by Vella Day
The latter required less effort. Stone had stood up to his roommate for her and insisted being with her during the interrogation. For someone who’d only met her recently, he’d been wonderful.
“In you go,” he said, as he guided her onto the seat and once more secured her seatbelt.
She’d been about to swat away his hand, tired of people telling her what to do, but then refrained. It was clear her threshold for politeness had evaporated as soon as she found the detective waiting for her.
Stone climbed into the cab and started the engine. “How about delivery pizza?”
It took her a few seconds to connect the dots. She was hungry and needed to eat. “That sounds good.” At least she wouldn’t have to put up with restaurant noise. Then the concept of “delivery” finally registered. “Where are we eating it?” Her mind refused to remain on one subject. She kept alternating between the funeral and that terrible man who accused her of killing someone.
“Your house,” he said.
She failed to figure out if that was a good or bad idea. They neared the funeral home. “Remember, I need to pick up my car.”
“No.”
“No?” Why was Stone suddenly being an ass? Okay, a nice ass, but still an ass. It was as if his roommate’s attitude had rubbed off on him. Be fair. At least he’d kept his voice soft. “Why not?” This time, she didn’t sound so challenging.
He glanced at her as he drove past the funeral home. “I don’t think you’d get home in one piece. Haven’t you noticed that you keep mentally drifting off?”
Her anger deflated. “Yes.” Maybe. Not really, but the possibility existed. Perhaps after they ate, he’d be willing to drive her back to town.
He took a right on SR25. “How do you—”
He glanced over and smiled. “Know where your house is?”
“Yes.”
“It’s called a phone book.”
Damn. Maybe she wasn’t fit to drive. Less than ten minutes later, he turned into her neighborhood. He headed down her street, and she pointed to her duplex. “You’ll have to park in front.” The place didn’t have a garage and she shared the drive with her neighbor who had parked both of his cars there already. Maybe tomorrow, she’d speak with him about what sharing meant.
Stone cut the engine, came to her side, and helped her out. The air had chilled since the funeral and she shivered. Without a word, Stone wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She was so tired that when she found herself at her own front door with Stone holding out his hand for the key, she barely remembered walking up the porch steps. She opened her purse and fumbled through it. “Damn.”
“Come on, tiger, let me look.” He lifted her purse from her fingers, quickly located the key, and with one twist opened the door. “It’s okay. You’ve had a hard day.” Had he not smiled she might have punched him.
She yearned for her demons to disappear and for someone to erase the emptiness residing in her gut, but to rely on him wasn’t right.
Once she stepped into the familiar surroundings, the tension eased a bit. She inhaled. “Do you smell how fruity it is in here?” Yuck. It was her mom’s cologne. The overpowering scent had lingered. “I’ll be right back.”
She stalked to the bathroom, picked up the room deodorizer, and returned. She spritzed the hallway and living room using a light touch, not wanting to make things worse. She inhaled and decided it was a lot better.
Without asking, Stone plopped onto the sofa and pulled out his phone. “What kind of pizza do you want?”
She’d made too many decisions today already. “You choose.”
He looked as if he was trying to contain a smile. “Oh, no you don’t. If I order pepperoni, you’ll say I didn’t give you a choice and that I was trying to tell you what to eat.”
Stone wasn’t the macho type—at least not when he was around her. He’d acted like a pit bull with the detective though, and she found it suited him. If the Cade Carter had been here instead, she bet he would have ordered without regards to what she wanted.
“How about veggie?” she suggested.
“Works for me.”
While he called the pizza place, she ducked into the kitchen and prepared coffee for Stone and hot tea for herself. She remembered he liked a lot of sugar and located a few packets in the cupboard.
When his hands touched her shoulders, she jumped.
“Easy. I just wanted to see if I can help.”
She faced him. “You don’t have to be so nice. I’m not used to it.”
He cocked a brow. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
Through her overtired brain, she tried to figure out what it was about him that was a bit unsettling. “I’m not sure.”
He stepped back. “Have a lot of people treated you like crap?”
“No.” Or did she have nothing to compare it to? Maybe she sucked at picking men, but she refused to be like some women who blamed all men because of a few rotten apples. Hell, maybe it was seeing her mom again that brought back too many bad childhood memories.
The whistle on the teapot blew, and she poured the water into her cup. The coffee finished brewing a minute later, and she fixed his drink.
He took a sip as they walked into the living room. “Perfect.”
His comment pleased her. When Stone returned to his seat on the sofa, she sat across from him, wanting to watch him instead of craning her neck.
Even holding her hot tea, she felt awkward. Except for when Stone told her about his friend dying in the war, she knew little about him. But what to ask? “Tell me about your hobbies.” She thought it was only fair since she’d shared hers.
With stretched out legs, Stone leaned back and drank his coffee then set it on the table in front of him. “I do work a lot, but when I do get out, I love to ski, ride horses, rock climb, bowl—if you can believe that—and at night, I love to read a good science fiction.”
She wouldn’t have put that mix together. “You don’t devour detective novels?”
His eyes shone. “I think I get enough of the real life stuff from Cade. Plus, I want an escape from my reality, too.”
She could understand that. That was why she read romance novels. She loved happily ever afters. He’d commented a while back about how he desired to travel. “What was your last vacation and where did you go?” Yeesh. She sounded like a game show host.
He jabbed his tongue in his cheek then blew out a breath. “It was so long ago it’s hard to recall. The last time I left town for a few days was when I went to Black Hawk, Colorado.”
She wasn’t familiar with the place but she liked the sound of the name. “What’s there?”
“Casinos. But what I really enjoyed was the side trip to Georgetown where they have a train ride that takes you over a tall gorge. If you’re queasy at all about heights, don’t go.”
She had no problem with being high up. “I bet the view of the mountains would be wonderful. I grew up in Oklahoma City where it’s flat.” It was one of the things she loved about Rock Hard. The terrain was rugged, varied, raw.
“That part of Colorado is definitely not flat.”
She enjoyed hearing about his life and wanted to know more. “Tell me about your job.”
He told her about a few of the more intense fires they’d had over the years, along with the more harrowing rescues. A half hour later, Stone was halfway through his story when the doorbell rang. Both of them jumped up. The way he glanced at her forced her to sit back down. He’d want to pay.
As soon as Stone stepped inside, the aroma from the pizza made her mouth water.
He closed her door then waved the box in the air. “You want to eat at the dining room table or in the living room?”
“Table.” It would be more intimate, and right now she needed the companionship.
Part of her had died with Chris’s death, and too often, bits of reality would sneak in and stab her belly when she least expected it. Then at the oddest times waves of depression, mixed with the sensati
on of being overwhelmed, would crash down on her. She tried to think of her patients and how they handled their own anxieties but decided maybe she was just weak. Stone seemed to prevent those wicked, cruel sensations from entering her thoughts.
It was ironic. Being there for others was easy. Sucking up her own grief was damned hard.
“…napkins?” Stone asked.
She’d gone off again. Maybe she did need him here. “I’ll get them.”
Amber’s job depended on her staying focused, but her ability to think clearly right now seemed to have evaporated. Once they were seated, they both dove in.
“I really needed this,” he said.
“It’s the best food I’ve tasted. Ever.” She was pleased she was able to eat.
In no time, the pizza disappeared. Stone stood and picked up the carton. “Let me have your napkin.”
“I can do it.” He hesitated then nodded as if he could see she was on the verge of tears. Cleaning up gave her a sense of normalcy, but it also tired her out. A cabinet door opened behind her and she spun around. “What are you looking for?”
“Wine. I thought you could use a drink.”
Boy could she, though it might put her to sleep. “In the fridge. There’s a bottle of red wine already open.”
He cocked a brow at her choice of storage location. Seconds later, he escorted her to the sofa and sat next to her. “Here.” He handed her a nearly full glass.
On the first fruity sip, her taut muscles began to unbind. As much as she didn’t want to think about anything that had happened today, she needed to hear what Stone thought about the interrogation.
“Do you think Cade thinks I’m guilty?” She was pleased her voice hadn’t cracked.
He brought the glass to his lips and drank a third of the wine. “Hard to tell. I do know he wants to find the killer so bad he’ll keep digging until he does.”
“He already dug deep and couldn’t find anything on me.”
“True. Do you have any idea who might have harmed all those patients?”
She shook her head. “No. Trust me, all during Chris’s service, I tried to picture each nurse and doctor, wondering who could put Emma and Chris out of their misery, but I came up empty-handed.” She twisted toward him. “Don’t get me wrong. We all hate seeing anyone suffer, but we respect life too much not to let the natural order of things rule.”
“No one is particularly soft-hearted?”
“That would be half the staff.”
He put his near-empty glass on the coffee table. “How about someone who cares for you? Is there anyone who would hate to see you suffer and kill for you?”
That was ridiculous. “And then blame me by signing my name to the drug sign out sheet?” A small laugh escaped.
“I see your point. Let’s assume the person didn’t think anyone would check.”
She couldn’t imagine anyone doing something that terrible, even if it was in the name of love. “Sad to say, other than Chris, there was no one who ever loved me enough to do that.” Pity slid across his face. She waited a second for him to say the usual platitude about how her mom loved her, but he thankfully kept quiet, so she continued. “As for the hospital employees, I don’t believe in dating people I work with. The only person I’m really close to at work is Jamie, and she’d never harm anyone. Especially Chris. She cared for him too much.”
“She seemed to.”
The conversation made Amber’s stomach-churning return. “Not to sound rude, but I’d like to crawl into bed and read a little.” She placed her glass on the coffee table. “I can’t thank you enough for being with me today.” She would have asked him to drive her to the funeral home to pick up her car, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with it now. She’d ask her neighbor to give her a lift tomorrow.
“You need your rest. Two traumas in one day are more than anyone should have to bear.”
His support helped so much. As she stood, she glanced over at the chair Chris always sat in. He’d picked that one because it squarely faced the television. Never again would she wag a finger at him to remind him to apply to school, or wait up for him on a Saturday night. An involuntary sob escaped, and a tear ran down her cheek.
Stone shot to his feet and pulled her to his chest. “Come here, you.”
She didn’t reject his offer. When he cradled her in his arms, it felt right. She sniffled then leaned back. “I’m good now.” She swiped a finger under her eye.
He rubbed a thumb across her lips and confusion rippled through her.
“You don’t have to be in control all the time, you know, tiger.”
“I haven’t been in control at all lately.”
“I know just what you need.” Next thing she knew he lifted her in his arms. “Sleep, and lots of it,” he said.
She agreed, but having him carry her seemed odd. “I can walk,” she said when he reached the hallway.
“No doubt you can, but I want to make your life easier.” The hint of a smile relaxed her.
Stone Benson was an amazing man, but if he walked out of her life right now, she’d be even more devastated.
Chapter Eight
Amber was light as a feather. Stone worried about her not eating enough. The best thing would be to tuck her into bed and slip out. Tomorrow he had to be back at work, and that meant a 3:15 a.m. wake-up time. Drake had taken Stone’s shift when he’d needed to be with Amber, and now he had to return the favor.
There were two doors on the right side of the hallway. One must be Amber’s room and the other Chris’s. Stone didn’t want to make a mistake and walk into the wrong one, stirring additional grief.
“Which room, baby?”
“The second door.” She wiggled in his arms as if she didn’t want to be a burden, but from the way she’d wrapped an arm around his neck, she enjoyed being held.
He nudged open the door with his hip. As soon as he stepped in, she reached behind them and flicked on a switch. A delicate pink lamp lit up next to her bed.
He set her on her feet but kept a hand on her back until he was convinced she was steady. He expected her to turn, thank him again, and walk him to the door. Instead, she stared as if confused, looking lost like a small child.
Now what? “Let’s get you into some pajamas.”
He fully anticipated rebellion on her part, but instead, she stepped to the side as if she’d lost her balance again. Whether it was from the alcohol or exhaustion, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was she wasn’t fully there. She might have hidden her sleepwear under the pillow, but he walked over to the only dresser in the room and opened the top drawer. Panties and bras. Wrong one. The second drawer held T-shirts and shorts. The last one gave him what he was looking for— flannel nightgowns. Given it was summer, they might be too warm.
“What do you wear to bed?”
“Um. A tank and panties.”
Shit. He should probably walk out now, but as a paramedic, he’d removed more than his share of clothing from a victim and had always remained professional. He could do that now.
Or so he hoped.
He located a fairly conservative tank top and tossed it on the bed. “Come sit down.”
As if on autopilot, she did as he asked. He almost missed the feistiness she’d exhibited with Cade. To be honest, he’d never seen a woman go off on his roommate like that. Had it been under better circumstances, he might have enjoyed it.
Cade was always in control. When Amber had challenged him, his roommate looked startled and a bit guilty. Maybe there was hope for him after all.
Stone knelt, tugged off her shoes, and set them next to the door he assumed was the closet. She wore a black dress under a fitted gray jacket that didn’t have any buttons and which came slightly below her breasts. Her makeup was minimal, probably because most had washed off with the tears.
He slipped her jacket from her shoulders, stepped over to a door that turned out to be the closet, and hung it up.
“Go ahead and take of
f your dress, baby.”
As if he didn’t exist, she stood and reached behind her to unzip the back but struggled with the zipper tab.
He rushed to her side. “Let me help.”
He turned her back to him and unzipped her. Stone was worried. A few minutes ago, she was asking him about his hobbies and where he’d last traveled. Now, she appeared as if she’d gone to some new place. He hoped it was nicer there.
Steeling himself against her allure, he dragged the dress down her shoulders until the material pooled at her ankles.
Don’t look.
“Step out of this.”
She lifted her foot, moved to the side, and repeated with the other leg. Then she sat back on the bed. “Will you stay with me?”
Her voice came out so thin, his gut twisted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He picked up her dress and hung it next to the jacket. If he stayed, he’d want to hold her, soothe her, and love her. Under the circumstances, that wouldn’t be fair to her.
The tank lay beside her. In a quick motion, she unhooked her bra and tossed it on the floor. His cock went rigid.
Leave. Now.
Staying would only cause more problems, but could he abandon her? He glanced down at the gorgeous woman. Jesus. He’d have to be made of steel not to be affected. Her breasts were small and high—delicate and tender looking.
Don’t be a pervert.
Stone turned to the side instead of facing away from her because he didn’t want her to think he was rejecting her. Didn’t she know being together after what she’d been through wasn’t right?
“Stone?”
Her voice cracked again, and he faced her. She wore her tank top, but her nipples still protruded. “Yes, baby?”
She turned around, pulled down the covers, and slipped in. Relief poured over him. “Can you stay with me for a while?”
She’d been through so much. “Sure.” He sat on the side of the bed and brushed an errant hair from her face. “Go to sleep.”
“Hold me?”
He was afraid she’d want more, and he couldn’t say no. “For a few minutes.”
He kicked off his dress shoes, and the relief was instant. Nothing else was coming off though. He stood, tugged down the spread, and crawled in next to her. Her subtle perfume had a hint of roses that filled his nostrils. He could only hope his thick slacks hid his erection. Amber turned on her side, her back to him, and snuggled closer. He worked hard not to let his groan escape.