Chapter 3
Dallas groaned as she cracked her eyes open. Her cotton-mouth was exceptionally brutal this morning. She tried to think back to what might have contributed to her condition. Gael! He’d come over last night with wine and a bag of goodies. They’d consumed the whole bottle he’d brought with him and topped it off with another two of her own.
The second thought which occurred to her was the pressing issue of her full bladder. A heavy, bare arm pressing across her belly didn’t help the situation any. An initial sense of panic washed over her before she recognized the dragon tattoo on the forearm. Gael. Her first urge was to revel in the fact he held her so tight. Her second urge was to freak the fuck out. What the hell had they done last night?
A twitch of something she strongly suspected was his penis hit her naked backside. Jesus! She was naked! He was naked! His chuckle had her trying to twist her head to see what he found so funny. His head was propped on one hand as he gazed down upon her, leaving his right arm across her low abdomen.
“What’s that?”
He knew exactly what she referred to. “Morning wood. Nothing to be alarmed about.”
“I’m not alarmed,” she denied hotly. She would have scooted away but the steel band pinning her in place wouldn’t allow it.
“Liar.” To avoid the knowing look in his eyes, she shifted her gaze to his incredible, golden chest. He flexed his muscles, isolating each pec and making them dance.
“What are you doing?”
“You, if you’ll let me,” he grinned.
“We didn’t… uh, last night… we…” She couldn’t form the words in any semblance of a sentence.
“If I say we did, would it lower your inhibitions this morning?”
“I’m not inhibited because I don’t want to have sex with you, Gael,” she snapped before groaning and grabbing her head. Damn! She’d forgotten her hangover for a second. When she had her pain under control enough to glance up, he’d already stood and was pulling his jeans up over his magnificent glutes.
She caught a glimpse of his carefully blank features in the mirror over her dresser. Why did she suddenly feel like the most horrible of people? Sitting up and resting against the headboard, careful to keep the sheet clasped firmly across her breasts, she reached out a hand. “Gael.”
Instead of acknowledging her, he pulled his shirt over his head with angry, jerky movements.
“Gael, please,” she begged softly. “Don’t be mad at me.”
His sigh told her he was already on his way to forgiving her. He climbed on the mattress next to her, his back to the footboard. They stared at each other across the distance of the bed. Finally, he reached out and flicked the foot next to his thigh. “I’m not mad at you, D.J. I’m upset with myself for taking it there this morning. And no, nothing happened between us last night.”
Regret, strong and swift, hit. Perhaps he was right. Maybe she did have inhibitions, and maybe, just maybe, a small part of her had been hoping they had banged nasties last night. It certainly would have allowed her to justify getting busy with him this morning. Why close the barn door after the horse escaped, right?
As they studied each other in the early morning light, Dallas fought the impulse to fling herself atop of him. Her heart rate kicked up as she remembered their kiss. Her breathing followed suit. As the light of desire flared bright and bold in his eyes, she threw caution to the winds. He’d anticipated her action and met her halfway. His kiss made the knees holding her up weak and shaky. Or it could have been the ridge of his penis pressed against her belly.
Needing to breathe, she pulled away. “Not that I’m wanting to put an end to this or anything, but my mouth is bone dry, I need to pee, and I’m afraid to even ask about my morning breath.”
He dropped a quick, hard kiss on her lips and grinned. “Go do your business, mi sol. I’ll go on a coffee run.”
“Wait for me, and we can grab breakfast together.”
“Deal.”
She felt the heat of his gaze on her sheet-wrapped body as she made her way to the bathroom. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she noticed he hadn’t moved from the middle of the bed. Still on his splayed knees, hands down by his sides, with his hard-on still visible through his jeans, he made a helluva picture. So much so, she walked into the doorframe.
The sheer agony from slamming her pinky toe into the wood casing had her falling back on her ass and grabbing for her foot. “Motherfucker! Sonofabitching shit!”
“Wow! Someone should have washed your mouth out as a kid,” Gael laughed as he squatted in front of her. “Let me see.”
“No! I need to hold it for a minute.”
“It’s not going to make it hurt less, D.J.”
“Yes, it will. Pressure overrides pain. Now shut up and let me hold my toe in peace.”
When he bit his lip, she suspected it was in an effort to stem his laughter.
“You laugh, and I’m going to throat punch you,” she warned.
Gael cleared his throat and told her, “I wouldn’t dream of laughing at you during your time of need.”
“Liar.”
“Busted. Okay, now let me see your foot.”
He used the no-nonsense tone he normally reserved for their patients. And damn if it didn’t work with her. She placed her foot in his large palm. As he manipulated her toes and foot, she whimpered in pain. His grim expression said exactly what she’d hoped hadn’t happened.
“I broke it, didn’t I?”
“I think so. At the very least the small toe. I fear the metatarsal might be fractured as well. Looks like we’re skipping breakfast and getting you an x-ray.”
“This is all your fault,” she charged, pissed at having her day disrupted.
“Mine? How do you figure?”
She ignored his shock at her accusation and continued her rant, “If you hadn’t been checking out my ass or looking so flippin’ hot, I’d have been paying attention to where I was going.”
His laughter, deep and husky, did strange things to her insides. “So because you think I was watching your butt, which was fully shielded by the sheet incidentally, and because you found me distracting enough to not watch where you were going, it is all my fault? Do I have that correct?”
Well, when he put it that way, her accusation sounded unjustified. “Stop laughing and help me up.”
Gael tackled her to the floor instead, careful to not hit her foot, and started nuzzling her neck.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded and shoved at the heavy body covering hers.
“‘Pressure overrides pain.’ Isn’t that what you said? I’m only trying to ease your suffering, mi sol.”
“Get off me, idiot!”
He lifted slightly to look down into her outraged countenance. “Has anyone ever told you, you aren’t very nice in the morning?”
“Really? Ya think? Or maybe it has something to do with the fact I still have to go to the bathroom, I have a broken toe, and we didn’t even get to the good part of se—” She clammed up.
“Ah, now I know why you’re really upset. We didn’t have sex. Don’t worry, mi sol, we can take care of your little problem when we get back from urgent care.” With those words, he stood and scooped her up. He carried her into the bathroom and deposited her by the toilet. “I’m going to be serious for a minute—”
“That’s a switch,” she muttered.
He ignored her and continued, “I don’t want you walking on your foot. Call out when you’re done, and I’ll come help you. Got it?”
“Gael, I’m sure I can…” She trailed off when his brows rose in his “don’t fuck with me” expression. She’d seen the look enough times over the last three years to understand he was as serious as a heart attack. “Fine. Go.”
* * *
Two x-rays and a doctor confirmed Dallas had indeed broken her foot. Gael had expected as much when she fell to the ground and started swearing up a storm. She wasn’t prone to swearing without cause. Her potty mouth was a direct result of heightened emotions.
“A boot! How the hell am I going to do my job wearing a fucking boot and sporting crutches, Gael? Explain that shit to me?”
“Calm down. We’ll figure it out.”
“There’s no elevator in my apartment building. How am I getting up three damned flights of stairs?”
“Dallas! Enough!” he snapped as he pulled into the parking lot of their favorite diner and slammed his truck into park. “Your whining about the situation isn’t going to change anything. I’ve got a headache the size of Texas right now, and all you can do is complain. Enough!”
Tears shimmered in her gorgeous, gray eyes. He berated himself for being a jerk. Couldn’t he be a bit more sympathetic to the fact she was hurting and worried? He leaned over into the passenger seat until they were face to face. “I’m sorry, D.J. I’m hangry. You know I’m an ass when I haven’t had food. Forgive me?”
She surprised him when she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his in a soft, lingering kiss. “Of course. But only if you forgive me for being bitchy. Deal?”
“Deal. Don’t move, I’ll come around.”
And because she was D.J., she opened her door and hopped out on her good foot.
“You don’t listen for shit, you know that?”
Her grin had the impact of a fist to his gut. Dallas was stunning when her eyes lit up and she flashed her wide, white smile.
“Wrap your arms around my neck. I’ll carry you,” he ordered, hefting her up into his arms. Her quick intake of air had him fighting a smug smile of his own.
“Dallas?” A deep, masculine voice called from somewhere behind him. Based on Dallas’s shock, Gael surmised the other guy was not someone she’d expected to see anytime soon. “Dallas Jennings? That is you, isn’t it?”
‘Who the hell else would it be?’ snarked a little voice inside Gael. The woman was unmistakable. To act otherwise was idiotic.
“Eddie?”
He heard the emotion in her voice. Surprise was there, yes, but so was love. Her tone had softened when she said the man’s name. Because Gael was an expert on everything Dallas, he was able to detect the change in her attitude. She’d forgotten she was being held by him. All her attention became focused on the other man walking up.
“God, Dallas! I can’t believe it’s you!”
For the second time in as many minutes, tears crowded Dallas’s eyes. “Put me down, Gael.”
Setting her on her feet, he did as she asked but stayed close to help her maintain her balance. She reached for Eddie as Eddie reached for her. Their embrace had his unease building. When sobs wracked her slender frame, the other man tightened his hold and squeezed her tighter.
Jealously struck hard. Gael wanted to rip her from Eddie’s arms and pound the bastard into the ground for touching his woman. He knew exactly who and what the guy had been to her. He also knew dear old Eddie never bothered to see her after the fire that had taken the lives of her family and destroyed her relationship with her father.
“What are you doing here? How? Last I heard, you were down Corpus Christi way,” she asked when she had herself back under control.
She touched Eddie’s freshly shaven jaw, and Gael nearly came out of his skin.
“I moved here a little over three months ago. Charlotte’s here too. You remember my older sister, right? She moved up last month,” Eddie explained. His hands fell to rest on her hips, and Gael mustered every ounce of self-restraint to stop himself from tearing Eddie’s arms off and beating him to death with his own limbs. Gael’s hereto undiscovered violent streak was making itself known.
“Look, friend. We were about to go grab a bite. D.J. needs to get off her foot. If you don’t mind…”
Hostility flashed before Eddie carefully controlled his response to Gael’s interruption. “Of course, don’t let me keep you.”
“Have you eaten yet?” Dallas asked, still clutching Eddie’s arm. “Why don’t you join us?”
Gael’s jaw nearly dislocated when he dropped it to the ground. Eddie flashed her a sunny smile, and if he displayed a slightly self-satisfied air when he looked Gael’s way, well, it was to be expected. “Don’t mind if I do.”
Score one for Eddie.
Not to be outdone, Gael whipped Dallas into his arms and strode for the restaurant. Let the fucker follow like a lapdog.