Flashback

eyes, he felt the various aches and pains from the fire, and from the mattress gymnastics he and Kenzie had executed, and was grateful to know he had two days off, because more sleep was on his To Do list. Much more.

So was more mattress gymnastics.

Considering that Kenzie was wrapped around him like a pretzel, that shouldn’t be too difficult to manage. As he looked into her face, taking in each of the cuts and the bruises there in the light of day, he felt a tug in his belly.

He wished like hell he could say he was just hungry, but he knew the truth.

He was a goner.

She was as cut up and bruised as he was, more so, and if he hurt like hell, he could only imagine how she felt. He was used to such injuries. She wasn’t.

“I realize I’ve spent my days on a television set, where my worst injury was a paper cut from that day’s script,” she whispered, eyes still closed. “But I’m not feeling as bad as I probably look.”

Her face was relaxed now; and he realized it hadn’t been before-not on Blake’s boat, not when she’d crawled in bed with him, not even when he’d stripped her out of his shirt and proceeded to make her scream.

That he’d undone her so easily didn’t stroke his ego. She’d undone him just the same. It’d always been like that for them, a virtual explosion of need and lust and hunger.

But he’d attributed much of that to being young and horny. He hadn’t anticipated a resurgence of those feelings, And he doubted she had either. But that’s exactly what they’d gotten.

With a sigh, she slid out of his arms and off the bed. He enjoyed the view as she walked to the bathroom, but when she shut the door, his smile faded. She needed sustenance, and a bandage change. Getting up, he pulled on his jeans and went into the kitchen, where he grabbed a pan and eggs and went to work getting them both some protein so that they could go back to bed and burn it all off again.

His doorbell rang and Aidan stopped dicing peppers long enough to sign the clipboard of a pudgy guy in brown shorts, who handed him a slim package.

When he heard the shower go off, he finished the eggs and then grabbed his first-aid bag and knocked on the door. “Bandages, aspirin and breakfast. And your package from L.A. is here.”

“Perfect timing-I’ve got to run.”

“You mean back to Los Angeles?”

The door opened and steam came out. As did Kenzie wrapped in another of his towels. “Not back. Not yet.”

The towel was tucked between her breasts, which pushed them up and nearly out, a fact he’d have taken the time to thoroughly enjoy except for the nasty bruise arcing along her left collar bone. “You need rest.”

“I need clothes.” She moved past him and into his bedroom. “Can I borrow a pair of sweats?”

“Sure.” He opened his dresser and handed the clothes over.

“Thanks. I’ve really got to go.”

She was going to go snoop. Get in Tommy’s way. Get herself arrested. “Kenzie, listen to me. You need to stay out of the investigation. The chief doesn’t want you digging-”

“I don’t work for him. He can’t tell me what to do.”

“If you stay-”

“No. Thank you, but, no.”

Usually in the light of day, with a woman in his bedroom, he was the one who had to go. Usually.

Okay, always.

It felt odd to have the shoe on the other foot. Especially given the magnitude of what they’d shared last night, and he wasn’t alone in feeling it, dammit. He knew he wasn’t.

But Kenzie moved carefully away from him, slowly, as if still in pain, but with conviction. She was set on going, leaving him with a disconcerted feeling in his gut.

Was this how he’d made women feel? Like they’d already been forgotten? “Let’s change your bandages-”

“I can do it on my own.”

Seemed she was used to doing stuff on her own. That was new.

So was his unsettledness over the way this was going down.

“Yeah,” she said at his quiet surprise. “I’m not the same helpless little thing I used to be.”

“I never thought you were helpless.”

“Well, I was. But I’ve grown up. I’ve changed. In many ways. And I don’t need anyone’s help. For anything.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You needed me when we-”

“No. Well, yes, yes, I needed you to save me from the fire, but-”

“That’s not what I was talking about.” He pointed to his bed.

“Oh, no. That was just me, breaking your heart. I warned you, remember.”

Bullshit. That hadn’t been just revenge. “Kenzie.”

“Sorry. Got to go. Have to go.” Once again she dropped her towel, which had the same magical effect on him as it had last night. While he stood there taking in the glorious sight of her naked body, she pulled on the sweats, kissed him on the cheek, then walked out of the room.

And, given the sound of the front door opening and then closing, out of his house.

And, most likely, out of his life.

Fitting justice really, as he’d once done the same to her. Moving to the living room, he looked out the window in time to catch her taillights as they vanished down his driveway.

I’ve changed, she’d said, and she had.

But as the blood once again began a northward flow from behind the zipper of his pants back up to his brain, another thought managed to get his attention.

He’d changed as well. And he was going to prove it.

8

SOMEONE WAS KNOCKING on Aidan’s door when he turned off the shower. She’d come back. With his pulse kicking, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, heading for the door at a speed far faster than his usual get-there-when-I-get-there saunter.

Only it wasn’t Kenzie at all. “Dammit.”

His best friend and partner Zach just looked at him. “Nice to see you, too.” Without waiting for an invitation, he pushed past Aidan and walked in.

Fair enough. Aidan had let himself into Zach’s house plenty of times. Aidan shut the door behind Zach and shoved his fingers through his wet hair. “Sorry. Thought you were someone else.”

Zach took in Aidan standing there dripping wet, wearing only a towel. “Clearly. Who is she?”

“How do you know it’s a she?”

“Because if you’re meeting a guy dressed like that, we have a whole different issue to talk about.”

Aidan rolled his eyes and left Zach to go get some clothes. In his bedroom, he looked at his bed as he pulled on a clean shirt. The covers were tossed half on the floor, and on his nightstand were two empty condom wrappers.

And though it was crazy given that Kenzie had used his shampoo, his clothes and his soap, he’d have sworn he could smell her scent, some complicated mix of soft, determined, sexy woman. He stared at the bed, remembering how he’d felt when she’d crawled in with him, remembering how natural it’d been to kiss and touch her, to sink into her body and go to a place he hadn’t been in a long time.

Then they’d slept together, and that had felt good, too, being all tangled up in each other again. Familiar, but new. Even better, if that was possible. Things hadn’t been complicated in the dark.

Things had been amazing.

But she’d left.