Knox and Flash were flying across the meadow. He loved the sensation of the ground flowing underneath him and the strength of his horse propelling him forward. He thought of Ema asking him to run for her, and smiled. Despite his desire to stay aloof, she was pulling him in. The only black mark on the day was when Shelby had come and Mike had filmed her, but the guy had promised he’d delete that. It would be okay.

The filming was done, and now Knox had a chance to be alone with Ema. How could he apologize for his grumpy, suspicious behavior last night? It still bothered him that her career was to exploit celebrities, him included, but she was a soft, bright light that soothed the beast inside of him. He wanted more time to bask in that.

He slowed and turned his horse to race back to Ema. Bubba was trotting toward him … with no Ema on her back! Knox searched the ground and saw her lying on the far side of the meadow, flat on her face. Not moving.

“No!” he roared, his mind conjuring up all the images of Tyler and his other friends—bloody, unresponsive, dead. His mom and sister in their caskets. “Go, Flash!” he urged, kicking his flank.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he reached Ema and reined Flash in. Jumping to the ground, he dropped to his knees, his eyes taking in her torn shirt and the blood streaming from her temple. He pushed his fingers against her neck. Her pulse was there. It was too slow and weak, but at least it was steady.

“Oh, Ema,” he groaned. He wanted to lift her into his arms and fly back to the house on his horse and rush her to the emergency room in his Hummer, but he had to be smart about this. One of his security guys could bring the Hummer to them, but it seemed too risky to move her without EMTs helping. Ripping his phone from his pocket, he dialed 911.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

“I need a Life Flight helicopter to 19300 Lone Ranch Road immediately. Can you pinpoint my location? Can I share it with you? We’re at least a mile behind the main house.”

“Yes, sir, but can you tell me the nature of your call?”

“Get Life Flight on its way; then I’ll talk to you, not before!” he roared.

“Sir, I’m not at liberty to make that call—”

“Then put me through to someone who is.”

“I’ll have to have your name, sir.”

“This is Knox Sherman, and I don’t care what the cost is. I’ll pay cash, whatever you want, but this is a matter of life or death. My friend was just thrown from her horse. You get someone here, someone with lots of training, now!”

“Calm down, sir. I’ll get help coming. An ambulance.”

“No!” he bellowed. “Life Flight. Now!”

“Knox?” Ema’s sweet voice floated up to him and she rolled onto her side. Blood coated her temple and dripped down her cheek.

“Ema.” Knox almost choked on her name. He had to restrain himself from gathering her close, and had to settle for gently touching her arm. “Don’t move. Help’s coming.”

“Sir?” A different male voice came on the line. “I understand you are requesting Life Flight.”

“Can you get them here?”

“If at all possible, we would send an ambulance.”

“It’s not possible,” Knox argued. “My friend has been thrown from a horse. We’re in the woods behind my property; an ambulance can’t get in here. Get the helicopter on its way now!”

“It’s okay, big guy,” Ema whispered, blinking up at him. “Sun’s getting real low.”

Knox’s throat tightened. How was she teasing with him at a time like this?

“Is this really Knox Sherman?” The voice sounded almost worshipful.

“Yes, it is.” He tried to listen to Ema and calm down. “Please help us. She’s got a head injury and … I don’t know what else.” He gently ran his hand over Ema’s spine as she lay on her side, checking for malformation, but he couldn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Her eyes closed again and her body relaxed into the ground. “Please,” he begged the man.

“Okay. We’ve pinpointed your location. I’ll put Life Flight in the air.”

“Oh, thank you.” Knox felt relief rush through him, but he was terrified that Ema had passed out again. He gently touched the only part of her cheek that wasn’t covered with blood. “Ema?”

She didn’t respond, and his gut twisted. He couldn’t lose her. This was why he didn’t form relationships. People could be taken at any time. He bowed his head, not registering what the 911 guy was asking him as he pled with the Lord for help, but his mind wasn’t on his prayer either. How could he lose Ema?

The side of Ema’s head throbbed with every beat of her heart. She’d swim into consciousness and try to open her eyes, but then the light or the pressure would be too much and she’d go under again. She had snippets of lucidity. She was lying in the dirt with Knox gently touching her face or arm. Time passed and people were rushing around her, checking every part of her and loading her onto a body board and into a helicopter. Seconds later, she was lying in a too-firm hospital bed and she could sometimes feel pressure and pain on her face and in her head, but for the most part she was in darkness.

The only thing she firmly remembered was Knox. Every time she opened her eyes, he was staring down at her with a broody, concerned expression. She tried to reassure him when she came to that everything was okay, but she didn’t really know if it was. Her head hurt and her side hurt and her ankle hurt. She’d told someone where it hurt when they asked, but it’d been too bright to open her eyes then.

She had no clue how much time had passed—five minutes or five days—when lucidity returned and she opened her eyes. All was quiet but the beeping of a monitor next to her hospital bed. It looked like she was in a private room now. Knox was sitting next to the bed, slumped forward, his head in his hands.

“Knox?” she whispered, her throat was tight and ouchy.

He straightened quickly and his entire face lit up. She’d never seen him look like that, except for those brief moments when he’d been holding his daughter outside the horse arena. He stared at her like she was an angel.

“Ema!” Standing quickly, he leaned over the bed railing and into her space. “You’re awake? Like, really truly awake? They said you’d wake up quick, but I’ve been so afraid and I’ve been praying and praying and I called Shelby and all my staff and they’ve all been praying. Then I called my teammates and Claire and James Knight—you know, the owner of the Titans. He spread it to all the news outlets and everybody in the nation has been praying for you.”

Ema shook her head to clear it, but that just made it hurt worse. The man who hid out like a recluse, except when he played football, had called everyone he knew and spread it through the news outlets that she’d been injured and asked for them all to pray? “Wow,” she muttered, pushing the button to incline the top half of the bed. “How long have I been out of it?”

He glanced at his watch. “Almost two and a half hours now.”

Ema felt laughter bubble up, but it hurt her raw throat, so she swallowed and whispered, “Can I have some water?”

“Of course.” He grabbed a cup off a side table. “Ice chips work?”

“Anything’s fine.”

Knox scooped up a spoonful of ice chips. It was funny to watch his big fingers with the small plastic cup and even smaller plastic spoon. He brought the spoonful over to her mouth and ever so carefully tilted the ice chips in when she opened her lips. She sucked on them and savored the cool liquid sliding down her parched throat.

“Thank you,” she managed.

“Do you want more?”

She nodded, and they repeated the process. When the next spoonful was melting beautifully, she took her time looking over him. His hair was mussed. His dark eyes filled with concern. His large frame hovered over the bed like he was her personal bodyguard.

“Let me get this straight,” she said. “The accident happened two and a half hours ago and you spread an SOS to the world to pray for me that quickly.”

Knox nodded eagerly.

“Why?”

He rocked back on his heels and his mouth opened, then closed. Slowly, he set the cup of ice back on the table and gripped the railing next to her bed with both hands. Ema’s eyes flickered to those hands. They were lean and tough-looking, as manly as the rest of him. She focused her gaze back on his dark brown eyes. His eyes were full of uncertainty, vulnerability. She almost rolled her own eyes at herself. If there was one thing she’d learned about Knox Sherman in their short time together, it was that he was never vulnerable.

He took so long to answer that she was getting uncomfortable, but she wanted to know why this private man would expose himself to start a prayer vigil in her behalf. As much as it warmed her clear through, she needed an explanation.

“We’ve had every test run on you they can,” he finally said, “and the results are fabul—”

“I want to hear all about that,” Ema interrupted him. “After you tell me why you, Mr. Private Hulk, the Beast, would open yourself up and ask the world for prayers.”

Knox pulled in a long breath and sat heavily in the chair on the exhale. He looked over her face and murmured, “I was worried about you.”

“Well, that was evident, but I don’t know if that answers the question.”

Knox pressed his lips together. “I’ve lost a lot of people I care about, Ema. I couldn’t stand to lose you.” He shook his head. “You were injured at my home, so I’m responsible for you.”

Ema’s eyes widened at his confession and she leaned back into the hard bed. He couldn’t stand to lose her because she’d been injured at his home? Or did those two sentences coincide and he actually cared about her? No, Knox didn’t seem to care about anyone but his daughter. She was connecting dots that ran in parallel universes, not intersecting ones.

“Thank you for praying for me,” she whispered.

He forced a smile. “Of course. So the doctor ran CAT scans, MRIs, brain scans, blood work, X-rays—you name it, they did it—and you’re going to be fine. You don’t have anything broken or displaced. Your ankle is sprained and they taped it up. Your side will be bruised, but no lasting damage. Their worry is you’ve suffered a pretty bad concussion.” His smile became genuine for a second. “And here they act like football is dangerous.”

Ema laughed, relieved that everything was okay with her body and understanding why her head was so fuzzy and painful.

“They said when you awoke without signs of amnesia or confusion, and if you could walk without having balance issues they would release you, but only into my care.”

Ema held up a hand. Getting out of this hospital bed sounded fabulous, but why only into his care? “Wait a minute. I have a father, mother, sisters, and friends. I can find someone to take care of me.”

He scowled fiercely. If Ema didn’t know he was more bark than bite, she would’ve wanted to scoot away. “You got thrown by my horse. I am taking care of you.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to take care of me,” she threw back at him, folding her arms over her chest. Her head was clearing the longer she was awake, but there was still a dull throb and some pressure on the left side of her face.

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” he growled, grabbing the handle next to the bed again and half rising out of his chair.

“Why do you have to be so grumpy?”

Knox snarled and met her gaze with a challenging look. She stared, almost without blinking, until his eyes calmed and he settled back down and released the handle. “Ema.” He pushed out a breath and shoved a hand through his hair. “Somebody needs to watch over you for the next couple of days and watch for signs of you relapsing—dizziness, confusion, nausea, they gave me a whole list. You can’t be alone,” he reminded her.

Ema studied him. There was a sincerity and depth in his gaze that appealed to her. The doctors probably wouldn’t allow her to travel to San Diego or Kauai, so her other option was going to her hotel room and having Mike help her until her mom or one of her sisters or friends could fly into Dallas. Her nose wrinkled. That sounded awful. But could she stand to be alone with this handsome yet beastly man? Something about him yanked her in, and she had no desire to fall for someone who was not only a recluse, but a grumpy one at that. When they’d danced at the concert, her heart had been about to explode with the heady sensations he created, and he’d ruined it all moments later. Getting closer to him would not be a smart move for her.

The door burst open and a beautiful dark-haired woman with startling aqua-green eyes strode in, carrying a lovely bouquet of spring flowers. She wore a silky button-down red blouse and a striped pencil skirt with heels that took her from five feet nothing to at least five-three. No matter how small she was, it was obvious she was a force to be reckoned with.

“How’s our girl?” she called out, focusing on Ema, not Knox. “Oh, good, you’re finally with us again.”

At the sound of her voice, Ema knew at once who this stunning lady was. “Claire. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course I came.” She set the flowers down next to the sink and strode to the foot of the bed, her heels tapping importantly on the industrial floor. “This guy’s been out of his head worried about you.” She winked at Knox.

“Claire,” he warned in that throaty growl of his.

Ema giggled, and Claire threw back her head and laughed too. She had a rich laughter that made you want to keep laughing. Ema knew they would be instant friends, even if Claire had manipulated her into going to Knox’s house today, or worse—if Claire and Knox had a secret crush on each other and Ema had no chance with him. Oh, she was dumb to even care.

“Never seen my boy so smitten so fast,” Claire said, and Ema’s head suddenly felt much, much better.

“Claire.” Knox stood and loomed over her like a thundercloud. “Stop right now or I’ll fire your butt.”

Claire reached up, way up, and patted his cheek like she would a baby brother. “Calm down, Beast. I’ll stop.” She glanced over at Ema. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Ema’s coming to my house for a few days to recuperate.” Knox threw that out there before Ema could respond.

Claire’s delicate brows arched up. “Oh, she is? That sounds …” She rubbed her small hands together. “Cozy.”

“I have not agreed to that plan,” Ema said, terrified and exhilarated at the idea of “cozy” with Knox. Could she be the one to tame the Beast? No, that was the concussion talking; nobody could tame this guy.

Claire shrugged. “It’s a lovely place, as I’m sure you saw earlier today, and Knox and his staff will take fabulous care of you.” She winked at Knox. “Or I’ll fire him.”

Knox rolled his eyes at her.

“Can you guarantee he won’t turn into the Beast?” Ema asked, then regretted it when Knox’s shoulders sagged and his mouth turned down like she’d stolen his favorite football.

Claire laughed. “I think I can. He’s generally domesticated.” She glanced coolly at Knox and told him in a stage whisper, “Maybe you should ask her nicely.”

Knox grabbed the steel bar attached to the bed again. He frowned at Claire, but as he focused on Ema, his expression softened. Ema had wondered if he cared for Claire, and now, while she could see they had an interesting relationship, there was zero attraction evident.

“Ema,” he said in a pleading tone. “Will you please be my guest and allow me to care for you? I promise to act … domesticated.” He glared at Claire as he said the last word.

Ema didn’t know that she’d ever seen Knox this humble or willing to submit. Submit to her? The thought sent warmth coursing through her. She smiled tremulously up at him. “Thank you for the offer, Knox.” She paused. “I have one condition.”

His grip on the railing increased until his knuckles were white. “What is it?” His normally deep voice pitched with excitement.

“Can I please formally meet Shelby, maybe play dolls with her or something?”

Knox’s eyebrows went up.

“I have a lot of nieces and nephews and I miss them dearly traveling like I do. It would be delightful to get to know your daughter.”

Knox’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“No cameras involved, Knox,” she felt like she had to affirm. Who knew where Mike was, but she’d get a hold of her producers and tell them to use what Mike had and put together a complimentary show about Knox. Hopefully by the weekend she’d be ready to move on to her next set with Brady and Hailey Giles. At least there was no travel involved.

She kept her gaze on his, and he slowly relaxed and finally nodded. “I think she would like that too.”

Claire had been conspicuously quiet throughout the exchange. She clapped her hands loudly and let out a whoop. “Yeah, baby! We have an agreement.” She patted Ema’s leg. “If you feel up to it, why don’t you get up and walk around for a bit? I’ll go get the doctor and get you checked out of this hole.” She muttered under her breath, “Nothing worse than a hospital.” Turning, she strode from the room with her heels clicking.

Ema watched her go. “If I didn’t like her so much, I’d be intimidated by her.”

Knox chuckled. “You see why she’s a good agent for the Beast?”

Ema turned back to him and touched his hand, which was still on the railing. He stared at her fingers, then back at her as she said, “I know you’re a beast on the field, but you don’t need to be one in real life.”

Knox just studied her. Finally, he said, “Thanks for agreeing to come home with me.”

Ema didn’t quite know how to respond. He was opening his home to her and he’d had to beg her to accept his offer of hospitality, and now he was thanking her. And she’d called him the Beast? “No. Thank you.” His gaze was intense and she found herself unable to hold it for too long. “Would you help me get up and walking? I’m with Claire. Let’s get out of this joint.”

Knox smiled and pushed a lever that lowered the rail. Ema grabbed the remote and raised the head of the bed fully upright. Then she swung her legs over and her sock-clad feet touched the floor. Her head spun a little bit, but she forced herself to stand. It wasn’t until she felt the cool air touching her bare backside that she realized she was only in a hospital gown and it was wide open.

“Yikes!” she screamed, reaching around and trying to pull the pieces of thin cotton together. “Where are my clothes?”

Knox chuckled and averted his gaze. “They had to cut them off of you.”

“That was my favorite shirt,” she protested. Heat filled her face as she wondered exactly what Knox had seen while she’d been unconscious.

Knox looked back at her as she tried to reach around and tie the strings with one hand while still keeping her balance by clutching his arm. “I’ll buy you another one,” he said softly.

“It’s okay.” It was very sweet of him to offer but she didn’t need him buying her clothes. She did need him to help her with this awkward gown. “But I’m gonna need some help.”

Knox’s eyes widened. “With?”

She tilted her head back. “I can’t stand on my own two feet with this room swaying and tie these things behind my back.”

“Let’s wait for Claire.”

Ema didn’t hide her smile. The big, bad Beast was afraid of doing up some ties? “You got this, big guy.”

He gave her a half grin at that. “Okay. So I hold you up, or …”

“I’ll hold on to the bed. You tie these things; it’s too awkward to reach. But don’t look at anything.”

Knox chuckled. “That sounds easy enough.”

“Close your eyes,” Ema said.

Knox closed his eyes as directed, but said, “You’d better guide my hands, then. I don’t want to … you know, touch anything I shouldn’t.”

Ema’s heart rate picked up. Goodness, maybe they should just wait for Claire. But she didn’t want to stand here flapping in the wind until Claire decided to get back. “Okay.” She turned and pressed her thighs into the bed, holding on to the railing with one hand. With her other hand, she grabbed his hands and tugged him closer.

Knox leaned in easily, and with him came that heady scent of bergamot, lavender, and amber. It was delicious. Ema forced herself not to think about that, but her heart was thumping out of control. She pulled his hands toward her back and was grateful she was flexible as she pushed them up toward the top tie first. “You got that one?” Sneaking a glance back at him, she was relieved that his eyes were indeed closed.

“I think so.” Knox’s fingers brushed the sensitive skin on the back of her neck as he pulled the laces snug and then tied a bow. His hands lingered on her neck, and heat bloomed underneath the hospital gown at his touch. “Where next?” His voice was deep and husky and her stomach smoldered.

She reached back around again, barely noticing the throb in her head as she pulled his hands down her back until they found another set of ties hanging loosely just below her shoulder blades. His fingers were doing a number on her nervous system, tingles erupting everywhere they touched. Maybe going to stay at his house was not a good idea.

Knox silently pulled the gown tight and tied the ties. Ema couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder again. His eyes were still shut, but there was a playful smile on his lips that made her entire body tingle. He was enjoying this.

“Lower?” he asked in that same husky tone. His hands traced down her spine to her lower back, setting her skin on fire.

“Stop!” she yelled, regretting it when her head pounded in response.

Knox’s hands stopped descending as commanded, but he didn’t move them from the bare skin of her lower back.

Ema fumbled with her left hand for the ties that were close to his hands, pushing one side, then the other into his grasp. Knox took the ties and then took his own sweet time pulling them tight and doing a simple bow. Ema was sweating from the heat he brought to her stomach. That heat was spreading and growing with each deliberate brush of his fingers on her lower back.

“Are your eyes still closed?” she demanded.

He leaned in until his chest was brushing her upper back. “Yes, ma’am,” he whispered in her ear.

Ema swiveled her head to make sure and saw his beautiful face was inches away. His eyes were shut, but his lips were parted slightly and she’d never seen anything so tempting as him leaning down closer and closer.

“Finished?” she asked brightly, pulling back so she didn’t do something stupid like kiss him.

“With that one,” he murmured, finally moving his hands off her lower back. “Are there any we missed?”

“Nope, we’re good.”

“Can I open my eyes, then?”

Ema still had a distinctive feeling of cool air brushing her rear, even with the ties done. “Probably not.” She spun slowly to face him, pressing her backside into the bed.

Knox rested his hands at her hips and was still leaning down close, into her space. Ema’s breath caught and she just stared at him, loving that his eyes were closed and she could have her fill of staring at his sculpted face, his perfectly formed lips. She rested her hands on his forearms and whispered, “Thanks for the help.”

“Uh-huh. Can I open my eyes now?” His smirk said he was definitely teasing her.

Two could play at this game. “Not quite yet.” She ignored the thumping in her head that she was most likely aggravating by all of her hormones blasting out of control. Rising up onto tiptoes, she savored the way his hands encased her hips, the heat of his palms pulsing through the thin hospital gown. She almost let herself steal one quick taste of his lips, just a kiss of gratitude for saving her life and being so tender with her, but it was too fast. Slowly, deliberately, she pressed her lips to his cheek. The short hair of his beard tickled her lips as she inhaled his cologne and savored the feel of his muscular chest pressed against her.

Knox’s eyes flew open and she was caught in his gaze. They were frozen in time as his eyes focused on hers, then deliciously dropped to her lips. “Ema,” he whispered huskily. “What are you doing to me?”

Ema couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t say you could open your eyes.”

“I’ll close them again if you aim better next time,” he said.

Thrills rushed through her. He wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him. What was she doing to him? What was he doing to her? She was a professional and had never, ever felt this way about one of her interviewees before. Why was she letting down her guard with a man who acted like a beast a good portion of the time and seemed to have no desire to develop a relationship with anyone outside his small circle?

“Well, I can see this is going to be a problem,” Claire said drily from the curtained doorway.

Ema fell back onto her heels, but Knox didn’t move away. In fact, he pulled her closer and slid his hands around her lower back, his fingers snaking through the gap in the robe to touch her flesh. Whoa. She was in serious trouble with this guy.

“Yeah,” Knox agreed. “You need to get Ema some clothes so we can get her home.”

“I’m on it.”

Ema peeked out at Claire from behind Knox’s broad shoulders. “Big girl panties too, please.”

Knox looked sharply down at Ema. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Claire said with a chuckle. “There’s a Macy’s half a mile away. I’ll hurry.” She pushed around the curtain by the door, but then darted back. “You might want to hold off on the romance until you get her home. The doc’s on his way.”

“Don’t you tell me what to do,” Knox said.

Claire laughed and clicked her way out the door.

Ema was left staring up at him, encircled completely with his brawny arms. “Um,” she hedged, wanting to just forget her throbbing head and her semi-open gown and the fact that this was not a man she could let herself fall for. “I need to use the restroom,” she said.

The words had the effect she needed to stop herself from kissing him until the doc or Claire showed back up. He kept one hand on her lower back but stepped away from her and gestured toward the bathroom. Ema leaned into him and clung to his muscular arm as they walked. She was actually feeling pretty good, but she didn’t mind using this tough guy’s support and savoring the way his well-formed arm felt against her hand and waist.

He opened the door for the bathroom, but held on to her waist. “You gonna be okay in there by yourself?”

Ema licked her lips as his gaze warmed her through. She hadn’t known Knox was capable of a smolder, but he was rocking it right now as she stood outside a hospital bathroom in a thin gown and probably looked a complete mess. “My head’s pretty clear,” she murmured back. Definitely not the most romantic response, but all she could come up with at the moment.

“Okay.” He released her.

Ema stuttered a step, her ankle protesting at her full weight. She grabbed on to the bathroom door for support.

Knox reached out and steadied her with his hand under her elbow. “I’d better come in.”

“No!” Ema shrank away from him. “If you think I’m going to your house with you, one of the ground rules you’d better get in your head right now is I will go to the bathroom by myself.”

Knox chuckled and took a step back, releasing her elbow. “All right, but if I hear a crash, I’m busting this door down.” He arched an eyebrow and gave her a challenging look.

“Noted,” Ema whispered. She carefully walked into the bathroom, holding on to the hand railing to make sure there were no crashes.

She heard the door shut behind her and smiled. This Knox wasn’t the man she’d met last Friday night. She wondered what other surprises were in store for her.