Page 41 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

“It says every six hours as needed for pain. I don’t need it right now.”

“Dr. Frank said you should take them every six hours today to stay ahead of the discomfort. He said it might keep you from being too sore to get around tomorrow.”

“But—”

He sighed gustily and sat on the couch beside her, holding out the water and the medication. “Lindsey. Take the damned pill.”

Her own sigh was just as heavy as his, but she finally accepted the pill. “I’m only letting you get away with giving me orders today because I know you’re trying to be nice,” she muttered. “But I’m giving you notice that I’m very close to putting an end to it, regardless of your motives.”

“Message received.” He watched in satisfaction as she swallowed the pill. He wondered if she’d noticed he’d made no promises that he would stop giving orders, especially if he considered them for her own good. He suspected she had noticed.

She set the empty water glass on the end table beside her. “You really shouldn’t feel obligated to stay with me all day. I know you’re anxious to get back to work. If I need anything, there are quite a few people who urged me to call.”

He glanced at his watch, then toward the front door. And then he looked back at her, his gaze lingering on her bandaged temple. “I can hang around for a while yet—just to make sure you’re okay.”

Smiling gently, she lifted a hand to his face. “I’m fine,” she said, speaking very slowly. “I’ve had a nap, a shower, a good meal and two pain pills. As touched as I am by your thoughtfulness, you have an arsonist to catch. Go do what you have to do.”

The feel of her soft hand against his face broke something loose inside him. He caught her fingers in his and pulled her hand around to his mouth. He dropped a kiss in her palm, then closed her fingers around it, keeping her folded hand in his. “When I saw that wall explode around you this morning—”

He had to stop to clear his throat. “It really shook me,” he said finally, frustrated by the massive understatement. He could still picture that wall toppling, Lindsey going down, debris raining on her—and himself not able to even move to find out if she was all right. That moment of inaction—so unlike his usual quick responses—still loomed in his memory, seeming so much longer than real time had been. For the first time in his life he had understood the term paralyzed by fear.

“I didn’t mean to give you such a scare. If I’d had any idea anything like that could happen, I wouldn’t have been so close, I assure you.”

“Maybe next time you’ll use better judgment,” he growled.

“Now don’t spoil everything with another lecture. You were being so sweet.”

That made him frown. “I’m not sweet.”

“Not under normal circumstances,” she agreed amiably. “But you have been today. Even if it’s only because you care enough to worry about me, I appreciate it.”

“Of course I care,” he muttered, keeping his eyes on their clasped hands. “Hell, Lindsey, I’ve known you most of your life. The better part of mine, for that matter.”

Sitting very still, she hesitated a moment before asking, “Is that all there is between us, Dan? A long-time friendship?”

He considered his own words carefully before replying, “A very special friendship.”

She scooted just a bit closer to him, so that their thighs brushed. “How special?”

His whole body reacted to that light contact. “Lindsey…” His voice was gruff.

She wrinkled her nose—an expression that only made him want to kiss her more. “You always say my name in just that tone when I begin to make you nervous.”

“Sweetheart, lately you keep me shaking in my boots all the time,” he said ruefully.

The unguarded endearment brought a smile to her lips. “I’ve been told that it sometimes takes a figurative blow to the head to get some men’s attention. I was beginning to think I was going to have to resort to a two-by-four with you.”

Oh, she had his attention, all right. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment she’d claimed it, but he’d hardly stopped thinking about her for the past three weeks. Even when he’d been fully occupied with other matters, thoughts of Lindsey had hovered at the back of his mind, waiting to reclaim his attention.

Despite all the times he had advised himself to resist his feelings for her, to discourage her attentions for her own good, all it took was for her to wrinkle her nose and smile at him—or to touch his face—and his willpower crumbled.

No, he couldn’t say when he’d first decided he wanted Lindsey Gray, but he was quite sure the wanting had only grown stronger since that point.

“Lindsey,” he began again, not certain what he meant to say afterward. His phone cut him off before he had a chance to decide.

He sighed and released Lindsey’s hand so he could retrieve the phone from his shirt pocket. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “You have work to do. Answer your call.”

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