Read Online Spring River Valley: The Spring Collection (Boxed Set) by Clarice Wynter - Free Book Online

third floor. The way I feel right now, I don’t know if I’ll make it all the way up to my place. Maybe I’ll sleep on the porch swing.”
    “Or you could come to my place. I…I’m on the ground floor.”
    Something pinged in the middle of Tanner’s chest. His weariness eased a bit. He hid a smile as she steered around a corner.
    “You should probably be in your own bed, though. You’ll rest better.”
    Rest was no longer the first thing on his mind. “Whatever the nurse ordered. Did Audrey tell you to take care of me? She’s like that.”
    Evie glanced at him then back to the road. “In fact, she did. I have a feeling she knows when her orders aren’t obeyed.”
    “You got that right. We call her Iron Audrey.”
    “That’s harsh. She seems very sweet.”
    “If she’d ever given you stitches, you’d think differently. But, yeah, and don’t think she won’t quiz me the next time she sees me.”
    “It’s settled , then. Your place, your bed…”
    Tanner watched her jaw working in a clear attempt to bite back the rest of her sentence. The bone-tired feeling that had swept over him as they left the hospital transformed into a fresh burst of energy. Knowing Quinn was going to be all right buoyed his spirits, and by the time she pulled up in front of his apartment, he felt like he could race up the stairs carrying her in his arms if she’d let him.
    She parked in front of the house. “I’ll walk you up.”
    “How about that coffee you were talking about earlier?” He hadn’t been able to down anything other than water in the hospital, but now he needed…well, he didn’t need coffee or particularly want it, but he needed an excuse to make sure she didn’t leave him too soon.
    “I could go for a cup.”
    “Good. I hope I have some. Let’s go look.”
    The walk up the three flights to his small loft apartment was agony. Mentally he might have felt better, but he hadn’t shaken the physical strain of pulling Quinn and the injured woman from the collapsed porch. By the time he reached his door, he was aware of every bruise and scrape he’d sustained, but that didn’t stop him from wanting Evie, from needing her.
    “Nice place,” she said when he turned on the lights. At least it was fairly neat.
    “Living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette—Taylor calls it a classic bachelor pad. I’m hardly ever here.”
    She laughed. “That explains why it looks so nice.”
    “It’s never looked better now that you’re in it.”
    “Still have the energy to flirt, I see.”
    Tanner gently closed his front door and took Evie’s hand in his. “I’m not trying to flirt. I want to thank you for staying with me tonight. You didn’t have to. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to Quinn. We’ve been friends since fourth grade. He’s like…my other brother. He became an EMT because I did. I feel responsible for him.”
    “He’s lucky to have someone like you.”
    Tanner stepped closer, his eyes locked on hers. “And I’m lucky to have met someone like you.” In a heartbeat he was kissing her again, and the touch of her lips transported him back to the other night at Colette’s, the cool breeze at his back, the warm woman in his arms. He pressed her against the wall and deepened the kiss until she moaned and her arms went around his neck.
    All the stress of the night melted away when she broke the kiss and whispered in his ear. “Let’s get you into bed.”
    He’d never been happier to obey nurse’s orders.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Evie’s thoughts blanked the moment Tanner’s fingers found bare skin beneath the hem of her shirt. He wrapped his hands around her waist and guided her backward into his bedroom while his lips explored hers.
    Instinct told her he was making up for the scare he’d had . His relief and happiness that his best friend wasn’t seriously hurt had given him a craving for human contact, for something to affirm life. She might have been bothered