All I've Ever Wanted - Adrianne Byrd [48]
“No, I wasn’t.” He tried to look pained by the accusation.
“No?”
“No. They were romantic thoughts. There is a difference.”
Her laugh deepened. “Not with you there isn’t.”
“Good point.”
For a brief moment, they simply stared at each other. Each read volumes of love and understanding in the other’s eyes, but neither knew if their love had what it would take to bridge the troubles of age, race or careers.
“Have you seen the doctor this morning?” she asked.
“Yeah. He said everything was looking good and, if I was a good boy, I could be out of here in no time.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad that one of us had a good morning.”
“Ah, I take it that you’ve already spoken with the captain?”
“If I remember correctly, I believe that he did most of the talking.”
“Figures.”
“I can’t say that I really blame him for chewing a chunk out of my butt on this one.”
“Really? A chunk? Stand up and let me see.”
She slapped his arm playfully. “Focus, will you?”
“Sorry. Any luck locating Lawrence?”
“Not yet. I swear, if it wasn’t for bad luck, I would have no luck at all.”
“Well, maybe I do need to stop hanging out with you. Your bad luck is starting to rub off on me.”
She rewarded him with another slap on the arm.
“I was just kidding.”
“Sure you were.” She smiled. “Anyway, I spoke to your partner last night.”
“Oh? Did he happen to say why he’s been such a slacker on the visits?”
“Yeah. He seems to have his hands full with Ms. St. James. She’s more or less hiding out at his place.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No. And for some reason, I didn’t tell the captain that. Maybe it’s because I have a feeling he would have blown his top.”
Dossman shook his head as his smile widened. “Are you sure she’s just hiding out?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve seen those two together. And I would give anything to be a fly on the wall over there right about now.”
Kennedy smiled at the feel of the sun’s warm rays caressing her face. A rich, heavenly scent tickled her nose, further inducing her to remain drifting somewhere between dreams and consciousness, yet something tugged at her. There was something she needed to be doing.
She stretched lazily, and then froze when her legs bumped against something. Instantly, her eyes flew open, while her heart seemed to implode in her chest.
What did I do? She searched her mind for answers, but the effort only caused a loud thumping at her temples.
Max moaned in his sleep and his arm shifted to lay across her waist.
She tensed, unsure of what to do. Prayer seemed like the only logical answer. Various scenarios played in her head. In all of them, she portrayed the shameless harlot who had thrown herself at a valiant knight.
How was she going to face him?
She groaned as she grabbed her pillow and plopped it over her face to hide her shame. But her voice echoed in her ears and the pillow might as well have been a ton of bricks as far as she was concerned. How had she gotten such a severe hangover? It wasn’t like she had tossed down shots of tequila.
The phone rang and interrupted Kennedy’s panic attack.
Max sat up on his side of the bed and reached over to answer it before the second ring.
“Yeah.”
Trapped beneath the weight of his body, Kennedy had no choice but to wait where she was until Max got off the phone.
“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Uh-huh.”
Kennedy swallowed and wished that he would hurry and get off the phone. Finally, he shifted his weight and she was immediately able to breathe easier, but it slowed considerably when he swung his intense gaze in her direction.
“She’s safe,” he said into the phone. “Trust me.”
Though he wasn’t talking to her, both statements pulled at her. She did feel safe, strange as that seemed. And there was something about the look in his eyes that pleaded with her to trust him.
They stared at each other, the phone nearly forgotten. Then the person on the other line said something that drew his attention and he turned his head. The spell was broken.
She blinked and tried to clear the haze that clouded her head.