Page 83 of The Vigilant

“Dr. Nilsen.” My heart launched into my throat when I entered Tynan’s cabin and saw the doctor packing up his things. My eyes flicked around the cabin wildly until they settled on the closed bathroom door, realizing Tynan must be inside.

I’d been in the garage for most of the day, my mind working through a tangle of thoughts as I cleaned the dirt and dust and blood from Tynan’s motorcycle. I had to tell him the truth. There was no way around it. Not only did I owe it to him, but it would be better this way. To rip the Band-Aid off before things got more complicated.

The way I figured it, it would be easier now to lose something I never had.

“Sutton.” Dr. Nilsen’s chin dipped.

“Is everything okay?” I was surprised to see him.Worried.I’d assumed when he’d told me I’d have to change Tynan’s bandages today it meant he wasn’t going to stop by.

I adjusted the two paper bags of groceries on my hips and walked toward the kitchen, noticing then that the rolling bed Tynan had been recuperating on was gone, too.

“Decided it was time for the bandage to come off. I put a different sealer over the wound so he can shower now.”

“Oh.” My lips didn’t fully shut after the sound, imagining Tynan’s naked chest in the stream of a shower.Imagining all of him naked in the shower.

Dr. Nilsen zipped up his tool bag and slung it over his shoulder, the motion jarring me from my thoughts. “Still need to take it easy for a little bit yet, but no concerns on my end.”

Tynan reappeared then, his body going unmistakably stiff when he saw me. He collected himself, thanking the doctor a second later, who then nodded and offered a low goodbye before leaving the cabin.

“Where were you?” he asked low, the faintest hint of displeasure in his voice as he approached the counter.

A hot shiver ran along my spine, relishing for a single second the sharp edge of possession in his tone before burying the warm feeling.

“Washing your bike,” I answered and began to unpack the groceries onto the counter. “It was a little dirty after our ride over here.”

He frowned. “You didn’t have to do that.”

My throat tightened. “I know.”

“What’s all this?” Tynan rumbled, his gaze scanning everything on the counter.

“You said you liked ramen.” I grabbed a pot off the rack and filled it with water, setting it on the stove on high.

“You’re making dinner?” he drawled low and folded his arms.

I wasn’t kidding when I said my cooking skills were nonexistent, but for him—for what he’d done for me, I’d try.

“Are you worried I’m going to poison you?” I lifted my brow, taking a frying pan out next, dousing the bottom with some olive oil, and setting it on the stove.

Tynan made a low laugh and took a seat at one of the counter stools. “You could try.”

Our eyes connected longer than they should have, and I quickly looked away, grabbing a cutting board, a knife, and the closest vegetable waiting to be chopped. It was a carrot.

“Poison wouldn’t be my preferred method,” I said and let the knife fall, lopping off the stem end of the carrot in a single blow.

His eyes blew wide. “Touché.”

I grinned, the warm ease we’d had in each other’s company before finding its way back for a few seconds until the unmistakable weight of guilt returned to his features and reminded me of my own.

“You don’t have to do this, Sutton,” Tynan said, his voice huskier as he leaned into the chair, offering a full view of his bare chest and corded muscles.

He was wrong.I grabbed the peppers and onions, using all of my concentration to dice them in silence until I couldn’t take the tension any longer.

“You’re injured, and it’s my fault. Plus, how many nights have you cooked for me?” I blinked rapidly, assuring myself it was the raw onions that made my eyes burn to the brink of tears.

“I cook for everyone,” he grunted.

“Exactly,” I said with feigned lightness, dumping the vegetables into the sizzling fry pan. “When was the last time someone cooked for you?”

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