Redemption(23)

In retrospect, I should have called 9-1-1 to have someone meet us at the hospital door, but maybe I was overreacting. Dan clearly had more experience with this than I did, and he didn’t appear panicked in the slightest.

“Penny, park the car, and we’ll go in together. Once I tell them why I’m there, I won’t linger in the waiting room, and you’ll never find me.”

I didn’t argue. He was still conscious and talking, which meant he was also breathing, so I took him at his word. I scurried out of the car and grabbed his hand virtually dragging him into the hospital. He was right. The moment we walked in and told the nurse at the desk he had an allergic reaction we were taken straight back.

Three hours, several injections, and three breathing treatments later, we walked out to the parking lot. There was no way on earth I would leave Dan alone tonight, so he got his wish. I accompanied him to his house to play nursemaid—which was truly all I was doing. Once he was settled in the bed and had everything he needed, I crawled in next to him. I had no idea how he was still awake with all the Benadryl the hospital had pumped into him or whatever they’d given him to stop the attack, but there he was, with his arm curled around me.

“Hey, Dan?”

“Yeah?” His eyes asked the question as much as his mouth.

“Where did you find Cosmo?” I’d wanted to ask since the moment he’d pounded on my door, but his health was more important than my need for information.

He sank down into the pillow more, snuggling closer to me. “I got down to the four-way stop and almost ran him over when he darted out in front of the truck. I wasn’t sure it was him because, well, you know, he and I don’t have the greatest relationship.”

I loved the playful way in which he tried to recount the story.

“I threw the truck in park and grabbed the flashlight. I chased that little fucker for what seemed like miles through that field. I’d lose him, and just as I was about to give up, I’d see him hop over the grass in the distance like a damn fox. I’m telling you, Lissa—that little shit sent me on a wild-goose chase. I’m convinced he was trying to see just how far I’d go for you.” His mouth snapped shut.

I’m not sure he meant to say that last part, but I giggled just the same. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Cosmo was an arrogant little cuss, he ruled our house, and I let him. I wasn’t ashamed of that.

“So how did you get all the scratches?”

“Hard to say, maybe the dozen times I fell tripping over things I couldn’t see, possibly whatever was in the water I landed in, or the way he shredded my arms the moment I finally caught him. I hadn’t turned my truck off so the closer we got to the running engine the more fractious he got. It took everything I had to maintain a hold on him, but there was no way in hell I was going to tell you I’d had caught him and lost him. With his being an indoor cat, I didn’t think he’d find his way back home. He was two or three miles from your house.”

“Did you even think about your allergies?”

“No. I just thought about making you happy.”

That was the defining moment in our relationship. Whether Dan would ever know it, that was the moment I conceded. My heart and my brain agreed, and I gave into the fall.





9





Chapter Nine





I had fallen asleep wrapped up in Dan’s arms. Sometime during the night, he’d pulled a blanket over us but never let me go. When I woke to the brick wall that was his chest, a lazy smile crossed my cheeks. The warmth radiating off him surrounded me in a cocoon of security. Just for a moment, I wished I could suspend time. It was a pipe dream. I knew I had to wake him so he could decide about going to the basketball tournament. I roamed my hand across his chest and over his shoulder, memorizing the details as I went down his arm. The corners of his mouth tipped up, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“Don’t stop. That feels good.” His voice was groggy and husky.

If he hadn’t had the night he had, I’d be all over him. Instead, I continued to trail my hand all over his exposed skin enjoying the feel of him under my fingertips. The swelling had gone down in his face, but he still had evidence of his feline encounter all over his arms. Hopefully, the scratches wouldn’t leave scars.

“What are you going to do about the tournament?” Part of me wanted him to bail so we could lounge around together all day, but there was something about watching him sweat that kicked my endorphins into high gear.

He peered down at me through half-parted lids. His eyes had more yellow in them this morning than normal, the color of winter grass right before it turns a deep, rich green in the spring.

“I’m going to play. I feel fine if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I didn’t know if you’d be up for it.”

“Are you still coming with Annie?”

“Of course, but I need to get home to shower and change.”

“Feel like getting dirty before you go?” He wagged his eyebrows.

The gesture was so corny I just shook my head. Before I responded, he rolled over on top of me, his length pressing between my legs. Dan was ready. He reached beneath the covers and pulled my panties aside before sinking into me. I was starting to get the feeling that move turned him on. He could have easily slid them down my legs, but maybe he preferred the raciness of taking me when he wanted me. It wasn’t the normally slow pace of morning sex, but he got the job done. When he laid beside me, I tried not to panic when his semen began to leak from between my legs.