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“Right, to keep an eye out for her ex-boss. I’m sure that it has nothing to do with you being smitten by the redhead or wanting her to really be your girlfriend,” Maverick teased.
“Shut the fuck up,” Owen grumbled, giving him back his words. He was right though, not that he’d ever tell his brother that. He wanted Tilly and if lying and saying that he was her boyfriend meant that he wouldn’t have to leave her side, then so be it.
“I have to run, but I’ll check in with you in a couple of days. If you need me sooner, just call my cell,” Maverick said.
“Thanks,” Owen said. He was going to have to call on his brother sooner than he wanted because he was going to need to run some new security measures out at his place, but he’d bring all that up later. Right now, he wanted to get rid of his brother before Tilly was released. The last thing he wanted was his brother tagging along with the two of them when he showed her around his place and all but begged her to stay in his room with him.
He walked back into Tilly’s hospital room, and she beamed up at him. “I get to go home,” she said. “Well, not my home but I get to go home with you.” Hearing her say that she was going home with him did strange things to his libido, but there was no way that he’d let her know that.
“I’m so happy that you’re getting out of here,” he said. “And I promise to make you feel at home in my home. It’s just until we can make sure that you’re safe.”
“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “I mean, I do have some memory issues, but I can remember what we talked about this morning.” God, she was adorable. The past twenty-four hours together had shown him that he had good taste when it came to picking up women at the club. Sure, Tilly had turned him down flat, but he really liked the way things were turning in his favor. All it took was for poor Tilly to be attacked in the ladies’ room at his club and need someone to take care of her. Yeah, that didn’t make him sound like an asshole at all.
The nurse from the hallway walked into the room and smiled at Tilly. “Are you ready to get out of here?” she asked.
“I am,” Tilly agreed. “And Owen has agreed to take good care of me.”
The nurse smiled at him and nodded. “I’m sure that he will.” He wasn’t sure if the nurse really meant it or if she could secretly read his filthy mind and see just how he wanted to take care of Tilly. If that was the case, she wouldn’t have let him anywhere near her patient.
“Um, I’ll just go get my truck,” he offered. “I’ll meet you out front,” he said.
“I’ll be the one in a wheelchair,” Tilly teased. He chuckled and walked out the door, hoping that he’d be able to get himself together on the walk to the parking garage. He needed to get his mind out of the gutter if he was going to be able to take care of Tilly and keep her safe. After all, that was what he promised to do for her.
Tilly
Tilly wasn’t sure why she felt so nervous about going home with Owen, but she did. While the nurse was helping her get dressed, she kept calling Owen her “Boyfriend” and that made her both giddy and a ball of nerves.
“Do you live far away?” she asked. She honestly didn’t even know where he lived. For all she knew, he was going to take her out to the middle of nowhere and leave her for dead. But then, why would he have gone through all the trouble to stay by her side for the past day that she was in the hospital? He would have dumped her off at the hospital and left her there—but he hadn’t. Instead, he told the nurse that he was her boyfriend so that they’d let him stay the night with her. He had kept his promise and stayed by her side, making sure that Nate didn’t get to her again to finish the job.
“Nope, just around the corner, really,” Owen said. “We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
“Oh, great,” she said. “I guess I’m just a little bit more tired than I thought I was. Getting out of the hospital really took a toll on my energy levels.”
“Well, as soon as we get to my place, I’ll show you your room and you can take a nap,” he offered.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Of course,” he agreed. “I have a few things to do around the house and I’ll make us some dinner.”
“You cook?” she asked.
“Yes, I can cook,” he said. Owen sounded a bit hurt by her question and she immediately regretted asking it.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she insisted. “I was just surprised that’s all. I mean, we met in a biker bar, and you don’t scream “Chef” when I look at you. Plus, you’ve already told me that you’re in security. I guess you’re just naturally good at everything.”
“Now, you’re just trying to flatter me,” he grumbled, causing her to giggle.
“Ouch,” she said, grabbing her head. “I forgot how much it hurts to laugh with a concussion.”
“Sorry,” he said, “I’ll try not to say anything that will make you laugh for the next few days.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“The doctors want me to wake you up every hour to check on you,” he reminded. “If you want, you can stay in my room with me, to make it easier on both of us.” She shot him a look and knew that she was going to turn him down before the words were even out of her mouth. How could she not? She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea about everything if she climbed into his bed.
“Owen,” she started, and he let out the breath that he was holding. Her tone sounded harsh to her own ears, and she knew that she wasn’t going to hold back from telling him exactly how she felt about staying in his room with him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, I appreciate you wanting to check on me, as the doctor ordered, but I’d prefer to stay on your sofa or something. I wouldn’t even mind an air mattress.” She was laying it on a bit thick. Tilly had made it clear that she’d rather sleep just about anywhere else rather than in his bed.
“Got it,” he mumbled. “I think that I might have a ratty old mattress in my garage. Maybe you’d like to sleep on that?” he asked. He was being an ass, but she had brought on his attitude herself.
