Page 17

Slowly, since any movement of her head made the room spin and the last thing she wanted was to vomit in the middle of the bed, she turned to study the seating area near the window and froze.

Chance Daniels lay on the bed next to her, eyes closed and breathing steadily. Every sexy, muscled inch of him. How could something between her thighs pulse when she felt so bad?

“Holy hotness on a cloud,” she said, unable to keep the words inside.

A new memory, one of him holding her as she fought the pain and fever until she drifted off to sleep, formed in her mind. Would a mean, grumpy cowboy do that? Probably not.

“Good morning to you, too, gypsy,” he said without opening his eyes. “How’re you feelin’?”

His voice was raspy and delicious. It made her want to lick him.Instead of doing that, she focused on returning his greeting, wishing him good morning, too.

But what came out was “I need to pee.”

Oh sure. Now her voice worked. Sort of. And when it did, that was what came out of her mouth. At least she was still whispering. Maybe he didn’t hear her.

Even though she willed him to go back to sleep, he opened his eyes, allowing her to study them. As a photographer, she had seen a lot of eyes. But she’d never seen anyone with eyes the same deep, vivid blue. The color of the sky at sunset. His pupils had a darker ring around the outer rim.

He smiled, and her throat stopped hurting quite so badly. She thought he’d worked some sort of magic until spots floated before her eyes, and she realized she’d stopped breathing. Gasping for air, she fought back the dizziness and tried to throw back the covers.

Instantly, he was on his feet. “Be still, and I’ll come around to your side of the bed and help you.”

How did he move so fast? Weren’t giants supposed to be lumbering?

Even with his help, it drained most of her energy to swing her legs off the side of the bed once he moved the covers. When he pointed to the bathroom door, she almost cried. It was only across the room, but it might as well have been a thousand miles away.

Placing one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, he lifted her off the bed. “I’ve got you, babygirl. Just let me take care of you.”

Even while he did all the work, the room swayed as he carried her to the bathroom. He shushed her when she whimpered as he took her all the way to the toilet, pulled down her panties, and helped her sit. “There’s no reason to be embarrassed, little one. Everyone needs help from time to time.”

Too embarrassed for words, she just sat there, unable to evenget started. Just when she had given up, he turned on the water in the sink. That did the trick, and she was finally able to pee.

Trying to block out the entire situation, she glanced down and realized she was wearing a man’s T-shirt. Although she wasn’t short, when she stood up after finishing, the bottom of the T-shirt fell almost to her knees. It was black and featured a large red barn across the chest. A sign reading The Red Barn hung over the building’s double doors. Above and below the barn were the words “What Happens In The Barn - Stays In The Barn.”

Wait. Someone had undressed her. Had he undressed her? Peering down the neck of the T-shirt, she saw nothing but skin. She only thought she’d been embarrassed to pee. It was nothing compared to the thought of him seeing her naked.

She was in so much trouble. Again. And this time, it was all her fault.

She should have followed the plan Detective James had given her. Instead, she stopped checking in and tried to disappear. It would have been so much better for everyone to believe she was dead. Well, the joke was on her because she almost had been.

That was still a good plan. She needed to disappear again, only do a better job of it. Even though Chance was a grumpy, gorgeous, probably Daddy man who had scared her and made her fall, she didn’t want him or his family hurt or exposed to any danger. Especially since she now knew exactly how dangerous Eddie could be.

Her mother used to say she got a wild hair and acted the fool. A twinge of guilt pinched her chest. Guess that was something she’d never outgrow.

Of course, she couldn’t say any of that to Chance. He’d made it clear she was going to be right there for a few more days.

“Come on, Little gypsy, let’s get you back in bed.” Within minutes, she was back in bed, sheets tucked in tight, cocooning her in warmth. He picked up two large brown medicine bottles from the coffee table in the sitting area andbrought them to her side of the bed. He must have noticed something on her face because he asked, “Are you all right, babygirl?”

Joy smiled as best she could, even though it hurt her throat, and lied. “Yes,” she whispered.

He studied her, and a line formed between his eyebrows as they came together. “Rule number one. Do not lie. Ever.”

Rules? He was giving her rules? That was outrageous, right? So why did it send a pulse of excitement through her?

But now she felt trapped. She didn’t want to tell the truth. Yet, she was a good girl—well, as much as she could be—so she couldn’t lie. She chose option three and got angry.

“I didn’t lie,” she snapped, then winced.

His brows went up, and he leaned forward, resting his hands on the mattress to look her in the eye. “Come again?”