t wash my hair in the bath.”

“You’ll ruin the splint in the shower, and you’re not supposed to get the stitches wet.”

“I’ll take the splint off.”

“No.” He quickly amended that with, “Be reasonable. You could end up back at the hospital. Three days, the doc said. Wear it three days and then maybe they’ll move you into a brace.”

It annoyed her that he was right. “Oliver is impatiently waiting to be fed.”

She felt Dash’s hesitation, then he said, “Sorry, boy.”

Already missing the heat of his body, Margo turned to watch as he took a can out of the cabinet and peeled off the lid.

He glanced her way. “If you take a bath, I could wash your hair.”

“In your dreams.”

Ollie smelled the food and began an impatient meow, winding in and around her legs.

“I have dreamed about it. At least the part where you’re naked and wet.”

Her breath strangled in her chest. She was already on the ragged edge. She didn’t need Dash adding to her confusion.

As if he hadn’t just said something so outrageous, Dash opened three cabinets before finding the plates. He dumped out the food and put it down for the cat. “C’mon, Ollie. Here you go, kitty.”

Margo stood there, the last of her resources quickly fading. “If you think for even one second that I’d—”

“Margo.” Dash watched Ollie dig in, then straightened again to face her. “I take it you haven’t looked in a mirror lately, have you? You’re sort of impersonating the walking dead.”

She knew that. The gash on her head had only required five stitches to keep it from scarring. It had swollen like a goose egg, then settled to a mere bump that caused purple, blue and green bruising over half her forehead. Her makeup was only partially washed off and the dried blood had her short hair sticking out in odd little clumpy curls.

A yawn took her by surprise, and even that—stretching her mouth wide—hurt like the devil. The yawn ended in a broken groan and she muttered, “Feel a little like the walking dead, too.”

Sympathy softened his voice. “I can only imagine. But you know, blood and bruises and lusty groans of pain have a way of discouraging a guy from making a play.”

“I thought you said I was impressive.”

“You’re still standing, right? Most people would be curled up and crying.”

Trying for a sneer, she asked, “You?”

“I’m getting there.” His warm smile curled her toes. “It’s past time for your pain meds.” He dug the bottle out of his pocket and shook out a pill. “Water?”

She hesitated for far too long before nodding. “Thanks.” With any luck the pain medicine would numb her enough to let her sleep after she got clean.

He filled a glass and carried it to her. After she’d swallowed the pill, he tipped up her chin. “If it makes you feel any better, I promise you don’t have anything I haven’t already seen.”

She was so worn out, she had a feeling she’d pass out the second she got settled somewhere. Which probably meant a shower really wasn’t a great idea. “Fine. Run the bath if you want, then stay out of my way until I’m done.”

“Spoilsport.” He started down her hall, peeking into each room, studying her spare bedroom, then her home office, until he finally found the right one. “A shallow bath. And I’ll be right outside the door waiting...just in case you change your mind.”

DASH LEANED AGAINST the wall outside the bathroom, listening to the occasional ripple of water. In his mind, he could almost see her, so strong and brave and independent.

But equally small and soft and so badly hurt.

He pressed the heels of his hands to his gritty eyes, trying to fight off the exhaustion. Now that he had her back in her own home, safe and sound, the adrenaline dump left him weary. “You okay in there?”

“I won’t melt in warm water, if that’s what you mean.”

“You’re not getting the splint wet, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

Hearing the strain in her voice, he wanted to curse. She’d taken clean clothes in with her, but he had no idea how she would manage to get dressed. The doctor claimed her arm would cause considerable pain for at least a few days.

Struggling in and out of the tub, washing her hair, soaping up her body...

Damn, but the visuals were killing him.