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He chuckled. “I didn’t think of that.”
“But you thought of everything else, AJ. Thank you.” Her eyes burned with genuine emotion, not the masked variety she’d been giving him since he stepped back into her life.
Her wall was falling. He was tearing it down slowly, brick by brick.
Who knew the way to a woman’s heart was with balloons, Indian tea and cheese?
* * * * *
Indika’s first evening at home from the hospital was better than she expected. She’d prepared herself for personal struggles like getting up and down, taking her pain pills on time and generally caring for herself.
Instead, AJ anticipated her every need.
And the balloons made it so much better. The rich jewel tones of the rainbow shouldn’t delight a woman at age thirty, yet here she was marveling at how much they cheered her up. Even if AJ had been a little backhanded with his reason why he took the trouble to blow them all up.
Now she saw clearly just how faded she’d allowed her life to become. But what did he expect? When she found out he was gone, she stopped living.
A small twinge in her side warned her it was time for those pain pills. She threw off the blanket to get up, but AJ hopped off the sofa and was already striding into the kitchen. She heard the refrigerator door open and close. A second later, he stood next to her with a bottled water and a pill on his open palm.
“I feel like I’m going to be stir-crazy by tomorrow. I’ve never sat still so long in my life.”
“I know all about being stir-crazy.” He issued a low huff. The rumbling sound made her feel suddenly warm, and she gulped the pill a little too fast.
A cough exploded out, and AJ dived for her. He squashed a pillow over her side just like the nurse told her to do when she needed to cough, sneeze or laugh.
“Oh god,” she murmured, aware of his mouth inches away, how he smelled like fresh laundry and just how much she wanted him despite the staples in her side.
She coughed again and cleared her throat.
He turned his head to look at her. His stare hit her lips and raised all kinds of terrible ideas in her mind. “Better?” he rumbled.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Slowly, he straightened and cut a hand through his hair. It was longer since he’d been on medical leave. Being Blackout came with a lot of perks, such as lax rules about appearance compared to what other people in the military had to adhere to, but he never let his hair grow out.
It looked good on him.
Too good.
Bad boy, in fact.
Which was exactly why she wasn’t into bad boys anymore. She was into nice guys without secrets. The kind who took things slow and kisses on the cheek were enough until they knew each other better.
Notthe guy who stood before her, a dark scowl on his rugged features.
She dropped her gaze from his face and immediately regretted it.
The front of his worn jeans bulged with an unmistakable erection.
Her insides trembled with sudden want. Her panties instantly damp.
This was ridiculous. The doctor advised her not to have sex, not that she’d considered the possibility at the time. Now she wondered if the doctor saw AJ and justknewthat any girl in her right mind would want to climb onto his muscled body and ride him into the sunset.
Or at least into the wee hours of the morning.
A soft moan escaped her before she could pull it back.
AJ’s stare sharpened on her. “You’re really in pain. What can I do?”
