Read Online Resisting Her Rebel Hero by Lucy Ryder - Free Book Online

“Besides, I like blowing things up, remember.”
    He clearly didn’t intend to say anything more, but that was okay, Cassidy reflected. At least next time— if there was a next time—she could bring it up when he was in a better frame of mind. For now she’d respect his need to avoid the subject.
    Lifting the denim at his knee to make the final cuts, she acknowledged quietly, “Yes, I remember.”
    She’d barely exposed his mid-thigh when he flinched and grabbed her hand with an alarmed “ Whoa. ” He’d clamped his free hand over his crotch and was eyeing the scissors like she was holding a live grenade.
    Cassidy rolled her eyes and gently peeled away the blood-soaked denim, grimacing at the jagged gash on his hard thigh. “This is going to hurt,” she said, reaching for disinfectant and cotton wool. After liberally dousing the area, she probed the wound gently, before injecting a painkiller into his thigh.
    “So,” he murmured when she’d tied off the first suture and was starting on the second, “what’s a big-city ER girl doing in a place like this?”
    Cassidy flashed him an exasperated look and deftly maneuvered the needle scissors as she completed another suture. “We’ve already had this conversation, remember?”
    Sam scratched his chin and the rasp of his stubble sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. It reminded her of how virile and dangerous he was to her peace of mind. “I was a little tired last night.”
    “Uh-huh,” Cassidy said dryly, and tied off the next suture.
    “You never did answer the question, though,” Sam pressed, before she could ask about his sleeping habits. He looked more exhausted and drawn than a single night without sleep warranted. And with his other symptoms, he was most likely having nightmares as well.
    She studied him intently. “What question?”
    “You. Here in the boondocks.”
    Cassidy turned away from his keen gaze and sorted through a box of dressings. She needed a few moments to gather her composure. After selecting what she needed, she turned with a shrug. “Big-city burn-out. I just needed a change.”
    “Ahhh,” Sam drawled, as she tore open the packaging with more force than was necessary.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded, stripping off the backing and gently pressing it over the sutures on his belly.
    He grimaced. “Romance gone bad.”
    Cassidy gave a shocked laugh, staggered by his perception, and dropped her gaze to his thigh. She knew what he was doing. And, boy, was his diversion effective. “Believe me, romance is way off base.”
    “Then...?”
    Rattled, Cassidy sucked in a steadying breath then answered, “Let’s just say I needed to find some perspective.”
    “Yeah,” he said softly, his eyes taking on a bleak expression that had her own problems vanishing in the sudden urge to wrap her arms around him. His mouth twisted in a sad, bitter smile. “God knows, I’m acquainted with perspective.”
    Unsure how to respond in a way that wouldn’t have her coming across as an emotional wreck, Cassidy silently went back to work. Besides, what was there to say? Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any clue either. By the time she’d finished he seemed to have slipped into sleep but when she eased away, he groaned and sat up.
    A quick glance over her shoulder caught his grimace of pain. His jaw bunched and he grabbed the side tattooed with bruises as he swung his legs over the side. Having finally come off his adrenaline high, he was pale, exhausted and hurting.
    “I’ll get you some pain meds,” she said quietly, turning away to reach into the overhead cabinet. She heard a faint sound and felt the air shift at her back an instant before heat spread along her shoulders and down to the backs of her thighs. Her pulse leapt, her chest went tight and it was all she could do to keep from turning into his big, hard body. To lean on him and let him lean on her.
    A long tanned arm reached over her shoulder and he