Read Online Back Where You Belong by Vonnie Davis - Free Book Online Page B

his chin. “My mouth doesn’t want to work. I’m surprised you stayed. Glad, but surprised.”
    “I needed to know you were okay. Plus, someone had to stay with Olivia. Pete went home to check on things.”
    He nodded and winced at the throbbing pain the slight movement caused. “Give me the rundown of my injuries, ’cause I hurt like hell.”
    She placed his hand on a button contraption. “First, this is your morphine drip. Press it once to get some relief from pain.”
    He pressed it twice.
    Her lips pursed. “You pressed it twice, didn’t you?”
    “Hell, yeah.”
    She shook her head, her displeasure evident. “Men are such wusses when it comes to pain.” Her whispers were evidently to keep Olivia from waking, but the tone of her voice had a sensual quality to it.
    “Hunh. A kiss would make me feel better.” A man could always hope.
    When she leaned over him to press a tender kiss on his forehead, his hand drifted up to her waist to hold her in place. Her floral perfume was a welcome change from the antiseptic smell of the room. The warmth of her nearness soothed his battered body.
    “My head hurts so bad, one kiss won’t take care of it,” he whispered.
    “You’re going to milk this for all it’s worth, aren’t you?”
    More gentle kisses feathered across his brow. Her fingers sifted through his hair in a gentle, soothing motion.
    He sighed, relaxing more from her touch than the drugs. “Don’t stop, Sugar. I need this.” When had a woman touched him the way she did? When had he needed the comfort another person could provide? Anna Beth was never one for tenderness, but there was something in Lacy’s being that oozed it for people she cared about. Could she ever come to care for him and Olivia? “More.”
    She feathered kisses over his cheeks and nose. “I can’t kiss your mouth with the stitches there.”
    “Try.” He heard the plea in his voice and, although the tone should have unmanned him, he didn’t give a damn. What he needed right now was her. One petite woman with a mountain of strength and an ocean of caring.
    Warm lips kissed the corners of his mouth, and he was lost. Lost in the essence of her. His hand slid to her back and pulled her closer. Both of her hands slipped behind his neck, sending chills of heat down his spine. Her tongue swept along his lips, and he opened for her taste. Breaths mingled. Soft moans danced around the sterile room. One thought prevailed as she gently kissed him. He was home—home where he belonged.
    Advice from his pappy floated back. “Find a woman who spoils you, son. Then spoil her back so she never leaves you. Ain’t nothin’ finer than two people seein’ to each other’s needs.” If only he’d listened to pappy’s words before he hooked up with Anna Beth, Miss Austin Texas. Still, if he had, he wouldn’t have his daughter.
    Beeps on the monitor grew louder. Slowly, Lacy pulled back. “If we don’t stop this, alarms are going to go off and nurses will come running in to see why your pulse rate is sky high.”
    “Damn the nurses. Kiss me again.”
    She patted his chest. “I think you’ve had enough.”
    “I’ll be the judge of that.” Could he ever get enough of her?
    “Sorry, cowboy. With your injuries, you need your strength for healing, not for making out with the ladies.”
    “There’s only you.” Hell, is that how I really feel? Am I starting to get serious about her? How damn foolish is that? No doubt, first chance she gets, she’ll leave me for another man just like Anna Beth did.
    “I think it’s time we change the subject. You asked about your injuries.” She fussed with his sheets, smoothing them out as she talked. “You’ve got a concussion, scrapes and contusions over your face and body, stitches from your nose to your upper lip.” Her voice grew shakier as her descriptions continued. “Surgery to stop internal bleeding. They took out your spleen.” She swiped at tears. “Badly sprained ankle.”
    He