by Jessie Evans
Reece’s head spun, but this time it had nothing to do with a dizzy spell. It was this man who pressed her back into the couch cushions, bringing her body to life as their tongues sparred and his hands trailed up the outside of her thighs. It was the fresh air and leather smell of him and his salty, masculine taste and the assured way he cupped her breast through her sweater and kneaded her warm flesh in his hand.
Grayson touched her like she belonged to him and, for one weak moment, that’s all she wanted. She wanted to be beneath his strong body with her arms pinned above her head and his cock stroking inside her the way his tongue stroked her mouth. She wanted to know that fighting was pointless and resistance futile and give herself up to the supernova of chemistry that flared between them.
Reece had bedded her share of beautiful men, but never had she experienced anything like the charge that rocketed through her every time she touched Grayson Parker. It was enough to make a woman with her head firmly on her shoulders lose her ability to reason, let alone a woman with a skull fracture, muddied thoughts, and deeply buried hurt spilling out from the cracks in her damaged armor.
If fate hadn’t put a hand in, Reece would have had Grayson naked on her parents’ couch in minutes, riding him until they were both too tuckered out to move a muscle. She was already reaching for the close of his jeans, moaning as her fingers brushed over the hot, hard ridge straining his zipper, when another dizzy spell hit.
This time, it was powerful enough to make her skin break out in a panicked sweat and her entire body flinch like she’d just woken from one of her falling dreams. Her stomach clenched and acid burned a fiery trail up her throat. She had exactly two seconds to spare between pushing Grayson away and turning her head to throw up on her mother’s antique side table.
CHAPTER FOUR
Grayson
Grayson sat beside Reece’s bed in the tiny Lonesome Point hospital emergency room, waiting for the doctor to review the CT scan results. Soon they should know if it was the mix of pain pills and alcohol that had combined to make Reece’s dizzy spells worse of if the dura around her brain had torn and cerebrospinal fluid was leaking into her skull. If it was the second scenario, she might need surgery, and the closest hospital with a qualified neurosurgeon was hours away.
Reece had drifted off to sleep not long after the scan, clearly exhausted by the toll her injuries were taking on her body. Grayson sat vigil over her still form, sorting out who to call to take care of things at the ranch and watch over Layla if he had to drive Reece to the hospital in San Antonio. He knew his sister would think he was crazy for dropping everything to take care of a woman he barely knew, but that’s not the way it felt when he was with Reece.
There was just something about her…
He’d never felt so powerfully drawn to a woman or so immediately comfortable with a relative stranger. In her haunted blue eyes, he saw a reflection of his own weariness with life’s bullshit. But where he had resigned himself to lowering his expectations and muddling through, he could tell Reece was still a long way from making her peace with the world. Whatever had happened between her and his father, and in all the years since then, had combined to cause this woman more than her fair share of pain.
She’d made it clear a hero on a white horse was the last thing she wanted, but sometimes what we want and what we need are two different things.
All Grayson knew was that he felt compelled to look out for Reece Hearst in a way that was very different than the protective feelings he had toward his sister. He wanted to be the shoulder Reece could lean on, to be there when she felt safe enough to lower her guard, and to make love to her until they both remembered that there were parts of being human so wonderful they almost made up for all the bullshit.
“You’re still here?” Reece asked in a sleep rough voice, her legs shifting beneath the thin blanket. “I thought only family members were allowed to stay in the rooms with patients.”
“The nurses didn’t say anything.” Grayson reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and held it out to her. “And I didn’t want to leave until you found out whether or not you’re going to need surgery. How are you feeling?”
“Better.” Reece took the cup and sipped at the water, watching him over the rim as she drained the glass of everything but ice. “Thanks for bringing me in. Sorry to wreck your holiday.”
Grayson shrugged. “I didn’t have any big Christmas plans. It’s not my favorite holiday.”
“Me either,” she said, pushing into a seated position on the bed. “I usually spend the end of December in Vegas, getting up to no good.”
“Not you,” Grayson said in a dry tone that earned him a crooked smile.
Damn, she was a heartbreaker when she smiled. Her mischievous grin transformed her angelic features into something more complicated, a fascinating mix of sweet and sultry that made her even more irresistible.
“I just can’t stand the hypocrisy of it,” she said, setting her glass back on the table. “Screw the season for miracles and the most wonderful time of the year crap. Either get along all the time or keep fighting through the holidays. I mean, I talk to my dad on the phone at Christmas, but I don’t pretend to be best buddies with the man, if you know what I’m saying.”
“So what’s up with you and your dad? He seems like a solid guy.”
“Yeah well, you don’t know him very well,” Reece said, shadows darkening her eyes. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”
He nodded. “You have a lot of things you don’t like to talk about.”
“And you’re awfully full of questions.” Reece wrinkled her nose. “I like you better when there’s less talk and more action.”
Grayson’s pulse leaped at the memory of Reece’s response to his kiss on her parents’ couch and the perfect way her breast had filled his hand.
“But don’t get any ideas,” she said, holding up a palm between them, proving his thoughts were showing on his face. “I need to brush my teeth at least a hundred times before I get close to another human being.”
Grayson held her gaze. “Then I get to kiss you again?”
Reece took a breath and let it out with a shake of her head. “I don’t know. Maybe. If I don’t need brain surgery. Though I probably do or I wouldn’t even be considering it.”
His lips twisted. “You know how to flatter a man.”
Reece leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. “I don’t need to flatter you. You still want to kiss me after watching me lose my breakfast. There’s clearly something wrong with you.” She shot him a suspicious glare so cute he couldn’t help but laugh.
“And he proves my point again,” she said flatly. “Just FYI, insults don’t make most men laugh.”
“I’m not most men.” He met her glare with a challenging look of his own, not missing the way her next exhalation feathered out between her lips more erratically than the one before.
He affected her the same way she affected him and he couldn’t wait to get her responsive little body naked in his bed. He’d barely known Reece a day, but he already had a good idea how to push her buttons in and out of the bedroom. He also had a good idea that his next words were going to go over like a fart in church, but that wasn’t going to stop him from saying them.
“And just so you know, if you need the surgery, I’m planning to drive you to San Antonio and stay with you at the hospital.” He cut her off before she could protest. “It’s happening. Don’t argue. I can get friends to cover for me at the ranch while I’m gone. You shouldn’t be alone for something like that.”
“I’m used to being alone,” she said, crossing her arms more tightly. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“This may be hard for you to believe, but I like you Shortstack,” he said with a smile. “Even if you are the orneriest little thing I’ve met in a long time.”
“You hardly know me,” she said softly, a hint of vulnerability in her voice for the first time since she’
d swaggered into the bar last night.
“That’s true.” He reached out, brushing her tangled curls over her shoulder and letting his fingers linger on the warm skin at the back of her neck. “But I know enough to be positive I want to know you better.”
She looked up, big blue eyes searching his like she was hunting for the fly in the ointment. But before she could speak, the young doctor who’d ordered the CT scan knocked on the half-open door and stepped into the room.
“Okay Miss Hearst. So the good news is that the membrane isn’t torn,” he said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose as he surveyed the notes on his clipboard. “The bad news is that you have what looks like new swelling in the region near the injury. Without seeing your old scans, I can’t be sure how much worse things have gotten since you left Nevada, but either way you need to start taking better care of yourself. That means reducing the amount of stress you’re putting on your body. So no overnight trips on buses, no two mile runs through the woods, and no mixing alcohol with your pain meds.”
“Yeah,” Reece said, visibly bristling at the doctor’s condescending tone. “I’d gathered that none of that was a good idea. Thanks.”
“I want you back for another scan this time next week so we can compare the results and see if there’s been any improvement,” the doctor continued, unfazed by Reece’s sarcasm. “In the meantime, if you experience a repeat of the severe dizziness from this morning, get here as fast as you can. And be aware that if the swelling continues to increase you could be at risk of impaired cognition, seizures, or loss of consciousness.”
“So she shouldn’t be alone right now,” Grayson said, ignoring the glare Reece shot his way.
“That’s preferable,” the younger man said, tucking Reece’s chart beneath his arm. “In cases like this it’s best to have a friend or family member nearby ready to step in if the situation deteriorates.”
“What about a fuck buddy?” Reece jabbed her thumb in Grayson’s direction, sending a flush of red creeping up the doctor’s neck. “Because if this one over here hangs around, I have a feeling that’s what we’ll be getting up to. Is that safe for me in my delicate condition, doc?”
Grayson glanced over to see Reece batting her eyelashes at the doctor, obviously enjoying how uncomfortable she was making this kid who looked like he was fresh out of med school.
“That’s um…” The doctor broke off, clearing his throat. “Those kinds of activities should be fine. As long as they’re not too unusually…vigorous.”
“Did you hear that Gray?” Reece asked, reaching out to pat his arm. “You’re going to have to ease up on the spanking and handcuffs for a while, sugar. Think you can do that?”
Grayson nodded soberly. “I can try, baby doll.”
Reece snorted with laughter but covered it with a cough. “All right, doc. Anything else I need to know? Or can I blow this pop stand?”
“No that’s all, just take care of yourself.” He backed toward the door, looking eager to make his getaway. “And have a Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas!” Reece called after him, laughter in her voice. As soon as the door closed behind him, she slapped Grayson’s leg. “You’re so bad.”
“You started it,” he said, barely resisting the urge to pull her into his arms. “I was just playing along. Besides, that’s good information to have. Now I know we need to hold off on the handcuffs until you’re better.”
Reece lifted a thin brow. “Handcuffs don’t do it for me, Broody.”
“Then you haven’t been with someone who knows what he’s doing with them, Shortstack,” Grayson said, leaning in to kiss her forehead before he whispered. “When you’re cleared for strenuous exercise, I’ll show you how much fun they can be.”
Reece stiffened and pulled away. “I’m only here for nine days, Grayson. Then I’m out of here, so don’t go getting any ideas.”
“I’ve never had an idea in my life,” he said, but the truth was he had plenty of ideas, including a plan to make sure Reece’s family knew how seriously she was injured before they came home.
She clearly had a beef with her dad, but the Dale Hearst that Grayson knew seemed like a good man. At the very least, he wouldn’t want his daughter to put her life in danger hopping a bus back to Vegas when there was more than enough room for her to stay at the Hearst ranch until she was feeling better. And Grayson liked the idea of Reece sticking around for a while. There were other beautiful women in Lonesome Point, but none who made his blood rush with a sideways look or made him smile more in a day than he had in the past two years combined.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Grayson stood, stretching his arms over his head. “I hate hospitals.”
“Me too.” Reece tossed off the covers and swung her sock feet over the edge of the bed, fetching her boots from underneath the chair and sitting to pull them on.
“What do you say we stop by your parents’ house first?” Grayson said, making a mental note to call and check on Layla as soon as they stepped outside. “We can get whatever you need to spend the night then grab dinner at the hotel before heading back to my place.”
Reece looked up, her eyebrows raised. “Who said I was spending the night at your place?”
Grayson frowned. “The doctor. He said you shouldn’t be alone.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m spending the night at your place,” Reece said, standing and plucking her coat from the back of the chair. “I’m staying at my parents’ house and I don’t need a babysitter. I’m fine.”
“You looked fine when I showed up today,” Grayson said in a wry tone.
Reece shrugged her coat on with a roll of her shoulders. “I was working through it. And if I’d needed to, I was perfectly capable of calling 911. I get great cell reception at the ranch and my fingers aren’t broken.”
“You can’t call 911 if you’re unconscious,” Grayson said, his scowl deepening when Reece’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “What part of cognitive impairment and loss of consciousness don’t you understand?”
“What part of I’m not looking for saving or a steady date or even a long term fling don’t you understand?” She tried to charge around him, but Grayson stepped into her path.
“You were the one who was making fuck buddy jokes, not me,” he said, pinning her with a hard look. “And I’m not looking to save anyone. I just want to help you and make sure you’re okay. But I also have my sister to look after. I can’t leave her alone overnight or I would come stay with you at your place.”
“Wow, you really are a piece of work,” Reece said, continuing in an overblown Southern belle accent. “Grayson Parker, single-handedly protecting the helpless, trembling females of Lonesome Point. Heavens to Betsy, how did we survive all those years you were gone fighting the Yankees?”
“It’s not like that,” Grayson said, anger transforming his voice into a rumble that vibrated through his chest.
“Well, I don’t know about your sister, but I’m capable of protecting myself,” Reece said, dropping the accent as she propped her hands on her hips. “I also know where my daddy keeps his shotguns. So keep that in mind the next time you trespass on my parents’ property.”
Grayson’s eyebrows snapped together. “How did we go from joking about handcuffs to you threatening to shoot me? What the hell, Reece?”
“It wasn’t a threat, it was a promise,” she snapped, her voice rising. “Now if you’ll get out of my way, I’ll start looking for another way home.”
Grayson captured her elbow and held tight. “You don’t have to do this,” he said in a softer voice. “I get it, okay. You’re afraid to depend on anyone so you’re pushing me away. But I’m not one of the bad guys. I just want to help.”
Reece’s jaw clenched. “So now you’re a psychiatrist, too. Are there any services you don’t provide, Mr. Parker?”
Grayson held her gaze and watched a battle play out behind her eyes. He could tell that part of her wanted to drop the tough girl act and
accept the help she knew she needed, but her fight-or-flight defense mechanism was too deeply ingrained. There was a time when he’d been the same way, when nothing anyone could have said would have convinced him to drop his guard.
When he’d returned from his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, he’d still mentally been in hell for months afterward. Even now, with months of therapy under his belt and five years in a non-deployable guard unit to distance him from the nightmarish things he’d seen on active duty, he still thought the world was full of monsters. But for some reason it was important to him to prove to Reece that he wasn’t one of them.
“I’ve been there, that’s all,” he said, gentling his grip on her arm. “When I came back from my last deployment, I was pretty messed up. I know what it’s like to be scared and angry and want to push everyone away. It was hard as hell for me to learn to trust anyone. But sometimes you have to trust the person who’s holding out a hand to help, even if he isn’t the person you expected to be there. There are times when you can’t handle the shit life throws at you without a friend.”
“Then I’ll be sure to call one,” Reece said in a strained voice. “As soon as you let go of my arm.”
With a sigh, Grayson released her. “Fine. But call me if you need me. I programmed my number into your cell while you were sleeping.”
Reece started out of the room but paused at the door, turning back with a guarded look on her face. “Don’t count on that phone call, but if you promised my dad you’d look after the horses, I’ll stay out of the barn while you’re working. I won’t be able to ride for a while and they need exercise.”
