Noah grabbed Kristina by the shoulders and hauled her back as an asshole left turner careened by, yelling at them out his window. The car had passed so close that Noah didn’t know how it’d missed her.

“Oh, my God,” Kristina said in a breathless, shaky voice. She turned the rest of the way into his chest, and her being against him was the only thing that kept him from barreling down the street after the sonofabitch. “He would’ve run me over if it weren’t for you.”

Heat shot through Noah’s veins, equal parts adrenaline and rage. And damn his imperfect vision, because he hadn’t been able to catch the license plate. But Kristina was all that mattered.

“Come on,” he said, keeping her tucked tight against his chest and guiding her the rest of the way across. Her pulse was racing so hard he could feel it beating beneath her warm skin.

“You all okay?” an older woman asked.

Noah scanned around them enough to see that more than a few people had witnessed what’d happened. He nodded to the lady. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you for asking.” She gave them a worried smile and continued down the sidewalk.

“I’m okay,” Kristina said, her voice shaky.

“I know, but come over here for a minute,” he said. “I’ve got you.” He pulled her behind the column of an office building, wanting to give her a little privacy to react to what’d just happened. No doubt her adrenaline was pumping as much as his, and maybe more, and he knew exactly how the let-down of all those chemicals could screw with your emotions.

She held up her right hand, the back of which was swelling and promised to bruise. A cut marred one busted knuckle. “We match now,” she said in a strained voice.

“Fuck,” Noah said, seething. “Fuck. I didn’t realize he clipped you. Can you make a fist?”

Hand visibly shaking, she curled her fingers and hissed. “Yeah. It hurts, but I think I can. Can you just…would you just…hold me?”

She didn’t have to ask, because just then, he wanted nothing more.

Careful of her hand, Noah hugged her tight against his chest and breathed in her trademark vanilla cream scent. Goddamn that asshole. Fantasies ran through his mind. Of seeing that car again. Pulling the sack of shit out through his window. Introducing the guy’s head to the front grill to see how he liked it. Repeatedly.

“I’m okay,” Kristina whispered after a few minutes. “Just shaking. I’ll be okay.”

“Of course you will. Just take a minute, then we’ll get you cleaned up.” Truth be told, Noah wasn’t in any rush for her to move. Because that bullshit had rattled him. Five years in the military had taught him that it was always worse to see a buddy hurt or even in harm’s way than to find yourself there. And the same had been true just then. This could’ve been so much worse…

No. He wasn’t even letting himself imagine.

After a long moment, she lifted her head and looked up at him with wet eyelashes that just about broke his fucking heart. “If you hadn’t pulled me out of the way, I would’ve really been hurt.”

Noah thumbed away the wetness below her eyes. “I didn’t react fast enough,” he said, gently cupping her hand where it rested on his chest. Hell, if the car had come at them from the left side, he might not have reacted at all. A thought that did absolutely nothing to help the anger and frustration roaring through him.

“Stop that. You did too.” Her expression was earnest and so damn vulnerable.

Heaving a breath, Noah eyed the bruises blooming on her knuckles. “We should take you to the ER.”

“What? No way. I don’t need all that. It’s just some bruises.” She blinked the tears away, visibly pulling herself together as he watched.

“Kristina—”

“Noah, really. I’d go if I thought I needed to. Would you go?” She arched a brow.

He thought about lying, but she knew the truth. “Okay, but I’m a stubborn asshole.”

Her laughter melted away some of the anger inside of him. “Can I quote you on that?” She nudged him.

He sighed, but he wasn’t feeling playful about her having gotten hurt. “Fine, but we’re at least getting you some ice,” Noah said as he slipped the beat-up fingers of his right hand into the uninjured fingers on her left. Just a few doors down the street, they ducked into a fast-food restaurant. At the counter, Noah pointed to Kristina’s hand and said, “My friend was just hit by a car. Would you be able to give us a bag of ice?”

Overhearing his question, an older man came up to the counter from the back of the restaurant. “I’m the manager here, and I’m happy to help. Do you need some bandages? I have a first-aid kit.”

Noah nodded. “We’d really appreciate that.” He squeezed Kristina’s hand, not caring at all about the ache doing so set off in his own.

The man led them to a tiny office with a desk, file cabinet, and two chairs. He pulled the red and white kit out of a drawer and opened it on the desk. “I’ll go get some ice.”

“Thank you,” Kristina said. She blew out a still-shaky breath and sank into a chair.

Noah sorted through the kit and pulled out an antiseptic wipe, some antibiotic ointment, and a few bandages that looked like they might be the right size. “This might sting a little,” he said, holding the wipe over her hand.

“It’s okay,” she said.

Nodding, he wiped at the bloody cut on her knuckle. A flash of the gunshot wound through Kendrick’s hand. Noah frowned and blinked the image away. When that cut was clean, he moved to a smaller one he hadn’t seen on the outside of her pinkie. A little trickle blood lined her whole finger. Stein’s severed leg, the result of a landmine.

Noah gritted his teeth. What the hell? Now the simple sight of a little blood was gonna fuck with his head? “You okay?” he bit out more harshly than he intended.

“Yeah,” she said. “Are you?”

“I’m pissed off.” He heaved a breath and worked to box up his bullshit.

“Me, too. I haven’t had my Ben & Jerry’s yet. It’s a travesty of justice to get between a woman and her chocolate.”

Noah smirked at her and applied the ointment, though talking seemed to have blocked out the surfacing of anymore memories. And damn if he didn’t get the feeling that she was trying to make him feel better.

The manager returned with the ice and settled the bag on the desk. “Can I get you anything else? Should I call an ambulance?”

“No. Thank you, sir,” Kristina said. “I think it’s just bruised, but I’ll keep an eye on it. I really appreciate your helping me, though.”

“Of course. With all the pedestrians, you’d think people would drive more carefully down here,” he said, shaking his head and watching Noah over his shoulder. The man was perfectly harmless and obviously a good person, but Noah’s instincts did not love the guy hovering on his six. At all.

“Do you have a business card?” Kristina asked as Noah wrapped bandages around her hand. “I’d like to send a letter of appreciation.”

The man pulled a card from his wallet. “I appreciate the thought, miss, but that really isn’t necessary.”

“Not everyone would’ve been this kind, Mr. Johnson,” she said, glancing at the card.

He gave a nod. “Just leave the kit here when you’re done. I’ll put it away later.” He left again.

“All done,” Noah said. He gently applied tape to hold the bandage in place, but with the way the back of her hand was swelling, there wasn’t any safe place to press. Sonofabitch. He couldn’t believe this had happened to her. And on his watch.

“You’re taking really good care of me, Noah. Thank you.”

“I will always take care of you,” he bit out. And then he realized what he said, and just how vehemently he’d said it. And damn if it hadn’t sounded a whole lot more than friendly. He chanced a glance at Kristina, and it was clear that she’d registered something in his tone, too. He threw away the trash and sat against the edge of the desk. “Why don’t you sit with the ice for a few minutes?”

Kristina rose and stood right in front of him, her pretty eyes even with his given how he was leaning. “I don’t need to sit,” she said in a low voice, her gaze boring into his.

“Well, I need you to sit. So sit.”

Her eyebrow went up. Just the one.

Under other circumstances it might’ve made him laugh. Could she ever just fucking listen to him? But he was wound so tight over witnessing her getting hurt, over the idea that it could’ve been so much worse, over seeing her spilled blood, that it was all he could do not to redecorate Mr. Johnson’s office along the lines of his shower. He was nearly vibrating with pent-up frustration.

And now Kristina was boxing him in, observing him too closely, not giving him an out.

“Here’s the part where I’m gonna say ‘thank you,’ and you’re going to say ‘you’re welcome.’ Ready? Thank you for protecting me and taking care of me, Noah.” Her expression was expectant, and not a little amused.

Something about her playfulness wound him a notch tighter. Because he wasn’t playing. His gaze dropped from her eyes to her full pink lips, and desire sucker-punched him so hard he nearly gasped. “Does your mouth hurt?” he rasped.

“Why would my—”

Noah was on her in a flash. Hand cupping the side of her face, arm hauling her tight up against him, mouth claiming hers on a deep, needful, soul-healing kiss. Kristina’s muscles braced in surprise, but then she melted against him, going soft and pliant against all his hardness. And he was hard. So hard, so on edge, so in need of release, that he could’ve spun her around, lifted her onto the desk, and buried himself deep right here and right now.

He needed to be more gentle with her, but the need roaring through him wouldn’t allow him to slow down or back off. And her eager responsiveness didn’t help, either.

Her good hand fisted in his hair, her mouth sucked maddeningly at his tongue, and her body writhed against his erection. And goddamn the noises she was making, because the desperate moans and little mewls of need were hot as fuck, every one stroking his cock and making him harder.

Instinct told Noah that Kristina wouldn’t hinder him playing out his little fantasy on the desk.

Except she was hurt. And they were in a fucking sub shop. Annnd, he couldn’t forget about what was behind door number three—they were supposed to be Just. Friends.

“Shit,” he rasped. “I did it again.”

She grasped at his face. “Yes, thank you for that, too. Keep doing it.” Kristina went in for another kiss. This time, her tongue penetrated him, like she wanted to fight him for control. And hell if that didn’t set off all kinds of heat inside him.

He flipped them around and pinned her to the desk, nearly leaning her backwards over it. The position brought his hard-on flush with that sweet, hot spot between her legs. She cried out and tried to grind against him, but his weight and her skirt kept her pinned tight.

Hurt. Sub shop. Friends.

“Shit, wait.” He stepped back, putting space between them. Because he didn’t think he’d have the strength to resist a third time. Especially when she stared at him with such abject fucking need, her cheeks flush with desire, her hair mussed from his hands, her luscious breasts heaving under that clingy V-neck top. “You’re hurt.”

“And?” Kristina asked.

Noah glared. “Kristina, I’m kinda on the edge here, if you can’t tell.”

She slipped up onto the desk and spread her legs, just the little bit the skirt allowed.

But it was so much like his fucking fantasy that he had to close his eyes. “Get. Down.”

“Noah—”

“Please,” he rasped.

Her heels clicked against the floor.

Noah chanced a glance. Back on her feet again. “Grab your ice and let’s go. Fucking sub shop.” He left out the door before he changed his mind.

Out on the street, the sun still shined over the summer evening. Kristina sighed and started back the way they came.

“Where are you going?” Noah asked.

“Oh,” Kristina said, turning. “Um, I figured home?”

Home had privacy. Home had a bed. Home seemed…very, very bad right now. “Ice cream’s this way,” he said, pointing in the other direction. “Unless your hand hurts too much?”

“Pfft,” she said, rolling her eyes. “On my death bed, I will want chocolate in any and every form. Remember that.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. “Don’t joke about that right now. So, you still game or what?” he asked, her attempt at humor not helping him unwind. Not one bit.

“I guess,” she said, eyeballing him like she could see all the things he thought but didn’t say. “Just didn’t think you would be.”

Noah came close, and leaned down so he could meet her eye to eye. “You want chocolate. I want to give you what you want. Simple as.”

The words hung there, and Kristina blinked up at him as innocently as she could. Because she definitely had wants. And, right or wrong, they didn’t involve anyone named Ben or Jerry. “Anything I wan—”

“I swear to God, Kristina, if you finish that sentence…” He planted his hands on his hips and glared.

She was pretty sure she was supposed to be intimidated right now. Except, all his aggressiveness was doing funny things to her. She’d never seen Noah like this before, and it was making her want to challenge him. Making her want him to lose control. Making her yearn for him to come at her with all that pent-up angst.

Friends. Friends. We’re just friends.

Yeah. Friends whose kisses alone made her wet. Crap.

“Fine, get me ice cream,” she finally said, trying not to pout as she adjusted the ice against the back of her hand. Kristina couldn’t believe she’d been hit by that idiot. If Noah hadn’t been there…if he hadn’t seen what was happening and pulled her out of the way… She shook her head and peered under the ice. Around the bandages, her puffy skin was turning purple.

They started walking. “How’s it feeling?” Noah asked, his tone less intense than it’d been a minute ago.

“Probably a lot like yours did after you punched the wall,” she said. She peered up at him, eyebrow arched. Maybe she shouldn’t have gone there, but damnit, just how many things between them were going to be off the table? “Except you didn’t have me to take care of you after.”

“I’m glad you weren’t there,” he said, but then he took the sharp edge off the words by taking her good hand in his.

“I want to take care of you too, you know. That’s what friends do for each other,” she said, realizing she had her own pent-up frustration that needed venting. Not just of the sexual kind, either, though that was definitely there. Because, holy hell, the way Noah had claimed her in that office had been one of the most incredible moments of her life. Even now, her lips still tingled from his rough, demanding kisses. Kristina had been so lust-drunk that she would’ve welcomed Noah between her thighs right there on sweet Mr. Johnson’s desk.

But there was also her pent-up worry for Noah. Pent-up disappointment in all the times she’d been sure he was avoiding her. Pent-up concern that, even now, he was still holding her at a distance. Despite the fact that he was holding her hand.

Noah didn’t answer her, and they fell quiet as they walked down the hill to the bottom of King Street. The warmth of his big hand around hers offered a nice distraction from the throb of her other hand. The ice had helped, as would some Ibuprofen when she got home, though she was pretty sure the best pain reliever would be the one she couldn’t have—Noah finishing what he’d started. Twice, now. Because she hadn’t even been able to feel the pain in her hand when he’d been kissing her.

Kristina paused when they finally reached the Ben & Jerry’s store. “This bag is starting to leak everywhere. I’m gonna chuck it. I can put more on later if I need to.”

“I’ll take it,” Noah said. He retreated down the sidewalk to the nearest trash can, and Kristina tried really hard not to stare at his ass as he went. But the guy did all kinds of justice to a pair of jeans. And she was horny as hell after her second make-out session of the week with him. And even more confused.

Why did this keep happening? And would it really be such a problem if they let it go even further? Because it was clear there was something between them. Something more than what had ever been there before.

Inside, they got in line and stared up at the board of flavors. “What are you getting?” she asked.

“Cookie dough,” he said.

Kristina smiled up at him. “I think you’ve gotten that every time we’ve ever been here.”

He cocked a playful eyebrow, and it eased the strange tension between them. “Then why did you ask?”

She bumped into him and rolled her eyes. “Because maybe at some point you’ll want to try something new. Smart ass.”

The line moved, and Kristina moved with it. Standing right behind her, Noah said, “But what if I tried something new and didn’t like it as much? What if I tried something new and it messed up my old favorite? Because I couldn’t live without my old favorite.”

Kristina’s heart suddenly slammed against her breastbone.

There was no way Noah was talking about chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream right now. Was there? It sure as hell didn’t feel that way. She went to turn, but Noah planted his hands on her shoulders, keeping her facing forward. Facing away.

“Um,” she said, struggling to respond with all his muscled heat pressed against her back. “But trying something new doesn’t mean you have to give up your old favorite, does it? It would just give you something new to have in addition.”

What exactly was she advocating here? That they should explore the crazy sexual tension pinging between them and see where it led? That they should give in, just once, just to get it out of their system? Or that they give friends with benefits a try? This was all so unexpected that she honestly wasn’t sure.

“Can I help you?” the girl behind the counter asked, smiling at Kristina.

“Oh. Uh. Yes.” Kristina scanned the tubs of ice cream displayed in the case. “Can I please have a sugar cone with Chocolate Therapy and Hazed and Confused?” She gave a rueful chuckle as the girl worked on her cone. Those two ice creams summed up her state of mind pretty good just then.

“What’s so funny?” Noah asked.

“I think the ice cream’s talking to me,” Kristina said, finally peering over her shoulder to look at him. And Noah’s expression made her laugh. “Don’t worry, it’s a temporary condition.”

Noah ordered his cone, and then they were out on the street again. The sun hung lower in the sky now, stretching the shadows across the ground.

“I haven’t been down here in a long time,” Noah said. “Years.”

“Wanna walk over to the waterfront?” she asked. He nodded, and they crossed the street to the brick-paved promenade that fronted the Potomac River. The breeze off the water kicked up runaway strands of her hair. “For the record, holding an ice cream cone in my left hand is very weird. It’s throwing off my ice cream mojo.”

“You have ice cream mojo?”

Kristina chuckled. “Not right now I don’t.” She shifted the cone to her right hand, but trying to curl her fingers around it was awkward with the bandages and felt a little like someone had taken a hammer to the back of her hand. She stuck out her bottom lip.

Noah almost managed a small smile, but the effort made his expression look sad. “I’m sorry you got hurt. Wish it had been me instead.”

The fury that lanced through Kristina took her by surprise. She whirled on him. “Don’t ever say something like that again, Noah. You’ve been hurt enough for a lifetime. Imagine what it was like knowing my best friend had been blown up and lay all alone fighting for his life in a hospital half a world away. I would’ve given anything for that not to have happened to you. Even now that you’re doing better, I would still give anything to be able to take it all back for you. So don’t think for a minute that I’d ever want you to get hurt in my place. I would give you my eye and my ear if I could.”

Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes, but she was so overwhelmed with emotion for him that she couldn’t hold all this in. Not anymore. Damn, she hadn’t even realized just how much she’d been bottling up all these months.

Peering down at her, Noah’s brown eyes blazed. “Kristina,” he said, voice strained.

She blew out a long breath, suddenly afraid of what he might say. Because she wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to fight for their friendship, or fight for something more. “Forget it. I’m just upset over my hand. And my messed-up ice cream mojo.”

Noah shook his head. For a long moment, they just stared at each other, and then he finally spoke. “You’re…you’re a good friend. The best. I’m sorry I said that.”

His words unleashed a sinking feeling in Kristina’s belly, revealing more about what she hoped he might want than she was maybe ready to admit. But she forced a happy face and said, “I feel the same way about you. No matter what.”