Unsure, Kai hesitated at the screen door. The evening sky was cloudy and it looked as if it might rain. Off in the distance, she could hear thunder rolling somewhere north of them. The air smelled of rain coming their way. Stepping out, she looked to the left and saw Gil slowly sitting down on the swing. Now she saw the pain in his face since he wasn’t inside where he had to hide it. She remembered that afternoon he’d appeared in her barracks, so devastated and vulnerable. He had been shaken, honest and didn’t avoid how he felt.
“Could you use some company?” she asked, hesitating halfway to the swing. She saw Gil’s head come up, as if he weren’t aware of her at all. The pain was probably so great he was focused on that.
“Sure. Come sit down.”
She gave him a worried look as she drew near. Kai could see the Levi’s material around his outer right thigh was pulled taut from the swelling of the leg. Sitting down a foot away from him, her lips thinned. “That looks pretty bad, Gil. Are you sure you shouldn’t have it seen by a doctor?” The urge to reach out, touch him, nearly drove her to do it. Every time she got near Gil, she seemed to stop thinking and all she wanted to do was touch him, kiss him, hold him and have him hold her. The need never went away in her.
He grimaced and slowly moved the injured leg and stretched it out. That relieved some of the pressure and pain. “Cass is the best. He said I had a hematoma. That’s not a regular bruise. The bull’s horn broke a more major vein in my leg somewhere and it’s swollen because of the amount of blood gathering in there. It has nowhere to go but outward.” Gil gestured to the huge knot of swelling.
Without thinking, Kai lightly grazed the area and it sent pleasant shocks up through her fingers. She needed to touch Gil. “This looks really bad.” Kai felt him tense when she unexpectedly touched him. Looking up, she could see dullness in his blue eyes. She knew that look. She’d seen it the first day he’d come to see her. Pain. A lot of it. Only then, it was emotional pain. This was physical pain. But she also saw something else and recognized it instantly: that look of a hunter wanting her in every possible way.
“I need to get some ice on it and reduce some of the swelling,” he muttered, putting his hand across the back of the swing. “Stop being a worrywart.”
She smiled a little unsurely, meeting his gaze. She felt so tentative with Gil. He’d reacted powerfully to her grazing fingertips. Kai hadn’t meant to do it, but she felt they were like two magnets being drawn together no matter what she tried to do to fight the attraction. Her heart stretched toward him. She could almost feel it. Right now, Gil was vulnerable with her. He didn’t try to put his game face on as he had during dinner. It made the need for him that much deeper, haunting her, the past overlaying the present.
“Can you get hurt by a hematoma?” she wondered, forcing her hands to stay on her knees.
“Yes, I suppose you can,” he groused. “You worry too much, Kai. I’ll be fine.”
Wryly she gave him a glance. “Said the operator to the world around him. You Delta boys always downplayed your physical injuries to everyone.”
Shrugging, he said, “All true. But I’ll be fine, so wipe that frown off your brow.” He reached out, moving his thumb gently across her forehead.
For a second, Kai froze. His touch, the roughened quality of his thumb smoothing her brow, sent shock waves of pleasure and hunger down through her. She swallowed convulsively, aching to kiss him. She held his blue gaze, feeling awash in arousal as he removed his thumb. Her skin skittered with licks of fire spreading outward, making Kai want to touch Gil much more. All over.
In that moment, something fell into place for Kai. Whatever the connection between them, it had never died. And now, so many years later, it was burning bright and strongly between them once more. Her heart was wide-open to Gil, crying out for his caress. How badly Kai wanted to kiss this man. Her lips tingled in memory of his mouth upon hers.
“Can I get you a bag of ice to put on it?” she wondered, feeling too drawn to Gil right now. She was confused by the attraction between them. Nothing was ever clear in their relationship.
“No, don’t bother.” Gil’s face softened a little. “You always were a little mother to everyone, Kai. Really, I’ll be fine.”
Kai stood. “No, I’m getting some. I’ll be right back.”
*
GIL STARTED TO protest but swallowed it because he saw the set of Kai’s jaw. He knew what that meant. God, his leg was throbbing, but so was his erection that pressed insistently against his zipper. The woman inflamed him and Gil couldn’t do anything about it. He wanted to do something. He wanted to take Kai to bed and love the hell out of her. It seemed like an impossible dream to Gil. Yet, tonight, he could tell she was genuinely concerned about him. Where had that come from? Had they somehow buried the hatchet between them? Was she trying to start all over with him? Leave the past where it was because it could never be changed?
Cursing softly, he hadn’t meant to reach out and graze Kai’s skin. But dammit, when her fingers had barely brushed his swollen leg, an ache ten times more powerful entered his heart and then tangled his lower body. Gil hadn’t ever expected Kai to show him this kind of care. Her anger and hurt from the past had fueled their relationship up until now. His brows drew downward as he tried to sort out why. Had his brush with the bull gone beyond her anger toward him? Was he seeing a deeper part of her? Dragging in a ragged breath, Gil sat back, staring sightlessly off into the distance, feeling his way around that possibility. Kai’s reaction to his injury was real.
He didn’t have time to think any more about it because Kai returned with a gallon-sized ziplock plastic bag filled with ice cubes. She sat down near him and he could smell her womanly scent along with the fragrance of the orange-scented shampoo she’d probably used on her auburn hair. Gil saw real concern in her eyes.
“Can I gently place this on your leg?” she asked.
Gil couldn’t handle Kai touching him again. His erection would kill him if she did. Taking it out of her hands, he said, “I’ll do it. Thanks.” He settled it against his leg, holding it in place. Kai was worrying her lower lip. She always did that when she was troubled about something. Sam used to share her quirks with him when they were out in the field. Gil got to know a lot about her without seeing it for himself. Her hands were restless on her lap, as if she wanted to do something more. “Feels good. The ice, I mean.”
She nodded. “Good.”
Cass stepped out on the porch and sauntered toward them. “Hey, how’s that leg doing, Gil? I just had nurse Kai in the kitchen hunting up some ice.”
“It’s fine,” he grumbled, scowling.
Kai snorted. “Come here, Cass. Come and see for yourself. It looks awful. It’s so swollen.” She got up and gestured for him to sit down and examine Gil’s thigh.
Gil rolled his eyes.
Cass gave him a sour grin and sat down, removing the ice, moving his hand lightly over the area.
“Well?” Kai asked, looking over his shoulder. “Is something wrong? Shouldn’t Gil be going to the hospital?”
Gil was about to speak, barely getting his mouth open.
“Yeah, this doesn’t look good, Gil. It’s pretty swollen.” Cass looked up at him. “Let me call Jordana. She’s the ER doctor at the hospital. I don’t know if she’s on duty over there or not, so I’ll try and get her at home.”
“I’ll be fine,” Gil said, not wanting to go to a damned ER.
Cass stood up, placed the ice bag on his leg and pulled his cell from his pocket. He gestured for Kai to sit down with Gil. “Keep that bag of ice on it,” he told her.
“Jordana is Slade McPherson’s wife,” Gil said. He put his hand over the ice bag, making it clear he didn’t want her touching him. His jeans were stretched and his erection was throbbing right along with his leg, but for very different reasons.
“Yes,” Kai said, “everyone says she’s wonderful.” Anxiously, she tilted her head, listening to Cass talk to Jordana. He talked in medical
ese she couldn’t understand.
Cass turned and held the phone away from his ear. “Jordana wants to know if you’re experiencing any numbness above or below that swelling,” Cass said.
“Yeah, there’s numbness,” he muttered.
“Where?”
“I can’t feel anything between here and my knee.”
Kai gasped and jerked a look up at Gil. “And you didn’t say anything? Gil Hanford, you could be dying!”
“He’s not dying,” Cass said soothingly, relaying the information to Jordana.
Gil gave Kai a glance. “It’s all right.”
“I’m no doctor,” she said strongly, emotions coloring her voice, “but even I know numbness is not a good sign, Gil.” She glared at him. “You’re so damned stubborn! You just hold everything inside you! You should have at least told Cass this, never mind me,” she said, and jabbed a finger into her chest.
Gil reached out, his hand closing over her knotted hands in her lap. Her skin was cool to his touch. She was so small in comparison to him. Squeezing them, he rasped, “I’m not dying, so just relax, okay?” Gil didn’t want to release her hands. He saw the shock on her face by his move. Damn, but her skin was so soft beneath his hard, callused fingers.
Releasing her, he saw Kai’s cheeks flood pink. And damned if he didn’t see something else in her eyes. Longing. For him? No. That wasn’t possible. She was angry and hurt by him. His mind spun with the realization she liked him touching her. His heart exploded with new, intense yearning. Groaning inwardly, the pressure against his erection amped up. The woman could turn him from zero to sixty in a heartbeat.
Cass nodded and signed off the cell. Turning, he said, “Partner, I need to take you to the ER. Jordana thinks that the blood vessel that got broke by the bull has put too much blood into that area. It’s pressing up against a major nerve that goes all the way down to your heel. She’s gonna have to put a big needle in there and drain most of it off to get sensation back in your leg.”
“Hell,” Gil grumbled, glaring up at Cass. “Why can’t I just wait and see? Let me sleep on it. See how it is tomorrow morning.”
Cass grinned and tucked his cell away. “Because by tomorrow morning your leg will probably be numb all the way down to your toes. Remember? Blood congeals? And then it hardens to a degree and sits there waiting for the body to clear it over weeks or months of time. The larger the hematoma, Gil, the more blood has spread into the surrounding tissue.” He made a gesture for him to get up. “Come on, I’ll drive you to the ER and get this over with. Once she’s sucked out the blood, you will feel a helluva lot better than you do now.”
“I’m going with you,” Kai said, standing, glaring down at Gil, just daring him to say no.
Cass nodded. “Fine by me. I’ll go get the truck and bring it around. Can you tell everyone else what’s going on, Kai? Meet you guys here in about five minutes? Let’s roll.”
Gil cursed to himself, slowly standing. Putting pressure on that leg made the pain even worse, and he could no longer disguise it and had to limp a little. It hurt his pride.
Cass grinned and shook his head. “You’re one tough hombre, Hanford.” He took the steps, walking out toward the picket-fence gate.
Kai had disappeared inside. Unhappy, Gil hated to be made the center of attention. He limped down the stairs and out the gate, the bag of ice in his hand. Despite what was going on, he liked touching Kai’s hand. He’d seen the yearning in her widening gray eyes, swore he saw arousal in them. Could their battles with each other be over? Did he honestly have a chance to mend fences with her? Gil had never expected to see what he saw in her eyes just now. It threw him good, and his mind spun, looking for reasons, trying to understand the change in Kai.
He had no idea where Kai had been all day, but he’d had a gnawing worry in the back of his mind about her. Gil wasn’t about to ask her where she went, although he didn’t have a good feeling about it. That, he knew. It bothered him a hell of a lot to think she might have met a man and spent the day with him. Jealousy ate at him. He shouldn’t be jealous but, dammit, he was.
He saw the white ranch truck pull up in the driveway. The screen door opened and closed, and Gil turned to see it was Kai. She was genuinely worried, her slender brows drawn together. His heart opened and he was secretly glad that she was coming along. Maybe his injury was an opportunity in disguise. Maybe…
*
JORDANA MCPHERSON SMILED over at Gil, who sat on the gurney in the ER, the curtains drawn around his cubicle. “There, all done,” she said, pulling off her gloves and dropping them in a nearby receptacle. “How does it feel now?”
The nurse took a tray bearing the container of the blood she’d drawn off and the hypodermic needle she’d used to reach the area of the bleed.
“Better,” he admitted. Gil had had to climb out of his Levi’s earlier and Kai had excused herself and left the cubicle until the nurse had draped a paper over his lower legs, leaving an opening where Jordana could suck the blood out of the hematoma area. Kai had come back in when he’d called her. Cass had to almost cut the Levi’s to get it past the swelling on his thigh. Almost. Gil bore the pain to save his Levi’s.
Giving a brisk nod, Jordana viewed the area. “I think the bleed has clotted off, Gil. But I’d like you to hang around here another hour.” She gestured to the area. “Keep ice on it in the meantime?”
“What if the bleed has not clotted?” Kai asked the doctor, standing near the gurney and Gil’s shoulder. He was in a semisitting position.
“Well, that’s what we have to watch for,” Jordana told her. “If it hasn’t clotted, then we have a fairly major vein that is torn and can’t close itself off.”
Cass roused himself from leaning against the other side of the gurney at Gil’s other shoulder. “It means, more than likely, Jordana is going to have to put him in surgery to repair that vein because it can’t do it by itself. He’d be losing blood slowly over time, but the worst is that more blood pouring into that area means more pressure on that nerve again, which may continue to numb his leg.”
Kai nodded. “It doesn’t sound good.” She gave Gil a concerned look. He was pissed off and uncomfortable. He reminded her of a snarly grizzly bear who had just come out of hibernation. Gil had never liked people fussing over him. It just wasn’t an operator’s way of living. They worked hurt all the time and never complained.
Jordana patted Kai’s shoulder. “We’ll know in an hour. Why don’t you go with the nurse? She’ll get you a big bag of ice that you can lay across Gil’s leg?”
“Okay,” she said, following the blond-haired nurse out of the cubicle.
Jordana waited until Kai left. “Gil? I know it’s not lost on you about your injury. If I recall, you’re former Delta Force. Right?”
“Yes,” he muttered.
“If you’d have told Cass here about the swelling hours earlier, it might have helped.”
Gil cut Cass a dirty look. He was grinning, enjoying Jordana chewing his ass out. “I hear you, Doc.”
Patting his lower leg, Jordana shook her head, giving him a grin of her own. “Okay, tough guy, you get to sit here whether you like it or not until we see if your leg is going to swell up again.”
“Thanks,” he grumbled, trying to sound halfway grateful for her help.
Cass was chuckling, his hand against his mouth.
“Later, guys,” Jordana said, then pushed the curtain aside and disappeared.
“Well,” Cass murmured, grinning broadly, “that went well, didn’t it, Hanford?”
“Shut up.”
Snickering, Cass said, “I think I’m gonna make myself at home in the visitor’s lounge. I think you need Kai in here, not me. I’ll come back in an hour and check on you.” He lifted his hand and left.
“You do that,” Gil growled, unhappy. He had been alone for about five minutes when Kai slipped back into his cubicle, a huge ice pack in her hands. He promptly lost his growliness as he saw her face. She looked stres
sed and, worse, he saw what he thought was moisture in her eyes. Why? This wasn’t some life-and-death emergency. He wasn’t going to die. Why was she taking this incident so hard?
“Here,” she said, handing him the large ice pack. “The nurse said to just lay it on top of your leg.”
“Thanks,” he said, putting it on the area. He watched her fret for a moment, restless and distracted. “Are you okay?” he demanded. Gil wanted to grab her by the upper arm and pull her over to his gurney. She looked distraught.
“Uh…yes, I’m okay. Just—” Kai opened her hands “—upset, I guess. That’s all.”
Gently, Gil said, “Come over here.” He held out his hand toward her. He didn’t think for a moment she’d take it, but that at least she’d come closer to him. Wanting to hold her because he suddenly remembered that expression on her face. Kai had looked devastated like this after Sam had been killed. He didn’t understand why she was reacting so violently to his injury. It was a pain-in-the-ass kind of injury, nothing to write home about, but she was taking this too hard. Or maybe to heart?
Kai turned, stared at his open hand. She wrapped her arms around herself and moved about a foot away from Gil. “What?”
Dropping his hand, he searched her moist gray eyes. “Look,” he began, keeping is voice low and calm, “I’m really all right.” He gestured to his leg where the ice pack lay on top of it. “I’ve been hit and been wounded a number of times a lot worse, Kai.” She wouldn’t look at him, and he saw her lower lip tremble for a second. Dammit. Forcing himself not to open his arms and haul Kai against him, he rasped, “Why the tears? There’s nothing to cry over, Kai.”
She sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes, giving him an embarrassed look. “Sorry. It’s just that…well…it just brings back a lot of memories…”
Her voice was riddled with emotion. Gil gritted his teeth for a moment, making the connection. “When Sam died?”
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