Finally, she looked up at him, her eyes a bit weary now. They’d lost that sparkle he’d seen in them earlier when she realized he’d remembered how she ordered her salad. She started to say something but then seemed to catch herself. “I guess,” she said then looked back down at her salad. “This is really good.” He watched as she stabbed some lettuce and a piece of chicken. She looked up at him with a sad little smile. “Thank you for remembering how I like it.”

Chapter Twelve

Regina

Indebted wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how Regina felt toward this man she’d referred to as a pretentious jerk just a week ago. As if last night hadn’t been enough, Brandon had taken the day off work and was apparently going to wait on her hand and foot.

She watched as he undid the extra wrap they’d given her at the ER. “This is barely enough for a few days if you plan on changing it daily,” he said without looking up. “I’ll make another run to the drugstore and grab you some more.”

“That’s okay, Brandon,” she said quickly, feeling like such a burden. “It should last me the weekend, and then I can get some on Monday on my way home from work.”

He looked up at her. Regina was already recognizing some of his expressions. The one he wore now was the annoyed one he got every time she rejected his help.

“Okay,” she conceded, preferring the smiling even serious Brandon over the annoyed one. “I guess if it’s not too much trouble you can get it for me before then.”

“No trouble at all,” he said, lifting her ankle gently then taking a seat on her bed and lowering her ankle onto his thighs.

Regina watched how gentle he was when he removed the splint, trying to focus on that and how she would’ve never believed this last week. Sergeant Billings was in her bedroom, sitting on her bed with her legs technically around him. It was a silly thought, even rang a little of middle school immaturity, but she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling.

“I was gonna make a run to the drugstore anyway to get you a shower chair.”

Her silly thoughts were instantly warped, and she looked up from her ankle to his very serious face. “What?”

Taking his eyes off her ankle for a moment, he glanced up at her. “Yeah, I saw the mess you made in your bathroom. Even after all these hours, the floor is still wet. It’s a wonder you didn’t fall trying to get out of there.” He shook his head and went back to concentrating on wrapping her ankle. “A shower chair will be a lot safer.”

Normally she would’ve said something snarky—retort sarcastically that he was taking an awful lot of liberties with decisions that should be hers. She’d never been one to need someone to take care of her, much less come in and just take over. But something about his concern for her well-being warmed her. And she had to admit there had been a few scary moments in the shower that morning.

“A chair in there is a good idea,” she said softly. “Thanks, but I won’t let you pay for it.”

She saw his jaw tighten as he continued with the wrap. “All done. The swelling’s gone down a bit too.”

He leaned down to pick up the splint and began putting it back on her. Unable to stand it anymore, Regina inched her butt up little closer to him, hoping he wouldn’t notice since he was busy with the splint. When he was done, he looked up and pulled his face back when he realized how close she was.

Smiling nervously, she licked her lips, and bingo, her lips had his undivided attention. “Can I thank you again, Brandon?”

With his eyes still on her lips, he nodded but said nothing, so she pecked him softly. “That’s for taking the day off.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him again this time sliding her tongue in his mouth, and he kissed her back softly, gently. It wasn’t at all as ravenous as last night’s kiss, but she still felt her heart speeding up. She pulled away, licking her lips, loving the taste of him still on them. “That’s for bringing me my meds and fixing my wrap.” Diving in again, the kiss took a turn with him leaning into her as she kissed him much deeper. He moaned and practically ate her mouth up just as he had last night, as if he couldn’t get enough, and now his fingers were in her hair. It went on for what seemed like forever, but even then she didn’t want it to end. The kiss alone had her so wet and aroused it was embarrassing, but she couldn’t bring herself to end it. Finally, he pulled his lips away and hugged her tightly, breathing heavily against her neck.

“What was that for?”

Regina smiled against his shoulder. “For remembering how I ordered my chicken salad.”

His body seemed to tense for just a moment, and then he relaxed and pulled away to look at her. “I have a good memory, I guess, but even I surprised myself that I remembered every detail of that,” he said, indulging her with one of his almost-never-seen smiles. “I walked into the deli for sandwiches and then saw the salads on the menu, and it just came to me.”

She slipped her hand in his and laced his fingers through hers. His smile instantly vanished, and she saw alarm in his eyes. They’d just shared one of the most passionate kisses she’d ever experienced, and this alarmed him? She started to let go of his hand, but he squeezed it and kissed her again, bringing his other hand behind her neck. This kiss was slower yet deeper somehow, their tongues dancing beautifully in perfect rhythm like a couple who’d been doing this forever.

Sucking on her bottom lip one last time, he pulled away to look at her, but his hand remained on the back of her neck. She hoped that meant he wasn’t going to stop because she could kiss him all day and into the night. “You know,” she swallowed, looking deep into those intense eyes of his. “For a while there, I thought my holding up the line at the airport because of my special order of that salad might’ve been the reason you didn’t like me.”