Authors: Mary Wine
She rolled herself onto her stomach and used her hands to push herself to her knees. Maybe sitting straight up wasn’t working so well, but there was more than one way to skin a cat. The IV tubing that was attached to her right arm got tangled. Grace examined the tubing for a moment. The doctors had left it in despite the fact she refused the pain medication that they wanted to dispense through it. The spot where the needle was inserted into her arm had in fact become very sore.
Deciding that she had more than enough pain to deal with, Grace pulled the tape away and took the rubber needle out of her arm herself. She was ready to be up and about. Grace had had her fill of being pinned to the bed by any means, especially plastic tubing. With that done, it was much easier to get her feet onto the floor.
Grace took those first few steps slowly, but her body was sound. Maybe not up to full strength, but she could manage a shower if she took it easy. She checked the dressing to make sure the healing edges of the wound were covered. Her hair was still down and Grace decided that she would wash it. Another thought crossed her mind. Beth had been correct. She was freezing.
Propped against the wall outside her door, Brice grinned. Grace was awake. He could hear her moving around in the room. That pleased him immensely.
Jacobs came around the corner just then.
“She must be feeling better,” Brice offered.
“You know that because?”
“Sounds like she’s in the shower.”
Jacobs slowly shook his head. “She’s pushing it but I guess I should take that as a good sign. I’d better find her something to wear.”
“Don’t bother on my account.”
“Sheriff Campbell, that’s downright mean,” Beth scolded, coming around the corner.
Jacobs turned on his heel. “You’ve got a bad habit of sneaking up on me, Beth.”
Most people would have recoiled from his tone, but Beth merely sighed.
“What could I possibly know about surprising a highly trained individual such as yourself?” She batted her eyelashes a few times before placing her basket on the nurses’ station.
“What’s in the bag?” Jacobs demanded.
Beth glanced at the bag folded over her arm. “Some clothes for Grace. By the sound of things, not a moment too soon either.”
She breezed right past him, knocking on the door before entering. Brice started to laugh softly.
“You know, Jacobs, I think she put you in your place quite nicely.”
“That she did.”
Grace smiled as Beth came in. She hadn’t been certain if she would show up again. More importantly, she had food with her.
“Looks like I’m right on time.” Beth pulled leggings and a long sweater from the bag.
Grace looked at the clothes. She had never worn anything like them. She had seen other women wearing the style. The sweater was a deep purple and was fuzzy and soft. “Thank you, Beth.”
“It’s no problem. Now let’s get that wet towel off of you before your dinner gets cold.”
An hour passed before Beth left. Grace had been grateful for the woman’s companionship and she’d enjoyed it too.
Grace looked around the room. She wasn’t sleepy. What she was was tired of these four walls. Not too sure just how far she was going to get, Grace made her way to the door and slowly pushed it open. No one shoved it closed so she went out into the hallway.
“Good evening.”
Grace recognized the deep voice instantly. She walked a little farther away from the door because Brice was currently leaning against the wall next to it. He was in uniform and Grace decided that it suited him well. Pressed to perfection, the tan uniform failed to conceal the prime condition of the man that wore it.
It was odd the sensation that she got from looking at his body. Grace was always around men that were in good physical condition. None of them caused her stomach to tighten or her face to blush. The strength of this man still impressed her.
“You are quite breathtaking. Beth has a good eye for clothes.”
For a moment, she felt awkward. The compliment stunned her but also pleased her, and she smiled softly. Brice inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“Care to take a walk?”
“Outside?”
“With your hair wet?”
“I’m not cold.” But she was pleased. Grace reached up and gave her secured hair a light pat. Brice Campbell was far too sure of himself.
“I think I know just the place.”
He lifted her hand and settled it on his forearm. Brice turned her down another corridor and then through a double glass door. A smile slowly formed on her face. They had entered an outdoor atrium. It was surrounded on all four sides by the hospital but there was no roof.
The night air enveloped them, and Grace gratefully filled her lungs with it. Full-sized trees lined the edges while a variety of greenery filled in the spaces between the larger trees. Moving forward, she trailed her hand along the leaves while breathing in the night air.
Completely forgotten, Brice stood and watched as she greeted the night like an old friend. Her face transformed into a tapestry of wonder. She was so very beautiful in that moment of freedom that it humbled him to witness it.
Her body was beginning to become weak again though, he could see her trembling. A bench caught her eye and she dropped onto it. Tilting her head back, she looked at the stars.
“Beautiful view.” Brice dropped down next to her on the bench.
Slightly startled, Grace mentally scolded herself. It wasn’t like her to display her feelings so openly.
“Cold?” Brice watched her shake her head. “Would you tell me if you were?”
“Probably not,” she confessed.
“That figures.”
The disgruntled tone of his voice surprised her. Any amount of cold that she would feel here would not be enough to be life threatening. To voice it would be nothing more than a complaint.
“Why would you want to know? The temperature isn’t cold enough to be dangerous.”
“So you’d just be complaining, is that it?” Brice asked.
She nodded firmly.
“How long have you been in the field?”
“Ten years.”
“You must have been just a kid.”
Grace watched his face tighten. “Why does that bother you? I hardly recall a time when I didn’t live on post.”
“But it bothers you, Grace, and you have every right to feel that way.”
Grace searched his eyes, looking for the reason behind his displeasure. He clearly disapproved of her life. His judgment needled at her despite the fact that she had no control over such facts.
Getting to her feet, Grace intended to leave.
“My life is not your concern.”
“Wrong.”
Brice pulled her into his embrace with ease. Capturing her head with his hand, he pulled it back.
“
This
makes it my concern.”
Grace knew his intention but was powerless to escape it. His mouth was so warm that it shocked her. Grace attempted to jerk her head away from his but his hand held her still. His mouth firmly opened her own as he pushed her resistance aside.
He moved his mouth across her own in such a way that her body demanded she answer him. She could almost feel her blood rushing through her veins. Slowly, she moved her lips in unison with his. He growled low in his throat and deepened the kiss.
Her body was exploding with warmth, as well as the reckless desire to touch him in return. She reached up to explore the chest that her eyes had scanned earlier in the evening. The muscles were hard and pulsing with life.
Her current clothing didn’t shield her from his body as her historical dress had. Her nipples beaded and pressed into his chest. This time he gently rubbed a hand over one and listened to her gasp at the sensation.
“I’m still thinking about it. Are you, Grace?” His hand moved again and cupped that breast through the fabric of the sweater.
He buried his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling the warm scent of her skin. He pushed an arm beneath her knees and swung her up against his chest before she had time to recover her damn logic. He even made sure her wound was away from his body.
He carried her right through the overly bright hallway of the ward. His scent wrapped around her, making her more aware of the pulsing body hidden by his uniform.
Grace found herself back in bed before a good retort had formed in her mind. He sat on the side of her bed, looming over her for a split second while his eyes locked with hers.
“You’re still here, Grace, so whatever facts make it a forgone certainty that we will be parting company can just be damned.”
He cupped her breasts through the sweater. Grace couldn’t think because it felt so very good. She wasn’t aching anymore. Instead, the touch caused pleasure to move like a wave through every last layer of her flesh.
Jacobs’s voice drifted through the closed door and Grace snapped her eyes open. Brice’s face reflected his pleasure a moment longer before he pulled his hands away from her.
“We’ll have to finish this later.”
The iron determination he displayed irritated her.
“Don’t bet on it. My hair is staying up. Even if I am not leaving today, it’s still going to happen.”
Halting a bare step from the door, Brice turned around. Hooking his hands into his belt, he shot her a determined look.
He reached into his pocket and laid something on the bedside table a second before he left. Turning her head, she looked at the item that he left behind.
A twenty-dollar bill stood out against the stark white table. Her eyes widened in outrage as she understood his intent.
The man just took her bet.
“Yes, sir.”
Jacobs snapped his phone shut and cussed.
“Trouble, Major?”
“And then some,” Jacobs confirmed. “My C.O. is being an ass.”
“Well, it can’t be getting any worse.”
Brice’s dry comment gained a chuckle from Jacobs. “You don’t know Grace. Now that she’s found her feet, keeping her in that room will become near impossible.”
“So I just discovered.” Jacobs’s face immediately forged into solid stone.
“Relax, I took her to the atrium and then tucked her back into her bed,” Brice offered.
“That won’t last long.” Running another hand over his jaw, Jacobs considered Brice. “Dr. Fenton is rather adamant about me not flying her out of here. He says there is too much damage from that bullet.”
Jacobs’s problem was just what Brice had been looking for. An opportunity to move just another step closer to Grace. “How’s my place sound?”
“Meaning?”
“I’ve got a couple of spare rooms and a very secluded mountain top.”
Jacobs let out a long breath. “You know, that’s just the solution I need.”
Brice nodded. “But you see it as a complication too.”
“My C.O. will have her returned to duty just as soon as he feels she’s fit, Brice.”
“Which isn’t today.”
Jacobs eyed him for a long moment before conceding defeat. “Let’s get out of here.”
Brice savored the feeling of victory. Actually, he dwelled on it because the hard certainty in Jacobs’s eyes was a blunt reminder of just how fast the real work was going to smash through his victory. Maybe he was headed for a fall but he just couldn’t take every chance he had to delay the inevitable.
It was odd the way her senses would snap on. Sometimes, it was almost like a switch was flipped. A certain amount of pain could be ignored. The amount coming from her side couldn’t be.
But the vision came anyway.
Raising her head, Grace rolled completely off the bed while her feet hit the floor and caught her body weight with the precision of countless hours of training.
Reaching for the vision, her mind closed around it, but there wasn’t enough substance for clarity. She began a course that would lead her to the source of her vision.
There was something addictive about it. The scent was familiar now. It had lingered at that cabin as well as on Paige. Now it was threading its way along the forest just a hundred feet from Brice’s house.
The distance was the clearest piece of her vision. Even as her feet carried her closer, her mind pulled and tugged at it, searching for the reason she found it so very intriguing. Emotion floated in thick waves. Anger burned its way into her body, coursing along her bloodstream into every cell of her flesh. Pulsing and biting at her temper, it incited an explosion through the psychic link. She slipped through the back door of the house and dug her feet into the wooden planking of the deck as her body charged forward.
She smelled smoke and needed to smother the fire…
A solid band of steel jerked Grace straight out of her steps. Her body screamed in agony as her flesh sent up a roar of pain. Still caught in her quest, Grace struggled against her captor.