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They’d made love several times last night. The first time had been hot and heavy, the second much slower, but no less satisfying. She got her cowgirl stint in. Then, in the depths of the morning, she noticed his legs shifting like he was uncomfortable. She suggested that he take them off and talk to her about them.
Sage had seen many things in her career as a police officer. She’d helped veterans in the freezing cold, and she’d even seen some wrecks that had taken limbs, but she’d never really had prosthetics explained to her. She’d never had a reason to research them.
Brian’s face closed down and the sigh he released was a little defeated, but he did as she requested. Sitting up, he showed her how the sleeve rolled over the stump of his leg, then the liner, then the prosthetic itself. He had two different ones. Both had artificial feet on the ends, but they fit very different.
“What the heck is that?” She pointed at a channeled strip of iron on the side of the right leg prosthetic. It looked to have been added later.
He grinned slightly. “Well, when I want to carry concealed, my buddy John created a mount for one of my holsters. I just lift up my pant leg and I have my weapon.”
“Okay, that’s ingenious.”
Yeah, it was. And John had a list of guys waiting for the same modification.
The right leg was a lot wider at the top to accommodate his thigh. But they both worked by utilizing suction.
“When my legs are seated,” he said, voice quiet, “I could probably hang by my feet, and they wouldn’t come off. The suction is that tight.”
“Damn,” she breathed, and reached for the below the knee prosthetic. It was very well built with a carbon fiber cup and sticky neoprene top. She could see why it would grip like it did.
“After a while they start to hurt, so I have to take them off.”
She nodded, handing the leg back to him. “I bet they can be incredibly painful. I mean, you’re kind of walking on your skin. And I bet the skin gets irritated.”
Brian nodded. “It can. A few years ago, I got a bad infection. I couldn’t wear my left leg for weeks, and I worried it would spread to the right leg. It didn’t, thank God, but for a while it was touch and go. I keep a wheelchair on hand in case of something like that. It’s also why I took the bottom apartment. If I have to use the chair, I don’t want to have to deal with finding a way up to the apartment.”
Sage ran her hand down his right leg, brushing her fingers over the stump. It was red from being in the cup so long today and most of the night. He still had muscle, here, but it was shaped different. The left, longer leg still had the knee, though it was dimpled with scar tissue. As she looked across his skin, she could see several silvery marks of scar tissue. They lessened the higher up she looked, but they had to have been painful, too.
“I can’t imagine the pain you went through,” she murmured, leaning forward to press a kiss to his clamped lips.
Brian seemed surprised at the movement and cupped her face. “Don’t they bother you,” he asked, and she could hear the incredulity in his voice.
Sage shook her head. “Not especially. I mean, I’m sorry for everything you went through and that you were injured, but if you’re waiting for me to kick you out of bed, it’s not going to happen. That’s not the most important part of your body,” she grinned, kissing him again. This time, he opened to her, allowing her to push him down onto the mattress. They were a little too tired to fuck, but they weren’t too tired to cuddle, and she settled into his arms happily. Yes, she was sure they would run into issues, but he was more than just his legs.
Even though it had been so early in the morning, she remembered every word, because it had been an important conversation. She’d almost told him she loved him then, but it was too soon. Probably. She hadn’t been in this kind of situation before. Hell, now that she’d felt the way she was with Brian, she doubted she’d ever loved Tim. There was no comparison.
She heard noise out in the living room, and she waited, looking toward the doorway. When he ducked his head in, she grinned at him. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” he responded and came to sit on the side of the bed. She could tell that he’d just taken a shower. His blond hair was dark with moisture, and his jaw freshly shaved. “Did I wake you?”
She shook her head against the pillow. “Nope. My bladder did.”
“Well, you can close your eyes for a few more minutes. I’ll take care of breakfast.”
Sage widened her eyes. “Oh, really? Well, I may let you then.”
Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her mouth, lingering for a long moment as he tasted her. When he drew back, there was a puzzled expression on his face. “I thought maybe last night had been a fluke, but you taste even better today. I don’t understand it.”
Sage grinned and cupped his smooth cheek. “I don’t either, but I’m going with the flow.”
Grinning, he winked at her and left the bedroom.
Sage rolled over onto her back. The man was sexy as hell, and she was so happy she’d met him at that wedding.
When she couldn’t go back to sleep, she got dressed and headed out to the kitchen. Brian stood at the stove, flipping a pancake or something. She could smell bacon in the oven.
“If you can cook, I may never let you go,” she murmured.
Brian turned to her and quirked a brow. “Okay,” he said simply, and Sage fought not to blush. When he turned back to the stove, she winced. What had she been thinking? That had sounded kind of desperate.
