expensive.
“What happened to your hand!” Casey’s words cut into his thoughts and he glanced down to notice it had started bleeding again through the bandage.
“I cut it on barbwire earlier.”
“Aren’t you going to the doctor?” she asked, her voice sounding somewhat panicky.
“Hadn’t planned on it,” he said, leaning in the doorway. “I’ve put something on it.”
“But it’s bleeding.”
“I noticed.”
She looked at him with total exasperation on her face. “Your need to see a doctor for your hand, McKinnon. If you want I can take you there since I’m going to town.”
He lifted a brow. “What about your appointment?”
“It’s not for a couple of hours. The reason I was leaving so early was to do some shopping, but I can do that anytime. Getting your hand taken care of is more important.”
McKinnon gazed at her for a moment, saw the concern etched on her face. This was the woman he had avoided for a week. The woman he went to bed dreaming about each night. The woman whose kiss still lingered in his mouth. The woman he wanted with a passion.
The woman he could not have.
But he wanted to spend time with her this afternoon. Find out how things had been going with her. He didn’t want to hear it secondhand from Henrietta or Norris. He wanted to hear her voice, smell her scent, invade her space…
“McKinnon, do you want me to drive you to the doctor’s office in town or not?”
Her words interrupted his thoughts and as he gazed into her eyes he made a decision. He would spend a couple of hours with her today but then tomorrow it was back to business at usual. He would put distance between them again. “You sure it won’t mess up your appointment time?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
He nodded. “Then hold on, let me grab my hat.”
* * *
Casey drove while McKinnon sat in the seat next to her not saying anything, just absently staring out the window at the endless miles of scenic meadows, pastures and mountains they passed.
He was frowning—as usual. She wondered how often he smiled. She’d seen him do so once when he had been standing in a group talking to her cousins. Spencer had shared some joke and all the men, including McKinnon, had laughed. But other than that one time, she was yet to see the corners of his lips crinkle up. She couldn’t help but wonder about both the sadness and anger she often saw in his gaze. She had asked Durango about it once but he’d shrugged saying he didn’t know what she was talking about.
And it was obvious McKinnon had avoided her this week. Even now she could tell that he was tense and angry about something, but she didn’t know how to go about breaking through his defenses. She was used to dealing with moody males, thanks to Clint and Cole. The moodiness she could deal with, but not the anger because she didn’t understand the reason for it.
A part of her knew it had something to do with the kiss they’d shared that night a week ago. Why had he gotten upset about it? They were both adults and he was the one who’d suggested doing it in the first place, saying a kiss was what they needed to sleep, and of course she’d gone along with it since kissing him was something she’d wanted to do for a long time. And he’d been right about the kiss. She had slept like a baby and had awakened the next day with a longing to see him, but he’d evidently regretted what they’d shared and had other ideas and began putting distance between them…until now.
“So, how are things going with Prince Charming?”
The sound of his voice jerked her back to the present. She glanced over at him. He wasn’t looking at her but his muscular body was reclined back against the seat staring straight ahead and the Stetson he wore low on his head shielded his eyes. Tight jeans were stretched across his thighs and the blue shirt accentuated a strong, sturdy chest. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his profile was just as sexy as the rest of him.
Unwanted images were forming in her mind—especially of how wild and untamed he’d look that night in the courtyard. She wished the kiss they’d shared could have gone on and on since she had enjoyed it so much. No man had ever kissed her that way before and…
“Casey?”
Abruptly she was snapped back to reality. He was looking at her with those dark eyes of his and suddenly she was filled with this urgent, compelling hunger to kiss him again.
“Yes?”
“I asked how things were going with Prince Charming.”
And naturally when you asked I was thinking about something that I shouldn’t be. “We’re in the getting-to-know-you-better stage,” she said, forcing the words from her mouth through thick abated breath. “I’m walking him a lot to get a feel of his balance and taking note of those things that might distract him, make him not alert as he should be. I’m trying to develop a good impression with him—one that will last. He’s still somewhat tense and I’m trying to rid him of that. Once that happens then the bonding can begin.”
“What about working on his speed?”
Casey could see from out the corner of her eye that McKinnon was still looking at her but she refused to look back when she responded. “He has speed, McKinnon, otherwise Jamal would not have purchased him to use in the races. Once I get rid of the tension and the bonding starts, then he’ll do some amazing things, including increasing his speed. You’ll see.”
McKinnon got quiet again for a while. He thought about the reason she was going into town, frowned and then said, “Have you considered moving in with Durango and Savannah instead of getting your own place somewhere?” For some reason he was bothered by the thought of her living in the city alone. “I bet they’d be glad to have you as a guest for a while.”
Casey’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “For goodness sakes. They’re still newlyweds. I would feel like I’m imposing on them.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I can see your point. Even with Savannah being pregnant, it seems every time I drop by they’re either getting out of the bed or getting into it.”
Lucky them, she wanted to say but changed her mind.
“You could stay with my folks,” he suggested.
Casey glanced over at him and met his gaze. Once again she felt the sizzle and tried to ignore the heat swirling around in her stomach and between her legs. She quickly placed her eyes back on the road, tightening her hands on the steering wheel and squeezing her thighs together. She didn’t fully understand these sensations that always swamped her when he looked at her a certain way.
She tried to get a grip and think about what he’d just said about her moving in with his parents. How she could tell him in a nice way that his folks were just as bad as her father and Abby? She hadn’t known that older couples could be so openly affectionate.
She cleared her throat and glanced back over at him. “I would feel like I’d be imposing on them, as well.”
McKinnon
