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“More hugging is in my future,” Dakota said with a laugh that hurt her bruised ribs.
“I think we should go to the hospital,” Chloe said.
“I’m not being stubborn,” Dakota insisted. “The medics poked and prodded. If there was anything alarming, they would have figured it out.”
“What about internal damage?” Lindsey asked.
“You know more than anyone else that there would be signs.”
“I think we need some X-rays, just in case,” Chloe insisted.
With one nurse and one former nurse raising concerns, Dakota knew she was outvoted. She also knew any resistance from Ace would also be vehemently protested—and they were both going to lose. And they did.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sunlight streamed in through the guesthouse windows at Cooper’s place. Dakota woke with a smile. She wouldn’t admit aloud how frightened she’d been the day before when she and Ace had dropped from the sky. And though she hadn’t wanted to go to the hospital, she was a little glad his family had insisted.
Though it had taken hours, they’d walked out knowing they were fine. She’d been aching when, with Ace’s assistance, she’d gone to bed once again at the cottage, but the pain was endurable with Ace by her side. She was growing a little dependent on the man, and that worried her. Ace was unlike any other man she’d ever known, though, and she was enjoying her time with him even if she was scared of what that meant.
Though Dakota had always enjoyed her alone time—especially since she’d never had much of it growing up—these days, she felt this invisible string tying her to Ace. She rarely wanted to be away from him for too long. After the newness and exciting adventures they’d already been through wore off, she was sure that string was going to be severed.
But for now, she put on a borrowed pair of shoes and enjoyed the fresh morning air as she made the walk up to Cooper’s main house. She heard voices coming from the dining room as soon as she stepped through the back door. The kids were laughing and the adults talking as Dakota rounded the corner. She stopped in the hallway and observed the family. They appeared not to have a care in the world.
She was mesmerized as she watched Ace laugh at something his brother said to him. The man was beautiful, but when he smiled and laughed he was breathtaking. She felt her heart skip a beat. Yeah, she really was in trouble.
“You’re finally here. I thought you were going to sleep all day,” Chloe said, making everyone in the room turn to look at her, which made Dakota’s cheeks warm. “Must have been busy last night.” The heat in her cheeks tried to confirm what they were all thinking, but in reality, Ace had just held her as she’d fallen asleep in his arms, safe.
“The last few days must have caught up with me, and I just needed the sleep,” she told them.
The intense look Ace sent her reminded her how his hands had traveled all over her body two nights earlier, his mouth taking her to heaven before setting her on the ground again. He’d created a beast within her that it seemed only he could tame. She wasn’t happy at all about it. One night of no lovemaking and she was ready to jump his bones in front of his entire family. What in the heck was wrong with her?
“Come get something to eat, and you will feel back to normal in no time,” Stormy told her, taking her arm and leading her to the buffet, where a ton of food was sitting on warmers.
“We’ve waited for you to start,” Lindsey told her as they began grabbing plates.
“You didn’t have to do that. Now I feel bad,” Dakota told the group.
“Don’t worry. We would have come and gotten you very soon if you hadn’t shown up,” Chloe assured her.
“Good,” Dakota said.
Ace moved through the crowd and came to stand directly next to her, leaning down and running his lips softly across the nape of her neck. A shiver slid down her spine. She realized her knees just might give out on her if she wasn’t careful. She took a step away from him for her own sanity.
“It’s only been a couple hours, and I was already missing you,” he told her.
The glow his words caused inside her made her feel full enough not to need any food. All she seemed to need was him. This was a very dangerous road she was traveling.
“You should get some food,” she told him, finally meeting his eyes. She could have sworn she saw disappointment flash there, but how was that possible? Was he feeling what she was feeling? Why couldn’t she just admit to him that she had missed him too? Maybe because that made her feel too needy.
“Are we getting out of here today?” she asked as the two of them moved to the table with their plates full of food. She didn’t want him to use the plane crash as an excuse to keep her sheltered again.
“Are you still feeling restless even after our harrowing adventure yesterday?” he asked. He began eating, and now she was sure she hadn’t seen in his eyes what she’d thought she had. He was a confident man and didn’t care what she said or how she felt toward him. Maybe she was putting more into this than was actually warranted.
“Yes, I’m used to being out all the time and very active. To be trapped in the house all day isn’t something I can take for long,” she told him, her voice definitely pleading now.
Chloe and Nick joined them.
“I can attest to that. Dakota has been the one to drag me out of the house time and time again when I wanted nothing more than to stay home. But I will admit, we’ve always had fun on our many adventures,” Chloe said.
