A Heart Decision (8 page)

“All right. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” He
leaned against the wall while she retrieved the wheelchair and
waited for him to settle in it.

“If you pull a stunt like that again, I’ll use your
handcuffs to shackle you to your bed until your first doctor’s
appointment.”

“I never took you for the kinky type, Princess.” A
mischievous glint twinkled in his eyes as he grinned back at her.
“But I’m up for a little game of bondage if you are.”

Heat flooded her face at the thought of Luke at her
mercy. He’d be surprised by how kinky she could be after years of
imagining his naked body entwined with hers. She steered the
wheelchair into his bedroom. “Why on earth don’t you chop a few
inches off the bed’s legs so it isn’t quite so high?”

“Because I like it this way. It leaves plenty of
room for storage underneath, and
umm
—considering how tall I
am, it’s a lot easier on my back when I’m makin’ it.” The deep
flush spreading up his neck told her he hadn’t merely been
referring to smoothing out the sheets.

She slapped her hands over her hot cheeks. She had
to get a hold of herself. “Uhhh, do you by any chance need to use
the bathroom before you get into bed?”

“If I do that, how will I run you ragged?”

She shoved him over to the door and locked the
wheels before helping him up. Wedging her shoulder in his armpit,
she supported him while he hopped to the commode.

“I think you’d better sit down.”

“The day I sit to pee is the day I start wearin’ a
skirt.” He lowered his cast-encased foot to the floor and fumbled
with his fly.

“You’re not supposed to put any weight on that.”

“I’m not, damn it. I’m just balancing myself. Now,
are you gonna leave, or do you wanna watch me take a leak?”

She backed out of the room and waited outside the
door until the toilet flushed. When she knocked and walked back in,
Luke lifted one arm and sniffed under it. “Man, I need a shower. I
stink worse than the dogs smelled the day I found them.”

“You’re not taking a shower.”

“Why not? They gave me a waterproof liner in my
cast. The nurse said I could even swim in it.”

“Not tonight. I don’t trust your balance while
you’re hopped up on pain meds. Maybe in another day or so, when the
swelling subsides and you no longer need the pills.”

“Then would you at least get me a washcloth so I can
get rid of my stench?”

She pulled out a clean towel and washrag from the
narrow closet behind the door. “Once you’re undressed, sit on the
toilet lid while you wash, so I can stop worrying about you
standing on that foot.”

After watching him struggle for several seconds to
open a single shirt button with just his left hand, she brushed his
fingers away. “I’ll do it. We’ll be here all day otherwise.”

She quickly unfastened his shirt and parted the two
halves. As she stared at the dark hair sprinkled over his muscular
chest, her mouth turned as dry as if she’d been sucking on cotton
balls.

“Do you always gawk at your patients?”

Lifting her gaze to his amused face, she licked her
lips, trying to work up enough moisture to speak without croaking.
“N-no. But then most of them sleep with teddy bears.”

“Oh, right.” He smiled and pulled his left arm out
of the shirt while she gently eased the other sleeve over his
sprained wrist. “What about while you were doing your different
rotations in college? You took care of adults then.”

“True. But most of them were shriveled up old men
whose bodies needed to be ironed.” She turned and filled the sink
with hot water while he worked at taking off his jeans.

He only got as far as lowering the left side of his
pants before a whoosh of air hissed through his teeth as he
attempted to push the right side down with his injured hand. “Damn,
that hurts.”

“Then stop trying to be a hero, and let me help
you.” She knelt in front of him and stripped his jeans down his
muscular legs. “This is precisely what I’m here fo—”

Her words died on her lips as she lifted her gaze
and found her mouth only a millimeter from the peak in Luke’s
boxers.
Good grief
. Maybe there was some truth to that
propaganda about big feet.

He stared down at her, desire flaring in his eyes.
“Then by all means, Princess, help me out.” One corner of his mouth
twitched. “Do you think this is what Ben had in mind when he
insisted on you
takin’ care of me
?”

She could tell him the truth, but she didn’t want to
have to perform CPR on him. Although, that was a good excuse to put
her lips on his. “You’re deliberately trying to embarrass me.”

Luke peered pointedly down at his erection. “There’s
nothing deliberate about this. As a nurse, you should know a guy
has no control over his Johnson.”

“Maybe so,” she said, her voice rising an octave
higher than normal, “but you don’t have to stick it right in my
face.”

“I didn’t
stick it
anywhere.” He sank onto
the lid of the toilet and yanked his good foot out of one leg of
his jeans while she peeled the other off over his cast.

When she stood, she wobbled as if her legs had
turned to rubber. “Maybe not, but you want to.”

“I don’t think we’d better discuss what I want.”

She soaped the washcloth, and when her hands started
trembling as if she had Parkinson’s, she tossed it to him. Once he
washed and rinsed the right side of his upper body, he tried to
clean the left without much success. After several failed attempts,
he finally surrendered, raising his hands. “Okay, so you can do my
other half and my back.”

Gladly. She’d wash a lot more if he’d let her.

She rinsed the terrycloth and lathered it again. He
lifted his left arm so she could scrub his hairy armpit. As she
swiped down his side, he bit his lip.

“Do your ribs hurt?”

“Yeah. Don’t sweat it. The doctor said they’re just
bruised.”

“Well, tell me if something is sore. I don’t want to
hurt you.” After rinsing the rag again, she pushed gently on his
head. “Lean forward so I can wash your back.”

As she reached across him, her chest brushed against
his cheek. His face turned, grazing her breast, causing her nipples
to pop up under her tank top like two spring-loaded poultry
thermometers.

There was no question whether she was up to temp.
The fire raging inside her was nearly hot enough to incinerate
her.

“Brina,” he murmured, rubbing his cheek against her
softness. “At the moment, my self-control is stretched as thin as a
cobweb. I’ve had about all the stress I can take for one day.”

“I know.” Trembling, she drew back and whispered,
“I’ll get you a clean pair of shorts while you wash the rest.”

As she escaped into the bedroom, she gulped several
deep breaths, attempting to slow the jackhammer in her chest. Luke
was right. In the last twenty-four hours, not only had he dealt
with the Jillian crisis, he’d been in an accident that very likely
would’ve killed him if he’d been a fraction of a second slower. He
had to be mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. If they
made love right now, he’d be doing it for all the wrong
reasons.

She sorted through his clean laundry and found a
pair of charcoal gray boxer briefs. “Are you finished?” she called
through the door.

“I guess so. I’m as clean as I’m gonna get with a
washcloth.”

When she pushed open the door, he was standing with
the towel secured around his hips. Her gaze dropped to the dark
swirl of hair around his navel that descended into the towel. As
she held out the clean shorts, he brushed them away. “You can just
put them on the night table for tomorrow.”

“You’re planning to sleep in the buff?”

“I have ever since I’ve lived alone.” He took the
shorts from her. “But if catching a glimpse of my manly package
will disturb your maidenly sensibilities, I’ll wear—”

“No-o!” She snatched the underwear back, shocked by
her overwhelming disappointment. “I mean....uhh....I can close my
eyes if your nudity bothers me.”

Like she’d actually have the willpower to look away
from a magnificent specimen like Luke. She moved the wheelchair in
front of the bathroom door. “I was just surprised. I want you to be
comfortable.”

“Well, thank you very much, Nurse Fitzpatrick.” He
bowed at the waist, oblivious that his skimpy towel and all that
bronzed skin sucked the gallantry from his gesture. “I’ll do my
best not to flash you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She waved her hand and
helped him into the chair. “I’ve seen penises before. The equipment
is essentially the same—give or take an inch.”

“Or
two
.” He grinned.

The big jerk actually wanted her to check him out. A
self-satisfied smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. That suited
her just fine. If she gave him the freedom to flaunt his masculine
attributes, then he couldn’t say a word when he caught a gander of
what he was missing.

~*~

Sabrina’s smug smile didn’t bode well for him. She
was definitely hatching some insidious plot to get under his skin.
Little did she know, she was already there.

He reclined on the bed and lifted his cast while she
folded a pillow under his calf.

“Keep your leg propped up. It’ll stop it from
throbbing quite so much.”

Great. But what did he do about his other appendage?
That was the ache that would really keep him awake.

When Sabrina had knelt in front of him and pulled
down his jeans, he’d nearly lost it. And if that fantasy hadn’t
turned him on enough, her skimpy tank top and snug, yoga pants were
likely to drive him insane.

The hem of her pink shirt ended just above her navel
and left a good two inches of her milky skin peeking out above her
waistband to torture him. Each time she reached for something the
hem rose and revealed even more of her luscious flesh.

She pulled the crisp sheet over him and plumped the
pillow under his head. “Are you comfortable?”

“Not quite.” He dug his good heel into the mattress
and lifted his hips. Reaching under the sheet, he yanked the towel
out from around him and handed it to her. “That should do it.”

Her gaze shifted to the rise in the sheet draped
over his hips, and her tongue flicked out to moisten her lips.
Every drop of blood in his head rushed south, leaving him
lightheaded. The peak in the fabric simply rose higher.

“I’ll go get you an icepack to reduce the
swelling.”

“What? No way. I’m not letting you freeze my—”

“Don’t worry. The cold will seep through the
fiberglass. If we don’t ice your ankle, the cast could get too
tight and cut off the circulation to your foot.”

“My ankle?

“Yes, your ankle. What the heck else did you think—”
Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hand over her mouth, stifling
a sputter. “Ohmigosh, you thought I meant—” Her gales of laughter
cut off her speech.

“It’s not
that
funny.”

“Yes,”—chest heaved as she gasped for air—“it
is.”

“What else would I think with the way you’ve been
ogling my crotch?”

“I’m sorry.” She wiped away the tears generated by
her giggles. “But when a guy keeps snapping to attention, a girl
gets the urge to salute.”

“Well, it wouldn’t keep happening if you’d stop
looking at me like I’m packing a foot-long wiener with the works in
my shorts.”

“A
foot
? Come now, Luke, I find that one hard
to swall—” She cringed and headed for the door. “I don’t believe I
actually said that.”

He hurled one of the extra pillows after her and hit
the doorjamb as she disappeared into the hall. “I told you it
wasn’t a good idea for you to stay here,” he hollered. “How am I
supposed to sleep like this?”

She poked her head back into the room. “Believe me,
with as tired as you are, the pain medication will knock you out.”
She wiggled her eyebrows at him and grinned. “But if you’d like, I
can always bring you
two
ice packs.”

He snatched the pillow from under his head and fired
it at her face. She ducked, laughing as it sailed past her.

Great. Not only had he missed, now he had no pillow
to sleep on.

~*~

Sabrina continued chuckling to herself while she
waited for Dusty to finish sniffing around the half-acre backyard.
If she took the puppy inside before he made a deposit, he would, no
doubt, have an accident. “Come on, Dusty, choose a spot already.
I’m beat.”

The dog wandered toward the line of pine trees that
separated Luke’s property from the rolling farmland behind it. He’d
planted several varieties of flowering trees and shrubs in the yard
since the last time she was at the house. She couldn’t wait to see
them all in bloom next spring. It would be beautiful.

Finally, after several minutes, the puppy left a
little present in the corner of the yard and scampered back into
the house ahead of her. She locked the back door and picked up the
ice bag she’d filled. As she headed up the stairs, Dusty let out a
pathetic whimper and scrambled up the steps, sliding back down one
for every two he conquered.

She scooped him up and carried him upstairs. As
she’d predicted, Luke was already out cold when she crept into his
bedroom.

She picked up the two pillows he’d flung at her
earlier and laid them next to his head. After folding back the
bottom corner of the sheet to expose his cast, she set the ice bag
on it. She tucked the towel she’d left on the bed around his leg to
keep the bag from sliding off his ankle.

He looked so vulnerable asleep. And sexier than
ever. It was criminal for a man to have lashes as long as his. The
dark stubble covering his jaw and his thick inky eyebrows would
make him appear slightly dangerous if not for the soft fringe
spread over his tanned cheeks.

“I love you,” she whispered. Her throat tightened as
she brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead and pressed a
kiss to his brow, breathing in the clean, spicy scent of his
soap.