After that dream, now he wasn’t so sure if that would be a good idea. I want more? That went completely against his number-one rule. You never ask for more, and you never gave them time do so either. It went hand in hand with the no-attachments rule. All he’d done so far was kiss her, and already his subconscious was asking for more? He still didn’t know much about her, except that she was stubborn as shit and she had one of the sweetest smiles he’d ever been caught up in, not to mention the most amazing lips he’d ever kissed. Just like in his dream, he’d felt almost crazed when he kissed her last night.

But it was what she made him feel inside that scared him. What her expressive eyes said without her saying anything at all. As he dressed hurriedly, he realized he was beginning to understand why he’d been so amused by her annoyance with him. She, too, was affected by him, even if she didn’t want to be. And like him, she couldn’t possibly know why since neither knew much about the other. She’d said it herself last night. As annoyed as he may’ve made her over the last couple of weeks, she wanted to get to know him. Unlike his dream, it wasn’t just sexual tension she wanted to alleviate. She, too, wanted more.

Even more frightening was that, for the first time in years, Brandon was tempted to do just that, not that he’d been tempted much in the last several years. Still there had been a handful of times he’d almost been lured into getting together with someone more than once. It’d never gotten past the initial thought before he easily snuffed the idea.

Now he’d gone far beyond the initial thought. Included in those thoughts were visions and the incredible desire to kiss her again—a lot. The thought of how he might feel once he got past the kissing—if he went through with this and things got that far, especially after feeling what he had in the shower—scared the hell out of him.

Being scared out of his mind didn’t stop him from rushing out of his place and into his Jeep. Glancing at the clock on his dash, he saw it was nearly oh six thirty. He muttered under his breath and was glad she was just a few blocks from him, because he reached her place in less than five minutes.

It was actually a little surprising to not see her downstairs already when he walked in her door. A part of him was certain she’d already be wobbling around in her kitchen, making breakfast or something ridiculous like that.

“I would’ve called you,” she said in the most pained voice from upstairs, “to let you know you didn’t have to pick me up after all, but I didn’t have your number. I’ve already called in. There’s no way I’m going in today.”

Relieved that she’d be staying put, but at the same time instantly concerned by the pain in her voice, he started up the stairs in a hurry. “Why? Did something happen?”

Damn it. Did she try coming down on her own and injure herself further? He sprinted up the stairs now but stopped cold at the top when he saw her sitting on the edge of her bed, her half-opened short robe falling slightly off her shoulder. She quickly clasped it shut, but he’d gotten a glimpse of the top of her soft and ample milky-white bare breasts. Her clothes were all at her feet, so he imagined she’d undressed and it’d been easier to just throw a robe over.

Tying the robe around her waist and covering up completely, she cleared her throat. “Nothing happened,” she informed him, wincing and rolling her neck. “I just woke up in the middle of the night, feeling like I’d been hit by a train.” She winced, closing her eyes as her brows pinched together tightly in agony. “I guess the pain in my ankle yesterday mixed with the morphine really masked the pain everywhere else. I’ve never been so sore in my life.” She groaned, trying to pull herself further back into her bed. “Every inch of my body feels bruised, and when I took a shower, I saw just how bruised and how many bumps I have all over. There is no way I’ll be going in to work today. I’m just glad it’s Friday and I’ll have the whole weekend to try and recoup.

Brandon hadn’t even thought about how sore she’d be today everywhere else after the ugly spill she took, but his thoughts were quickly disrupted. He’d been so busy trying not to focus on her appearance he just then noticed her wet hair. “You took a shower?”

She nodded, closing her eyes again as she massaged her neck with her hand. “There’s a rail in there I held on to, and I had to keep my bad ankle outside. I made a pretty big mess, and it took me a while, but I managed.” She looked at him, her painful expression going a bit soft. “I’m sorry I forgot to get your number last night. I would’ve called you and saved you the trip down here.”

Brandon was already shaking his head before she was even done, his mind on other more important things. “Forget about me. I’m less than five minutes away. I’d hardly call that a trip. So what are you gonna do? Have you called your parents?”

“No,” she said, pulling the blankets over herself. Her eyes were already looking a little drowsy. “I need to sleep. I’ve been up since three, and I just took some meds. I can already feel them kicking in. Maybe I’ll call them tomorrow. I don’t wanna worry them.”

“Tomorrow?” Brandon asked. This girl was too much. “What about today? How are you gonna get in and out of bed or eat?” He remembered something else before she could respond. “Those meds they gave you in the ER are only a temporary batch. What are you gonna do when you run out? In as much pain as you are, you shouldn’t risk running out before you can get your prescription filled.”

“I’ll call it in when I get up. I have enough for today. I can pick up the meds tomorrow.”

Having been in a car accident a couple years back where he’d really been banged up, Brandon knew the pain was only going to get worse before it got better, and . . .“You don’t even have a car,” he reminded her as it suddenly came to him. “It’s still at the base.”

Her head fell back into the pillow in frustration then winced in pain again, squeezing her eyes shut. Her eyes suddenly opened. “When my mom was sick years ago, she had her meds delivered.”

Taking a deep breath, Brandon also took a few steps closer to her bed. “How you gonna get downstairs to sign for them?”

Her lips pinched to the side, and she frowned. As if that weren’t enough to have him staring at her like an idiot, her eyes suddenly widened and she smiled. “Two of the guys in my office carpool. If you could please drop off my keys, I can ask them to drop off my car here tonight. I really don’t wanna get my family involved. They’ll never leave.” She scrunched her nose with a remorseful expression. “I love them to death, but they can be a little overbearing.”

Thoughts of her overbearing daddy thankfully pushed away the annoying thoughts of Antonio, who she was likely talking about dropping her car off. In the process, maybe he’d hang around for a while. Without giving it another thought, Brandon pulled out his phone. He could see she was going to be difficult about this already, and her mention of the guys bringing her car home for her just convinced him to do what he’d unbelievably begun considering doing anyway.

Glad the call went to voicemail, Brandon left a quick message. “Sergeant Carter, this is Billings. I’m having a personal issue, and I need to take the day off. Please call me at your earliest convenience so that I can explain—”

“No!” Regina sat up, whispering loudly, immediately wincing in pain but held her hand out. “You can’t—”

Brandon waved her protests away with his hand as he finished leaving his message and hung up.

“Oh my God, Brandon, I can’t believe you’re taking the day off for this. You don’t have to babysit me.” She reached for her phone on her nightstand. “Okay, okay, I’ll call my family. It’s not fair to you—”

“It’s too late. You had your chance.” He held his phone up. “I’ve already made the call.”