Page 10 of Lone Star Christmas Mission

During the night, Cash had woken her several times, asking her to tell him her name or his. That was a blur in her mind now, and she’d been able to fall right back to sleep. But he’d done that to follow the nurse’s orders, to make sure she was all right.

That mental recap had Kayla searching for the time, and she finally saw it on Cash’s watch. Nine AM.

“Good grief,” she muttered, trying to push the hair out of her eyes without touching the stitches. “I slept longer than I thought I would.”

“I’m glad you did. You needed it.” He glanced at the bandage on her forehead. “You also need some pain meds.”

It wasn’t a question, and he was one hundred percent correct. Cash immediately reached over to the nightstand and took two tablets from a bottle of some extra-strength over-the-counter meds. He handed them to her along with the glass of water that he had ready and waiting.

Kayla gulped them down while she studied him. That hot face could definitely be a distraction, but she could still see the worry in his eyes.

And maybe something else.

“You’ll need to eat,” Cash insisted before she could ask him about thatsomething else.

He took hold of her hand again, his grip ever so light, and he eased her out of the bed and to her feet. Thankfully, his t-shirt was huge on her and went halfway down her thighs. Not that she would have been overly concerned about modesty right now, but she also didn’t want to try to have breakfast while she was half-naked.

Despite the hours of sleep, she still felt sluggish and slow as if she were walking through thick syrup. Cash helped with that, too, by leading her into his kitchen and having her sit at the counter.

There was the strong scent of coffee in the air, and she spotted a half full pot of it sitting in the fancy-looking stainless steel maker.

“Juice and toast for starters?” he asked.

She nodded, and her stomach must have also heard the question because it growled, causing Cash to smile.

“Maybe some scrambled eggs, too,” he added.

That actually sounded good, and Kayla couldn’t recall the last time she’d eaten. “I wouldn’t say no to coffee,” she let him know.

He poured her a huge mug of it, and with his back to her, he got to work prepping her breakfast.

“Have they found Harvin?” she asked.

Cash shook his head. “Not yet. Ruby’s got a full team working on finding him.”

She wished he’d been looking at her when he said that. Then, she might know if their not having located Harvin was the reason she was getting this vibe from him. A vibe that he was holding onto some bad news.

Kayla downed enough coffee to give her a nice jolt of caffeine, and it also seemed to help with her headache. She sipped some more before she stood, went around the counter and stopped right next to Cash.

He looked down at her, and she didn’t think it was her imagination that he seemed to be steeling himself up for something. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

The apology confused her, and maybe it was the mix of everything—the pain, the worry, the fear—but Kayla found herself setting her coffee mug aside and moving even closer to him.

Then closer still until she stepped into his arms.

Behind them, she heard the toast pop up, but neither of them moved. Not at first, anyway. Slowly, gently, Cash’s arms finally came around her.

Both of them sighed. His seemed to be a mixed bag of comfort and attraction. Hers had some of the same, but there was also relief. She felt a lot of things, but thank sweet heaven, panic wasn’t on the emotional radar.

She stayed there, letting him soothe her. And arouse her. It’d been a while since she had felt this strong pull. Fast and hot. Probably fueled by, well, everything else, but it was a nice buzz that she wanted to hang onto for a moment. Much better than the other stuff she’d been feeling.

“We’re playing with fire,” he let her know.

They were. That didn’t have her moving away either. But she did move. Kayla leaned back her head enough that she could look him in the eyes. Still, no panic. Just the exact opposite.

And that fast and hot tug in her body just kept on going.

Before she even knew she was going to do it, she came up on her toes and brushed her mouth against his. Definitely playing with fire, and that buzz went wild, sliding through her body, straight to her center. Kayla would have added some pressure to that kiss. She would have turned it into a real one. Long, deep, and filled with the need building inside her.

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