“I know you didn’t, I was watching you like a hawk.”
Kelly was relieved that she hadn’t had to practice her card trick skills after all. She’d forgotten that as a Force Recon Marine, Justice had unusually acute powers of observation.
“So we’re agreed. I stay on as your physical therapist. Good.” Kelly didn’t even wait for him to reply. “That’s all settled, then. Well, it’s getting late and I’ve had a full day. I think I’ll turn in.”
“Go right ahead.” His look dared her to get ready for bed in front of him.
She had no such qualms. Once her sleeping bag was comfortably arranged on the couch, she tugged on a huge sleepshirt over her head and upper torso. Under cover of the thick cotton material she expertly wiggled and maneuvered her T-shirt and bra right off, tugging them out the armhole and into her backpack in one deft operation.
Justice appeared stunned by her behavior. Good. She liked to keep him on his toes. She was not about to retreat into the bathroom to get ready for bed like some shy miss. She could adopt as much of a don’t-mess-with-me stance as any Marine. It was all about attitude with a capital A.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Justice asked.
“My co-ed college dorm. Were you suitably impressed?”
“Were you trying to impress me?”
She shook her head.
“Good.” His voice was curt. “Because I don’t need you going all goofy over me like you did as a teenager.”
Kelly wanted to disappear into the floorboards. She hadn’t realized he’d noticed her crush. He’d never said anything at the time. Probably because he’d been too nice. He wasn’t nice any longer. That much was clear.
She couldn’t let him know he’d bothered her. Tucking her “sensible” facade around her once more, she managed a brilliant smile. “Jeez, Justice, that was ages ago. Get over yourself, would you? The bottom line is that you can relax because overbearing Marines aren’t my type,” she assured him. “I promise not to go all goofy over you. Don’t worry, you’re safe with me.”
The question was, would she be safe with him?
Chapter Three
The kiss was divine. A warm masculine mouth tenderly parted her lips. Hands slipped over her willing body, caressing her with skill and passion. The moment had come. The waiting was over. This was it…
“Rise and shine!” a voice boomed over Kelly’s head.
Startled, she jerked awake and almost ended up rolling right off the couch in her sleeping bag.
“Hold on there.” Justice grabbed her with his good hand.
She’d been dreaming. Blinking rapidly, Kelly tried to take stock of her surroundings. But her immediate attention was focused on Justice.
He’d caught her, preventing her fall with his body. He was so close to her she could feel the warmth of his lean body, could almost hear his heartbeat. She could certainly feel her own heart beating wildly.
She could also feel every one of his fingers. He wasn’t holding her that tightly. She was just super-sensitized to his touch, deliciously rough against her soft skin. He had calluses. He smelled of soap and shaving cream. She was wildly tempted to sniff his cheek, to lean closer and fall into his incredibly blue eyes….
“Hey,” he said gruffly, “I thought you promised that you weren’t going to throw yourself at my feet.”
A bucket of cold water couldn’t have snapped her out of her momentary reverie faster. “I’d like to throw something, all right,” she muttered, shifting away from him on the couch. “And not at your feet. At your head. What time is it?”
“O-five hundred.”
“Five in the morning?” She hadn’t gotten to sleep until after one, tossing and turning on the couch. And that dream she was having was just getting really good. Not that she’d been dreaming about Justice. She hadn’t. She was sure that the man in her dreams bore a striking resemblance to the sexy actor Dylan McDermott. That was her story and she was sticking to it.
“Affirmative. Time to rise and shine and get this physical therapy thing going,” Justice stated. “The faster we get started, the faster we’ll be done, and then you can go your way and I can return to my tour of duty.”
“First I need to see your medical records.”
“I’ve got them here.” Using his left hand, he waved them in front of her sleepy face. “Had them faxed from the mainland.”
“Fine. I’ll read them.” She barely stifled a yawn. “But first I need coffee and a shower, in that order.”
“Go ahead, but be fast about it. No dawdling for an hour in the bathroom trying to make yourself beautiful.”
“I could stay in the bathroom for a week and I still wouldn’t be beautiful,” she wryly retorted. “I told you, I’m not my sister.”
“So I’m learning.”
“Oh, so you are capable of learning? That’s an encouraging sign.”
“You sure are a feisty little thing, aren’t you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh puhlease! For one thing, I’m not little. I’m five foot seven in my bare feet. For another I’m not feisty.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Yes, but then you’re a Marine, easy to fool.”
“You’re just saying that to get to me,” Justice calmly replied. “See? I am learning.”
“Yes, you are. And you’re blocking my way to my morning caffeine so move, or face my wrath.”
“Wrath, huh? Is that anything like trifling with a trouncing?”
“No, it’s much worse. Now move.”
“Not a morning person, are we?” At her fiery look, he backed up. “Okay, okay, I’m moving.”
Still bleary-eyed, she headed for the kitchen and the thermos of coffee she’d left there last night. Cold coffee was better than no coffee. It was actually still a little warm, and she felt the caffeine hit her system as she grabbed clean clothes from her backpack on her way to the bathroom.
A shower helped restore her. She dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Her hair was still damp as she returned to the kitchen to confront Justice.
Only now did she notice the shirt he was wearing, which was one of those brilliant multicolored Hawaiian designs. How could she have missed that before? “Nice shirt,” she noted.
“It’s not mine,” he growled. “My buddy Striker owns this beach house and a collection
