He remembered her begging him not to go to sleep, and remembered staring into her eyes and wanting to promise her anything, his motorcycle, his bank account, his life, if only she wouldn’t cry.
He didn’t remember the ambulance ride or the E.R., but he remembered Bella sleeping at his side, and Austin and Cord coming to see him, the two of them looking at him with dark, worried eyes, and Austin saying that if Jacob was going to be stupid enough to stand on the back stoop of a woman who tended to get her men shot, then the least he could do was wear a vest. Point taken.
He needed protection when it came to Bella. Unfortunately the kind of protection he needed was a heart guard, and that hadn’t been invented yet.
But he was home now…
How had he gotten here?
His bedroom door opened and Bella slid in, carrying a pitcher and a glass. She set them down very quietly then turned to smooth his covers, and nearly jerked right out of her skin when she saw that his eyes were open.
“Oh! You’re awake! Are you in pain? Do you need-”
“You. I need you.” With his good hand, he tugged her down to the bed. The shift nearly killed him, but he sucked in a breath and managed a smile. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
She visibly softened and cupped one side of his jaw, pressing her mouth to the other side. “Right back at you. Do you need another pain pill?”
“Yes, but don’t give me one. I can’t even remember getting here.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t remember the…um, couch?”
He went still as it came back, her kneeling between his spread legs, her mouth on him, and the memory had pleasure suffusing his body. “I thought that was just a really great dream.” He met her gaze. “Thank you, by the way. But I still don’t remember getting into bed.”
She nodded and looked away, and he’d swear that was relief crossing her features. He stroked a thumb over the backs of her fingers. “What did I do, Bella?”
“Nothing.”
“Did I say anything to upset you?”
“No, nothing like that.” She sagged a little. “It was me, okay?
He blinked. “What was it?”
She groaned and pressed her forehead to his good shoulder. “Never mind. Are you thirsty? I brought you water, the doctor said not to let you get dehydrated.”
“Bella-”
“Here.” She sat up at his hip and poured him a glass.
He lifted a hand to her wrist and she shook her head. “Please?”
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded his reluctant agreement to let the subject go. She held the glass to his lips and, looking over the edge at her, amused, he sipped.
“Hungry?” she asked. “I can cook you up some breakfast before I have to go.”
He smiled. “In your apron?”
She arched a brow.
“Sorry. That was fantasy number two. We never got to it.”
“You have a fantasy about me in an apron?”
He shook his head, feeling a little fuzzy. “I’m sorry. It’s a guy thing.”
“Huh.” She got off the bed. “Breakfast. I’ll get it.” And then she was gone.
He went back to studying the ceiling.
She came back into the room, and holy shit. If he hadn’t been lying down, he’d have fallen. She was wearing a black bra and matching panties, low on her hips and sexy enough to put him into heart-attack danger. She’d created an apron out of one of his kitchen towels and used another to create a little cap on her head.
“At your service, sir,” she murmured throatily, giving him a little curtsy. “What can I get you?”
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I was going for a French-maid thing, but I can’t pull off the accent.”
He could only stare at her as she sashayed across the room and sat perched at his hip with a small, warm smile. Leaning over him, she lightly brushed her lips to his.
He was afraid he was drooling. “God, Bella,” he said on a low, baffled, bewildered laugh. “I-”
Austin walked into the bedroom and stopped short with a choked breath at the sight of Bella sitting on Jacob’s bed, leaning over him in nothing but her underwear. “Um,” he said brilliantly.
“Jesus, Austin,” Jacob snapped as Bella squealed and dived under the covers with him, hiding her face in his armpit. “Get out.”
“Sorry,” Austin said, then just stood there with a broad grin on his face. “I came to see if you needed anything, but I can see that you are being extremely well taken care of.”
From beneath the covers, Bella squeaked again.
Austin just continued to grin like a jackass. “Fantasy number two.
Still out of sight, Bella punched Jacob in his good arm.
Jacob shook his head. “No. I-”
“Yeah,” Austin said. “You told us at the hospital. Don’t be mad, Bella,” he said to the lump under the sheet. “We totally took advantage of him being high.”
While Jacob was appreciating-and loving-the feeling of Bella wearing only her panties and bra all pressed up against him and squirming, he figured he had about three seconds to get his brother out of here before she killed him. “Austin?”
“Let me guess. Get the hell out?” With a grin, he said, “Going. But next time you play dress up, you really should lock the door.”
“Maybe next time you should knock.”
“And miss out on all the fun?” With a laugh, Austin turned toward the door. “I’ll be in the kitchen making myself something to eat. Loudly, so I can’t hear you two do your thing.”
Jacob decided it was worth the pain and reached for the phone on the nightstand to chuck it at his brother’s head, but Austin laughed again and hastily shut the door behind him.
Leaving a stunned and awkward silence.
For a beat, the only thing visible of Bella was a few strands of wild hair, then suddenly she was in motion, leaping out of the bed, her makeshift cap all askew, the apron half on, half off, one of her bra straps slipped to her elbow.
She looked hot as hell.
“So,” he said. “Where were we?”
She whirled, eyes reflecting her disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“He said he’d make lots of noise so he couldn’t hear you-”
“Oh, my God.” She hauled open his closet door. Her underwear was riding up in back, giving him a heart- attack-inducing view. “He said he’d make lots of noise so he couldn’t hear the
“Honey,” Jacob said with a smile.
She went still, then turned on him in her half-naked glory, eyes narrowed. “Honey, what? And be careful here, because it seems like you might be suggesting that only one of us makes a lot of noise in bed.”
Jacob wisely wiped the smile off his face. By the look on hers, he wasn’t entirely successful.
She yanked off both the cap and the apron and helped herself to a pale blue button-down from his closet. It came to her thighs and she looked just as hot as she had in only her underwear. “Sweats,” she demanded.
“Third drawer down.” He pointed to his dresser.
“I can’t help it if I’m…noisy,” she said, helping herself to a pair of dark blue air force sweats that dragged on the floor. She pulled them up with a hip shimmy that made his eyes cross.
“Bella?”
“I love the noises you make,” he said. “Especially when I’m-”
