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“Yes.”
She groaned. “I hate that you think you can lie to me. And that you still try. You claim to want a relationship with me. How do you think that works without trust, AJ?”
His own mask fell away, revealing what the wear and tear of weeks of being on the sideline did to him. Brackets carved around his mouth.
Suddenly, she saw herself in the man before her. Weren’t they in the same situation? Hadn’t she just checked her email to see if there was anything she could do to feel useful? Wasn’t she still hoping for that little chime indicating Brown texted her?
AJ’s gaze cut over her. “Dammit, you are hurting. I can tell by how tense you are. You’re propping yourself up just to stay on your feet. Come to the bathroom with me and let me see to your wound.”
When she didn’t move, he leveled her in a look. In the next blink, he plucked her up into his arms, cradling her with all the tenderness imaginable and in such a way that her side didn’t even hurt. Or if it did, she forgot about it.
Being cuddled against his chiseled chest made her body short-circuit and her mind go haywire. He smelled amazing. His strong arms surrounding her was something straight out of many, many lonely nights’ worth of fantasies.
She stared at his carved jaw and wanted to rub her cheek over that bristly short beard.
The stirrings low in her belly had nothing to do with pain and everything to do with the gorgeous alpha carrying her through the apartment.
When they reached her bathroom, he used his shoulder to nudge open the door and somehow managed to keep from jostling her at all.
Gently, he set her on the vanity counter.
“Did you train with firemen or something?”
Confusion pinched his brows. “What?”
“Do they train you in various types of carry—you know, like the firemen’s carry.” She trailed off as she realized she sounded like she fell and hit her head. She shrugged. “You didn’t hurt me at all carrying me.”
“Good. I was trying to be gentle.” He reached toward the hem of her top but dropped his hand before touching her. “Will you pull up your shirt so I can see what’s going on?”
“You didn’t ask to take off my clothes last night.”
The words tumbled out before she could snatch them back.
His gaze jerked to hers. Their stares locked together like two entwined bodies, rolling in a scorching embrace.
Needing to break that contact now—before she did something else she regretted—she inched her top upward to reveal her side.
He crowded a step closer so she couldn’t move to jump down if she wanted to escape. His body heat washed over her. His scent woke up her ovaries and told them to drop a dozen eggs. To not only have his babies but hisarmy.
She was losing it.Focus.
“The waist of your pants is up too high. Mind if I pull them down a little?” His low, gritty tone was a rough stroke to her senses.
“Sure.” She stared at his chest as he eased her stretchy waistband down.
He made a noise in his throat that had her looking down at her side.
Fresh red blood spotted the gauze bandage.
Her vision blurred and she tipped forward.
AJ caught her up in his arms, holding her steady on the countertop. “I got you. Fuck. You’re not all right. I’m getting you to the hospital.”
“No. I’m okay. I don’t get woozy at the sight of blood. I don’t know what happened.”
“You don’t usually seeyourblood. I’m going to carry you to bed and lay you down there. I can’t have you passing out on me, cupcake.”
“Cupcakes are sweet little fluffy things with sprinkles. I’m prickly and moody and…beige. I don’t even compare.”
