Cowboy Casanova (Rough Riders #12)(148)

your meds.”


Ainsley screwed up her face.


“They’ll make you feel better.”


Once she’d choked down the pills, she stretched out on the mattress.


“Close your eyes.” He placed a cool washcloth on her forehead.


She sighed. “That’s nice. You’re nice.”


“Thought I was bossy?”


“You are both nice and bossy. I like that about you. Two sides of the same coin.”


He couldn’t help but ask, “Which side do you like better?”


“The nice side. I think you’re afraid of showing that side of yourself to me, more

than you are of showing me the Dom side.”


Bullshit. You’re fighting the truth that you like that bossy side of me better.


Ben kicked off his boots and stretched out beside her. He wanted to fix her now. Scoop

her up, race to the doctor and demand she be healed. He forced himself to calm down and

watch her settle into sleep, reaching for her hand just as he began to drift off.


Ainsley’s restlessness roused him. He glanced at the clock. Only an hour had passed.


She started to push up.


“Easy. Anything you need I’ll get.”


“A drink.”


Ben moved to the edge of the bed and held a glass to her lips. “Here.”


She drank every drop.


“Better?”


“Yeah.”


He switched out the skin-warmed washcloth for a cool one.


Ainsley sighed when he placed it over her forehead. “Thanks, Ben. You don’t have to

stay.”


“I want to stay.”


“Why? It’s not like I have any new loan information for you.”


That sounded a little cross. “Thanks for the update.”


“I’m surprised you’d be interested in hanging out with me, especially if we’re not

having kinky sex,” she said snarkily.


Ben’s voice was pure Dom. “The lack of kinky sex was your choice. And it’s a damn

mystery why I’m obsessed with hanging out with a woman like you who’s beautiful,

adventurous, smart and sexy as hell.”


She slid the washcloth down and squinted at him. “You really see me that way?”


He ran his hand down her arm. “Yeah, angel, I do. You know I do. I see you a lot

clearer than you see me.”


“Why did you come over tonight?”


To remind you that I’m not some * lap dog who will be happy with whatever scraps

of friendship you toss at me. “Because I thought you were ditching my calls so I came

over to chew your ass.”


“And you probably wanted to spank it too, huh?”


“Like you wouldn’t believe.”


“Ben. That’s not…who we have to be.”


Yes, it is. That’s who we are. And there’s nothing wrong with it. But she didn’t

need to deal with that issue now. “Christ, Ainsley, it scared the crap outta me when I

saw you on the bathroom floor.”


She reached out and blindly patted his arm, soothing him. “I’m glad you checked on

me. It’s a very sweet, friend-like thing to do.”