Page 57 of A Rogue Cowboy's Kiss

TWENTY-FIVE

Falcon rolled over in bed,then frowned when he saw the Hart Ranch out the window.

What the hell?

He sat up, then grimaced as pain shot through his side. Right. The stabbing. Vague memories passed through his mind of being on the plane, and having some woman treating him. Hart family doctor, maybe?

And now he was here. Was Bella also? Had she come back to the ranch with him?

Bella.

Was she safe?

He shoved the covers back and lurched to his feet, pressing his hand to his side. He wasn’t in the guest room in Brody’s house or any of the others he’d been in. Which Hart house was he in?

He forced himself to stand up straight and strode across the room, jerked the door open, and stepped out into the hall. “Bella!”

“You’re up! In here, Falcon!”

Relief rushed through him at the sound of her cheerful voice. She was alive, and sounded fine. He walked down the hall, hand still pressed to his side. When he walked out into the main living area, he immediately recognized the big white couches, the adjoining professional-grade kitchen, and the big picture windows that looked out on the ranch.

He was in Bella’s house.

Yes.

“How do you feel?”

He turned toward the sound of her voice as she walked around the corner from the back of the house. He was pretty sure she had an office back there. She was wearing black leggings, a baggy pink sweatshirt, and pink fuzzy socks.

She looked absolutely adorable, and he couldn’t stop his smile. “I feel great. You?”

She raised her brows. “You look pasty and wan. Sit down and let me feed you.” She pointed to a chair at the kitchen island.

“No hug?”

She paused. “You want a hug?”

“For a start.” He moved gingerly across the room, smiling as she frowned at him.

“I think you’re a little too injured.”

“No such thing.” He caught her wrist, pulled her toward him, and kissed her. Not a kiss to seduce. A kiss to connect. To wind their souls together. He knew he had to leave, but seeing her made him want to do nothing but fall into her kiss and never leave.

Bella immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back without hesitation.

Her response settled his edginess, and when the kiss ended, he continued to hold her, resting his forehead against hers as pain throbbed through his side. "I was afraid you’d be pissed at me.”

She closed her eyes. “For getting stabbed? I am. I thought you might die, and I wasn’t happy about it.”

“I promise not to die.”

She searched his gaze. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I always keep my promises.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I thought you’d be mad that my injury forced you to come back to the ranch.”

“Forced me?” She shook her head. “No one ever makes me do anything.” She wrapped her fingers in the front of his T-shirt. “I chose to come. You would have been fine if I’d put you on the plane alone.”

He considered that. “And you would have gone back to the cottage?”

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