Microsoft Word - T108JustDesserts.doc (7 page)

was not feeling that way right now. This had to be what it

felt like to be stoned. Light-headed and a bit woozy, he still

felt the pain even while on the painkillers the doc gave him.

It was dull, but still there…what the hell good did painkillers

do if you still felt the pain? The larger question remained,

could he ‘perform’ while on the painkillers? That

consideration alone had nearly made him not take the pills.

Only the doctor’s warning that he did
not
want to wait

until the drugs wore off before taking the next dose made

him swallow the tiny blue pill before leaving the hospital

with Donna, his Florence Nightingale. He liked the idea of

her nursing him back to health. Hopefully that would begin

with her tucking him into bed…and then joining him there.

His sexual fantasies were interrupted when the jolting

elevator came to a stop and the doors opened at his floor. His

angel led him gently by his good arm out into the hall, and

then stopped. “I don’t know which one is your apartment,”

she said shyly.

He grinned down at her. They were both remembering

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Cat Johnson

that fateful night he’d found her kneeling in this very hall.

Cocking his head at his door he said, “It’s that one. But

the keys are in my left jeans pocket. I can’t get them with

this bum arm.” Yeah, that was the reason he wanted her

reaching that hand into his pants.

He mentally made sure that Mr. Happy was behaving

himself and wouldn’t give her a surprise when she reached

into his pocket. Finding all was well in that particular

department, for the time being anyway, he simply enjoyed

the pink blush on her cheeks as she wiggled her fingers into

his pockets and felt for the keys.

Mmmm, mmmm. Maybe he should get shot more often,

he really enjoyed the attention.

The finding of the keys completed, sooner than he would

have liked, his angel unlocked his door and let them in.

Could she actually be more beautiful today or was that the

painkillers? Sam considered that as she led him to the couch

and paused.

“Hmm. Do you want to lie down on the couch and rest

or go straight to bed.”

Straight to bed? Hell yeah!
“The couch will be fine,

thanks.” Sam controlled his rampaging libido and lowered

himself gingerly to the cushions.

“Can I get you something? Maybe make you a cup of

tea?” his angel of mercy asked sweetly, concern showing on

her face.

Tea?
That wasn’t exactly the ‘something’ he had in

mind. “Sure. That’d be great. I think there’s a package of the

tea bags that come with the Chinese take-out on the kitchen

counter.”

Donna nodded enthusiastically and headed for the

kitchen. Sam laid his head back against the couch and

squeezed his eyes closed, realizing what big trouble he was

in.

Sam hated tea—it was right up there in his book under

the ‘why bother’ category, along with non-alcoholic beer—

and yet he would willingly drink it for her. Damn, it must be

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Trilogy No. 108: Just Desserts

the painkillers.

It did feel good to rest his eyes while she made the damn

tea, though. He would open them again the minute she came

back in the room, but until then...

40

Cat Johnson

Donna glanced around the small, unfamiliar space nervously.

She was in a single man’s apartment, in his kitchen, making

him tea to help nurse him back to health. This was as close

to an actual relationship-type thing as she had gotten in a

long time. The last guy she dated hadn’t thrown himself in

front of a bullet for her, either. That put Sam head and

shoulders above him already, and she had only known him

for a few days.

Wandering around the small area in the galley kitchen,

she took in every detail. Neat, clean, sparse, the place

screamed single mature male. The only thing the otherwise

seemingly perfect Sam and his apartment needed was the

female touch. She could definitely provide that. Donna

glanced at the small bare window at one end of the room and

added curtain rod and swag to her growing mental list of

home improvements.

Donna’s fingers itched to take out her cell phone and call

Grace with a status report. After the excitement had died

down, the police reports filled out and Sam long gone to the

hospital to be treated for his gunshot wound, they’d dropped

Jade home, offering to stay with her. She insisted she would

be fine alone so Donna had dropped Grace home also then

headed right to the hospital to see Sam.

Grace probably would not believe her anyway, or more

likely, Grace would be pissed off that Donna was alone with

the hottie who stopped speeding bullets with a single bound.

That was one reason she hadn’t told Grace she was heading

for the hospital, she didn’t want company for her visit with

Sam and she didn’t need any shit from Grace about going to

see him. She was nervous enough about the visit as it was.

Although, remembering the feel of his strong arm under

her hands as she supported his weight, Donna certainly

hoped she would have a lot to make Grace envious about in

the near future. Not right now of course because her hero

was hurt, but after she nursed him back to health with tea

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Trilogy No. 108: Just Desserts

and tender loving care, then Donna would see what she

could do for the other areas of Sam she would really like to

tend to.

The pot she used to boil the water on the stovetop for

lack of a teakettle (an exclusion she would remedy if she had

a chance) started to bubble. She opened cabinet doors, taking

note of the contents to review later when she had time and

finally located two coffee mugs. Plunking a teabag into the

mug for the man on the couch in the next room, Donna felt

so domestic she even began to hum.

Tea-making task completed, she controlled herself

enough to curtail the humming, grabbed the mugs and the

fortune cookies she’d found with the teabags and headed into

the living room—only to find her hero sound asleep, head

lolling and softy snoring. With a disappointed sigh she set

the mugs on the coffee table. Of course he needed his sleep,

but she was just selfish enough to wish he had waited a little

while to get some.

A wool throw was draped over the arm of the couch.

Hmmm, that was a distinctly feminine touch. Where the hell

had that come from? Donna allowed herself to obsess over

the possibility Sam had a girlfriend as she draped the throw

over him. His breathing deep and even, she figured he would

not be waking any time soon, at least until the painkillers

wore off.

Should she wait there? That didn’t seem appropriate.

She barely knew the guy. But what if he woke up in pain and

needed her?

She sighed again. Grace was right, it would definitely be

easier being a lesbian. If Donna were here with a female who

had been hurt, she would make herself comfy and wait. Men

confused things that should otherwise be simple.

Glancing at the man in question again, Donna let her

gaze sweep unhurriedly over the chiseled lines of his chin,

the strong cheekbones, his handsome features relaxed in

sleep. She decided that although men were a hell of a lot of

trouble, sometimes, they could be well worth the effort.

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Cat Johnson

~

Sam woke with a start and an ache in his arm. Things

came into focus slowly—the fact he was propped up on the

couch, the wool blanket (a recent Christmas gift from his

sister) laid over him, the two mugs on the table, the fact the

painkillers definitely had worn off and the doc was correct it

was
not
a good thing...

Memories came back to him and he swore softly. He

flung the blanket off and sat up slowly, supporting his hurt

arm in the sling they’d made him wear. The pill bottle was in

a bag on the table by the door, along with his now holey and

bloodstained leather jacket. They’d thrown the remains of

his ruined shirt away at the hospital but he wouldn’t let them

ditch the jacket. He’d had to wear some sort of hospital

smock shirt home with the sling for lack of anything else,

but Donna had made sure the car was warmed up prior to

cramming him into it so he wouldn’t be cold.

He made his way toward the table, and the pills, cursing

the fact that he had fallen asleep while he had Donna in his

apartment. Damn painkillers. He never would have fallen

asleep on her otherwise, he was sure of it.

Still scowling he reached for the bag and then noticed a

note written in bold, feminine script on a piece of computer

paper. He smiled as he noticed the phone number written on

the bottom under the message that read,
Call me when you

wake up if you need anything…Donna

He needed something, all right. Smiling he grabbed the

note and the pill bag. Sam swallowed enough of the horrid

and cold tea to get the pill down, then headed for the kitchen

and dumped the rest down the sink. He would make a pot of

good hot strong coffee to wake him up and keep him awake.

Then he would get Donna’s fine ass back over to his

apartment, somehow…

But first, he better check on something. Sam grabbed the

phone and punched in a number he knew by heart, listening

to the ringing until his friend’s voice filled his ear.

“You all right?” Gary asked without saying hello. Sam

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Trilogy No. 108: Just Desserts

still found this caller ID thing disconcerting.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He ignored the fact the painkillers had

yet to kick in. The doctor had warned him. But what he was

about to ask was probably going to be more painful than his

arm. “Uh, Gary. Remember when you had that back surgery

and they had you on those painkillers for awhile?”

“Yeah, I’ll never forget that. Why? What’s up?”

“Um, did you and the wife…you know…get busy while

you were taking the pills?” Sam rushed through the

embarrassing question and immediately regretted asking it

when Gary’s laughter nearly burst his eardrum.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Gary fell off his chair laughing.

“Why, Sammy boy? Did you try and fail with that hot

brunette or are you afraid to try at all?”

“Never mind.” Sam scowled, realizing this phone call

had been a huge mistake.

To his credit, Gary got himself together enough to

actually continue the conversation, just as Sam was about to

hang up on him. “I’m sorry, buddy. Seriously though, I was

in pretty bad shape. I mean, you can fuck with one arm, but

spinal cord surgery is another thing. I’m afraid there was no

‘getting busy’ as you put it. I’m assuming you are asking this

because you got that ride home.”

“Yeah. I did, and I fell asleep while she was making me

tea.”

“You hate tea.”

“I know.”

Gary’s deep laughter sounded again. “Oh, boy. I get it

now. This girl isn’t some one-night stand. You must really

like her if you were willing to drink tea for her.”

That was exactly what Sam was afraid of himself. “I

hardly know her, Gary.” But he wanted to get to know her a

lot better.

“But you want to know her a lot better,” Gary echoed his

thoughts exactly and Sam’s mouth fell open. Damn, he was

becoming far too transparent. “Listen, the wife’s brother is a

pharmacist. Let me give him a call and get back to you with

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Cat Johnson

your answer, lover boy.”

This was getting more embarrassing by the minute. That

was all Sam needed was Gary’s wife and her brother

knowing about his sexual performance anxiety. “No,

seriously. That’s not necessary.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be discreet. I’ll get right back to you.”

Then there was a click and Sam stood mouth open with his

unspoken protest and the phone in one hand buzzing a dial

tone into his ear.

This was crazy anyway. Even if he did get Donna back

over to his apartment tonight, what were the chances they’d

end up in the sack? He’d just met her! Sam thought about all

of the other women who’d ended up in bed with him. Most

of them he had just met, too, but this was different. Gary was

right, Sam didn’t want a one night stand with Donna. He felt

like he knew her already. He knew the sound of her laugh,