Don't Forget Me (45 page)
Authors: Meg Benjamin
His low groan reminded her of his wound. Even as she stepped out of his embrace, her gaze searched his face and shoulder to see if she’d done any damage.
“Sorry,” she whispered, genuinely stricken to have caused him more pain.
Lamanto gave her a weak smile but kept a firm hold on the cuffs that made her his prisoner.
“No problem. Women always lose their heads when they’re in my arms.”
The comment didn’t sound like a boast as much as a statement of fact. He might have said it jokingly, but her expression hardened.
“Now what?” she grumbled. “I’m going on thirty hours with no sleep, and I’d guess you haven’t had much, either. We should both be in bed.”
The unwarranted but undeniably seductive gleam in his eyes added to her annoyance. Her frown deepened, and she tugged on the handcuffs to display impatience.
“These are totally unnecessary.”
He ignored her grousing. “I need a shower and food.”
“You can’t get those stitches wet.”
“I’ll take a bath.”
“You’re nuts.”
“I’m filthy.”
“All right, take a bath,” grumbled Keri, “but let me get some sleep.”
He looked beyond her toward the bed. “I wish the bed had a metal frame so I could fasten you to the headboard or something.”
“I don’t need to be shackled to the bed. My car’s out of gas, the radio’s disabled and I’m too damn tired to go anywhere on foot.”
He gave her a reproachful glance and gently urged her toward the dresser. “Any clothes I can borrow?”
Her dad and brother kept clothes at the cabin. They were taller men, but she supposed something would fit him. “Jack’s sweats will probably work.”
“How ’bout some clean underwear?”
“If you’ll take this stupid thing off my arm, I’ll check the drawers,” she retorted, tugging at the metal cuff.
He gave her a wry grin for her efforts but ignored her plea. They had a momentary battle of wills. He didn’t flinch. With a deep sigh, she twisted around and opened drawers, collecting socks, briefs, gray sweat pants and an old red flannel shirt. She turned to him again, her expression challenging him.
“Now the bathroom,” he said.
She led the way into the small space. It barely had room for two people, but he shifted so she could sit on the toilet seat. Then he reached for the towel rack and gave it a jerk. When it proved sturdy, he clicked the other handcuff around the bar, effectively chaining her in the room.
Keri’s mood grew grimmer by the minute and her expression displayed her rising temper. He gave her another half smile and placed the gun on a rack in the shower. Then he began the slow process of filling the tub and stripping.
The sexual tension steadily increased as did the steam enveloping them. Keri tried to maintain her composure, but it started disintegrating when he unfastened his belt and slid down his zipper. The sound rasped along already frayed nerves.
“You can close your eyes if you’re shy,” he said. Despite the feverish sheen to his eyes, the dark orbs taunted her.
“I’m a nurse. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen a thousand times,” she retorted even though she felt the sting of hot color rising in her cheeks.
“Humor me. I’m modest.”
Keri seriously doubted it, but she turned her back as much as the limited space allowed. She heard a muffled groan as he struggled out of his jeans. Every movement had to be hurting him. Then she heard jeans and belt hit the floor followed by the sound of him stepping into the tub.
“Draw the curtain.” She couldn’t reach it from her tethered position, but she could see his movements in her peripheral vision.
“I’d rather keep you in sight,” he replied, shutting off the tap. Next he sank into the water and emitted a deep, heavy sigh.
The sound skittered along her nerves, creating unappreciated and unwelcome havoc on them. She couldn’t fully see him, yet she felt his every move. Instead of heeding her stern warning to ignore him, her weary mind recorded every little sound he made as he bathed.
The spicy smell of soap teased her senses as it filled the moisture-laden air. Her imagination conjured images of rich, white lather coating the dark curls on his chest. She could visualize the trickle of water down his hard stomach and into forbidden territory.
Putting an abrupt halt to the uninhibited imaginings, she silently cursed the unexpected curiosity. Her patient deserved respect even if he held the top spot on her personal shit-list right now. She needed to summon professional indifference and halt the increasing sexual awareness.
Think professional decorum
, she told herself, repeating the mantra for the next few minutes.
Professionalism. Professionalism. Professionalism.
When Lamanto went quiet for too long, she risked another glance in is direction. She peeked but immediately regretted the action. His sleek, wet body reclined the full length of the tub. The water didn’t hide an inch of male perfection. The image would stay in her mind for a very long time. More heat suffused her body.
“Don’t fall asleep.” Her voice held a snap to camouflage a sensory overload.
Another deep sigh acknowledged her warning. Then she heard the water being drained and some awkward movements as he tried to pull himself upright. A low curse had her reacting reflexively.
“Be careful,” she said, turning fully toward him.
The sight of him smacked her again and with staggering force. His hard, lean body stole her breath. No way could she ignore the masculine beauty of his glistening nudity.
She mentally catalogued every inch of him from the damp, curling hair on his head, down the broad, muscled chest and flat stomach to his hard thighs and another patch of thick, curly hair.
Her intense, intimate perusal brought a swift reaction from his very male anatomy. She swallowed hard to keep from strangling on the gasp at the back of her throat.
“I’m wounded, not dead,” he grumbled, jerking a towel across his abdomen to cover his growing erection.
Don’t Forget Me
Meg Benjamin
Once they said goodbye forever. Now they want to walk it back.
Konigsburg, Texas, Book 6
Eighteen months ago, Kit Maldonado was so
over
Nando Avrogado, she left Konigsburg without a backward glance. With the family restaurant in San Antonio sold out from under her, though, she’s back to manage The Rose, an exclusive resort eatery outside town.
Dealing with a stingy boss, an amorous head chef, an understaffed dining room and planning her aunt’s wedding should have kept her hands full. But she realizes she might not be as over Nando as she thought.
As the town’s new assistant chief of police, Nando’s got enough trouble without sexy Kit fanning embers he thought had long ago turned to ashes. Every time he turns around, she’s there—and it doesn’t help that everyone in town wants to see them back together.
One incendiary kiss, and there’s no denying the force of their attraction. But there’s a mysterious and oddly familiar burglar who’s been lurking around Konigsburg, someone who isn’t above a little mayhem—maybe even violence—to cover his tracks.
Warning: Contains hot makeup sex, wedding madness, a hot chef, vengeful burglars, and unlawful abuse of a wedding cake.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Don’t Forget Me
Copyright © 2011 by Meg Benjamin
ISBN: 978-1-60928-825-9
Edited by Lindsey Faber
Cover by Valerie Tibbs
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: December 2011
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