My Tye (7 page)

“Again with the silence.” He rose from the bed and paced to the window before turning back to her. “Cut me some slack, Laine. Throw me a bone here. Something. Talk to me.”

She looked up, sheepish. “I will—”

“But not here. So you said. Like I told you, the longer we wait—”

She tossed him a terrified look, but attempted to hide her fear just as quickly. “I know.”

He wondered if she really did. “I can help,” he said. “You know I can. Let me.”

She drew her lips between her teeth as her chin trembled yet again. When the lone tear slid down her cheek, every possessive cell inside him exploded. He went back and sat on the edge of the bed next to her, nudged her chin with his thumb until she looked at him as his other hand caressed along the side of her neck.

He was done playing around.

“You’re scared,” he whispered. “I can see that. Let me in, Laine. Let me help you.”

“I can’t…” she started.

God, he was about to blow a gasket. But he calmed himself enough to speak softly. “I know when you look at me, you see a quiet peacemaker. Rest assured though, there’s more to me than just some guy who can talk a baseball bat out of Mrs. Johnson’s hand every time Mr. Johnson gets frisky and gropes the waitress in the diner.” Good, he liked that the edge of her lip quirked at that comment, that she responded to him in some small way. “I come from a long line of bad-asses, Laine. I just chose a different way to kick butt, that’s all. Words work better in most situations, and that’s a motto I live by. But all those tough guys in my family? I can hold my own against any one of them, and they’ve each got the scars to prove it. I can—and will—protect you from whatever it is that has you running. I want…” He stopped to swipe at her tears with the pad of his thumb. “I need you to believe that. I need you to trust me in this.”

“Oh, Tye.”

As he looked at her, his insides burst in a powder keg of protectiveness and need. He thought back on all those times he’d flirted with her before, yet still held himself back. Shit, he’d been kidding himself to think it was just because of his position in town, or even because of hers. Tye could’ve—hell, probably even should’ve—been upfront from the beginning. With the gentlest of touches, with the simplest smile and an honest word of sincerity, she could’ve been his by now. But he hadn’t said anything—and Christ, he regretted it now. Finally touching her, finally soaking in the warmth of her skin, he knew. He knew he’d wasted so much time.

He cautiously held her face in his palms and stroked her skin. Her battered cheek, her quivering chin. Her full bottom lip, moist and soft against his thumb. He wanted to kiss her. Ah God, he was going to kiss her.

Leaning forward, he brushed her lips with his. Careful not to hurt her—or Lord forbid, freak her out—he pressed a little more. Her hands moved up his forearms until she held onto his wrists, but she didn’t move or push him away. She kissed him back lightly, maybe a little unsure. But then her lips parted, and he had to bite back a groan.

Oh hell, she tasted so good. The salt from her tears mixed with a flavor he instinctively knew was pure Laine. He wanted more, needed more…

But instead he pulled away and cautiously rested his forehead against hers. She met his gaze and the tears welling in her beautiful brown eyes nearly broke him. She broke down at that point. Tye held her, rocked her. Tried to ease a bit of the anguish she held inside.

But he failed at that, he knew it. Whatever it was that had Laine so scared was bigger than anything a hug and gentle rocking could take care of. She cried only a few minutes, just enough to let a little of it out, then drifted off again.

Two hours later, the sun began to rise as Tye stared out her hospital room window, listening to her strong, even breaths. She thought she was going to leave this morning, just take off to who-knew-where, but he knew better. After he got a glimpse of her fear, there was only one place he’d be comfortable with her going.

His ranch.

He’d told himself a dozen times over the last hour that the idea of bringing her there had nothing to do with him kissing her, and had even less to do with the way she kissed him back. He’d put up a good front, even in his own mind. But in his gut he knew he’d been lying to himself.

He wanted her. And not in just a
I want to lay you down and take you in a hundred different ways
want. No, this was an
I’ll protect you, please God, let me protect you and keep you safe
want.

Deep down he was conscious of his need to do that, even though he had very little time to process the desire. As he looked at her now, curled up underneath the stark white institutional sheets and blanket, a head-banging revelation shot straight through his heart.

If there was ever an award for cluelessness, he’d win it. Hands down, with no contest. He’d been an idiot. A certifiable, no-holds-barred fricking idiot. To not tell her how he felt in the first place… Goddamn it.

But the past was the past, and there was no going back to fix any mistakes. He had to look to the future now and do what was necessary in order to ease her fears and set things right, all the while doing everything in his power to force her to see him as something other than a just a colleague or friend. He needed her to see him as something
more
. He needed her to see him as the man who would place his life on the line for her. As the man who would protect her, care for her and be there for her.

As the man who would do anything—
anything
—in order for her to have everything she ever wanted or needed.

Low, whispered voices drew Laine out of her blessed sleep coma. She stirred, gauging to see if the stampeding animals racing through her brain earlier had calmed themselves enough to let her draw in a breath and open her eyes. The pain was still there when she moved, though not quite as kill-me-now as it had been before. She fluttered her eyelashes and braced herself for a troop of cleat-wearing football players to reenact a bad version of
Stomp!
in her head as the light reached her pupils, but the dance routine thankfully never materialized.

The room was doused in shadow, but only because the drapes were drawn together over the single window to her right. She knew it had to be early morning, taking her clue from the lone ray of bright sunshine cutting through a crack at the edge of the curtains and slashing a line of fire across the foot of the bed. With the release of a held breath, she managed to raise herself high enough on her elbows to get a good look around, sending up yet another thank-you to the powers that be that her swollen eye had deflated enough she could see out of it now.

Tye stood next to the open door, chatting with a redheaded nurse and holding what looked to be a set of light-blue scrubs. The oomph she let out when she attempted to sit up further caught his attention, and he nearly ran to her side.

“Here, let me help you.”

He wrapped an arm around her back and lifted until he had her upright. Her head swam a little at the new position, and the deep-seated turmoil caused her stomach to roll, but she managed to bite back her impending wretch with another deep breath.

“Ho boy, just shoot me now. Please.”

Tye lifted a hand to her cheek and met her eye to eye. “Queasy?”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

He smiled, but the set of his lips was tight. Tense. Like he was faking, wanting to put her at ease when he wasn’t quite there himself. “Hopefully that will pass soon.” He concentrated on her lips as he spoke, and that unsettled flip of her stomach released its grip to reach up and clutch at her heart instead.

She let her eyes drift shut as she placed her palm against her stomach. To anyone looking, it would appear she was trying to quash an intestinal upheaval, which she was. But she was also using the moment to soak in his touch. His thumb circled the crest of her cheekbone while his fingertips massaged the edge of her earlobe and the sensitive skin underneath. It didn’t take more than a second for the relaxing swirls to set her mind adrift. She floated here and there, from the tangible of his touch right now to the memory of his kiss earlier. She relived the way he took control, the way he knew what she needed even when she wasn’t so sure herself. The kiss was perfect—evocative without being in-your-face—and gave her a real-life glimpse at what she’d spent months only dreaming about.

But it was the memory of the way she kissed him in return that snapped her back to reality. She said so much with the easy way she held onto his wrists and the unquestioning simplicity with which she opened not only her mouth to his, but opened her heart to him as well. The kiss said she trusted him. The kiss said she’d tell him the truth.

Which she would, just not here.

“Better?” His voice was low, like he was leery of disturbing her.

“Getting there,” she whispered back.

“Good.” He turned his body and sat on the edge of the bed, still caressing her cheek.

With an uncomfortable understanding of how an amoeba felt under the blazing eye of a microscope, she opened her eyes and searched the room for something she could use to distract him. Being the focal point certainly wasn’t anything new for her, but with her job as Public Defender she was also adept at forcing the spotlight off her and putting it on whichever case came across her desk that needed the most attention at the time. Did the driver who smashed into four cars in the local McDonald’s parking lot really blow a .162 blood alcohol level, or was the breathalyzer dysfunctional as he claimed? Focus on that. Was the client she’d assigned to one of her newer attorneys mentally fit to stand trial? Really easy to draw attention to that.

She drew from that particular skill set now. She eyed the scrubs he’d tossed on the end of the bed and tried to make light. “Making a new fashion statement? Sheriff in scrubs?”

Tye slid his hand from her cheek, down her arm until he reached her hand. He gave a squeeze to her fingers, and said, “They’re for you. It’s against his better judgment, but the doc says he’ll release you.”

“He will?”

Tye nodded. “Yep. Jim’s plastic surgeon stopped in while you were conked out. He took a look at that cut on your head and was able to close it up using medical glue instead of sutures, which is good news.”

She touched the side of her head, lingering for a moment over the fresh bandage. “I didn’t even wake up.”

“No, you were pretty out of it then, and when the nurse came in to unhook you from all the machines, too. Jim said that’s normal, though. It’s not like the old days where everyone thought you couldn’t let a person with a head injury sleep. Rest is probably the best thing for you right now.”

She set aside his concern for her at the moment and focused on his earlier statement instead. “So I can go?”

Tye stood and walked to the end of the bed. He gripped the footboard and met her gaze head-on. “There’s stipulations on that.”

“Stipulations? What kind of stipulations?”

“Jim only agreed to the discharge if you had someone to stay with you.”

“Oh?” It wasn’t too difficult to see where this was headed. “And let me guess. You’re the one who’s going to stay with me.”

He never wavered. “Not quite.”

She didn’t spend too long analyzing the zing of disappointment that warred with the relief she felt because he didn’t want to stay with her. She didn’t have to. Not when his next words flipped the chaos inside her and brought to life exactly what she dreaded. Or wanted. Oh God.

“You’re going to be staying with me.”

What? Wait… “No, I can’t.” For so many reasons. What if the guy who attacked her was watching her? What if he followed them back to Tye’s ranch? Yes, he was the Sheriff. And yes, he probably owned guns and rifles and who knew what else that he used not only for hunting but for protection too. But her mind couldn’t grab on to that. All she could think about was how secluded they’d be out there.

And didn’t that stir an entirely new pot? She’d be alone with him, twenty-four-seven, which really threw a wrench in her plans of escaping for a bit of solitude after he interrogated her for the investigation. She just didn’t know what to expect from him once she ‘fessed up with the truth. Would the sexy gleam in his eyes she so loved disappear when he looked at her? Would his smile wane, would his simple touches stop? Or would his reaction be the opposite? Could she—
should
she—even hope for that?

Either way, he didn’t seem the least bit interested in her opinion. “Non-negotiable, Laine. You need protection until your attacker is caught. I’ll provide that.”

“You can’t do this. Your job—”

“This
is
my job. Now, do you need help getting dressed? I can call the nurse in.”

His to-the-point terms combined with his stiff demeanor told her the discussion was over, not that it had ever had a chance to really begin. She sat there and stared at him with her mouth hanging open, searching her brain for a few rebellious words to throw back at him. But none were to be found. They’d hidden themselves away and she couldn’t help but think it was because her subconscious knew the score. Isn’t this what she wanted? Having him all to herself?

She studied the smug yet sexy
I won
expression on his face along with the hard seriousness in his eyes, and realized he’d never back down. That just wasn’t his style. Besides, she’d already decided to get everything out in the open. Maybe stealing away to his ranch wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Maybe by staying out there, out of sight, his deputies would have enough time to track down her attacker and haul him in. Maybe by staying alone with Tye, she’d finally be able to let the woman she was on the inside have a little freedom to reveal everything that had consumed her fantasies for so long.