“Are you kidding?” she protested. “He’s stunningly gorgeous, saved you from being blown up, and oozes sex. Of course I want to know how it was!”

Alisha was completely unrepentant about her avid curiosity, which made me laugh despite myself.

“It was . . .” I searched for the right word, images replaying inside my head of Kade and me making love in Vegas, and again in the warm sunshine of an Indiana July afternoon. “It was . . . the best,” I said simply, shrugging. I couldn’t help the small smile tugging at my lips.

Alisha squealed in delight, throwing her arms around me in an exuberant hug, but then she suddenly pulled back, a frown on her face.

“So then why were you making out with Blane?” she asked.

My smile melted away. “Because a long-term thing with Kade is out of the question,” I said. “The closest he ever got to it was asking me to stay with him when we were in Vegas, but then he took it back.”

“Took it back? What do you mean?”

“He said it was too dangerous for me to be around him,” I explained. “So, yeah, I’m in love with him, but what’s the point? It’s not like he proposed.”

“And Blane?”

I remembered what Blane had said outside The Drop when we’d both been afraid he was heading to jail for Kandi’s murder: If I get out of this, if I still have a name worth giving to you, please tell me you’ll give us another chance. I can offer you more than Kade ever can or will.

“Blane still wants to marry me,” I said. “I think. Maybe.”

“Is that what you want?”

I thought about it. Part of me longed to settle down, build a home, a family, a life. But the other part of me wavered in indecision, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t think I was ready for that, or if I didn’t know who I wanted to settle down with.

“I don’t know,” I finally answered. “I don’t want to choose between them. It just seems wrong. They’re brothers.”

Kade wasn’t exactly a “settle down” kind of guy. Would being with him mean I’d have to give up having a family? Kids? But then again, I had to remember that he hadn’t offered me anything. Despite all we’d shared with each other in the darkened hospital room, future plans had not been discussed.

Whereas Blane had been clear about a future with him. He wanted to get married and start a family. When I’d apologized months ago for a pregnancy scare, he’d simply smiled and replied, I wasn’t scared.

Alisha sighed, sitting back against the couch and staring off into space like I was.

“Well, we could make a list of pros and cons?” she said, making it a question.

I turned and looked at her.

“It was just a suggestion,” she muttered. She thought for a moment. “I guess it comes down to . . . who you love more, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not choosing,” I said again.

We sat in contemplative silence for a few minutes, then Alisha stood.

“Well, I don’t have to tell you who I’d pick,” she said with a snort. “And as captivating as the soap opera of your life has become, I’ve still got to get to bed. Let me know if you need anything.” She gathered Bits in her arms while I stood, then gave me a hug. I walked her to the door.

“Love you,” she called as she left.

“Love you, too,” I replied, closing and locking the door behind her.

I cleaned the makeup off my face, brushed my teeth, and ran a brush through my hair. After changing into pajamas of knit shorts and a tank, I crawled into bed.

As tired as I was, though, I couldn’t sleep. I watched the minutes tick by on the clock, my mind refusing to quiet. I was doing my best to ignore the voice in the back of my head that was insistent on wanting to see Kade.

It was after midnight when my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and my pulse leapt as I answered it.

“Did I wake you?” Kade asked.

“No. Can’t sleep.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” I lied. I closed my eyes so I could concentrate on the sound of his voice in my ear.

“Are you boycotting the hospital?” he asked.

I frowned, unsure what he meant. “No . . .”

“Because I haven’t seen you today.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I . . . I know you need to rest, so you can get better, and I didn’t want to come by tonight and wake you again.”

“You’re lying.”

I didn’t reply. I never could get a lie past him, so there was no sense denying it.

“Why aren’t you here really?” he asked. “And don’t lie to me, because I’ll know.”

I sighed. There was no hiding it. I might as well just tell him and let the chips fall where they may. “Because I was out to dinner with Blane tonight,” I confessed, flopping onto my back. “And it felt . . . wrong for me to see him, then come see you.”

Kade was quiet for a moment while I held my breath. Would he be angry?

“Do you want to see me?”

My answer was immediate. “Yes.”

“Then come to me.” The low growl of his voice sent a delicious shiver through me.

My smile was wide as I said, “I’ll be there soon.” I ended the call and bounded out of bed, slipping on flip-flops and grabbing my purse before bolting out the door.

I made record time to the hospital and was now an expert at avoiding nurses as I crept to Kade’s room. When I slowly pushed open the door, I realized the machines had been removed. That was a good sign. That meant they’d be releasing him soon, I hoped.

I tiptoed into the room, conscious that Kade might have fallen asleep. My eyes hadn’t adjusted yet when I felt hands descend on my shoulders. I yelped in surprise, spinning around to see Kade standing behind me.

“You scared me,” I said, slightly breathless.

Kade’s face was steeped in shadow, whereas the meager light filtering in through the window in the door fell on me.

“You’re out of bed!” I said, a wide smile breaking across my face with the realization. “That’s fantastic!”

“Took a shower. Sick of sitting on my ass.”

I took a step or two back to put some space between us, then promptly forgot everything I was going to say.

Kade was completely naked.

Oh God.

“Wh-where’s your . . . your . . .” I stammered, my mind coming up empty. Bandages still covered the wounds in his chest, but it didn’t detract from the hard lines of muscle. His arms were relaxed at his sides, the veins standing out in stark relief from hours of pumping iron. My eyes dropped lower to see that being shot hadn’t affected Kade’s libido in the slightest. My mouth watered at the sight.

He did nothing to cover himself as my hungry gaze devoured him, and when I finally jerked my eyes back up to his, the smirk I knew so well curved his lips.

“See something you like?”

Kade’s low drawl had heat curling low in my belly.

“C’mere,” he said, crooking a finger to beckon me. His hair was still damp, the dark locks a midnight black, and he’d shaved.

I stepped forward, unable to resist the compulsion to obey him.

His hands rested on my hips and he tugged me closer until our bodies touched. Leaning down, his lips grazed my cheek, then whispered down my jaw to my neck.

“You smell like him,” Kade murmured against my skin.

I stiffened, my eyes flying open. I tried to step back, but Kade’s fingers bit into my flesh, holding me still. I didn’t know what to say. Should I apologize? My face grew hot and that squirmy feeling came back into my belly, the feeling like I was doing something wrong.

“I don’t care if you go to bed smelling like him, so long as you wake up smelling like me.”

Kade’s words had barely registered before he was kissing me. His taste was dark and dangerous. Addictive. I couldn’t get enough, and it seemed he couldn’t, either. Our tongues dueled while his hands roamed, sliding inside my shorts to cup my backside and hold me closer to him. The heat of his palm seemed to brand my skin. I couldn’t resist the temptation any longer and reached around him to squeeze his amazing ass. He groaned, the sound quickly consumed by our mouths. His cock grew harder as it pressed insistently against me. It took everything I had not to shove my shorts and underwear down my legs and climb him like a tree.

“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I gasped, pulling my lips from his. “You’re not well yet.”

Kade took my hand from his ass and wrapped it around his straining erection. “Does that feel like I’m not well?”

Desire pooled between my legs, soaking my panties.

“We can’t,” I said, though my words seemed a far cry from my actions as I gripped him, my hand sliding up and down his length.

“Then you’d better stop doing that,” Kade rasped.

Somehow, I managed to make myself release him and step away. I devoured him with my eyes, the fire burning in his gaze making me want to rip off my clothes and damn the consequences.

“Probably wasn’t the best idea to come here,” I admitted, forcing my eyes to look away. “I should go.”

“Don’t,” he said, taking a step toward me. “Don’t go. I’ll be good.”

I glanced at him and the skepticism must have shown on my face, because he followed up with “Scout’s honor.”

I rolled my eyes—Kade had never been a Boy Scout—but watched as he slid back into bed, pulling the sheet up to his waist. It didn’t hide the fact that he was still aroused, but at least it provided something of a barrier between his skin and mine.

“That better?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Not really, I thought with an internal sigh of disappointment. It seemed a shame to waste his . . . energy. Shoving the errant thought aside, I climbed into bed beside him, nestling against his side while he curled an arm around my shoulders. I rested my hand on his chest, careful to avoid the bandages. The strong beat of his heart echoed against my fingertips, reassuring me.