Completely Smitten. Susan Mallery

nurse said she could see him in a few minutes. She would go into his room, thank him for the previous night and duck out while she still had some small measure of dignity.

      “Are you here to see Kevin Harmon?”

      Haley turned toward the speaker and saw a nurse standing in the doorway.

      “Yes.” Haley approached the woman. “Is he all right?”

      “Actually he’s doing surprisingly well, for a man who was shot.” She smiled. “He’s in Room 247. Right down at the end of the hall.”

      “Thanks.”

      Haley clutched her purse to her stomach and headed down the hall. As she walked, she tried to figure out what exactly she was going to say. After “Hi,” her brain sort of stalled. She supposed she could pretend he was just another sick parishioner. She’d visited hundreds of them over the years.

      Yes, that was it. She would think of Kevin as just one more member of her father’s congregation. Not the man who had rescued her and then turned down her offer of carnal knowledge of her person.

      The hospital door stood open. Haley knocked softly as she entered. There was only one bed in the room. The man in it turned his head as she entered, giving her a clear view of his face. Her feelings of concern turned to dread as she took in his bruised face and the bandage around his head. Where it wasn’t bruised, his skin was pale in contrast to his thick, dark hair. His eyes were only partially open. One leg was propped up on a pillow and a thick bandage encircled his thigh.

      “Kevin?”

      He managed a slight smile. “You should see the other guy.”

      She bit her lower lip as she approached. “You look really beat up. How do you feel?”

      “Like I was shot.”

      “I saw you being taken away on television. That’s how I found out what happened.”

      “Thanks for visiting.” He motioned to a straight-back chair against the wall. “Take a load off.”

      She pulled the chair closer and settled next to him. Without thinking, she took his hand in hers and squeezed. His fingers were warm and strong, and more than a little distracting.

      “Is there anything I can do to help?”

      His mouth curved up again. “Yeah. Don’t talk to me about being fruit.”

      She remembered bits and pieces of their conversation of last night, when she’d wanted to be forbidden fruit. Embarrassment flooded her, making her cheeks burn. She quickly dropped his hand and stared at the floor.

      “Yes…well, I wasn’t exactly myself.”

      “For what it’s worth, I liked whoever you were.”

      She raised her head and stared at him. “Really?”

      “Absolutely.”

      “But I was an idiot.”

      “You were charming.”

      “I was drunk.”

      “A charming drunk.”

      Their eyes locked. Despite the bruising and the bandage, Haley found herself getting lost in his gaze. Her insides shivered slightly. Her heart beat faster. A strange, unexpected yearning filled her and while she couldn’t say for what, she ached with need.

      The powerful sensation frightened her, so she did her best to ignore it. She forced herself to look away from Kevin’s face. Instead, she focused on the bandage around his head.

      “Was the riot the reason you were called away last night?” she asked.

      “Yeah. They knew I was still in the area. All available personnel were summoned. By the time I got there, the riot had already turned dangerous.”

      “What started it?”

      “It seems the prisoner I delivered yesterday had a lot of enemies in residence. A few of them got together and tried to kill him. They jumped a guard and took his gun.” He touched his injured leg. “I got caught in the cross fire. Just dumb luck.”

      Haley didn’t know what to say. Kevin spoke matter-of-factly, as if this sort of thing happened every day. “Have you ever been shot before?” she asked.

      “Nope. And let me tell you, it hurts like a sonofa—” He caught himself and grinned. “It hurts a lot.”

      “You can swear. I don’t mind. In fact, I plan on learning to swear.”

      “You’re kidding.”

      She shook her head. “I don’t want to do it a lot and there are some words I’m not interested in using. Once I learn to do it, then I can figure out if I like it or not. I was thinking of mostly the D-word or the H-word.”

      Kevin closed his eyes. “I’ve never heard anyone call it ‘the D-word’ before.”

      “I can’t actually say it here.”

      He opened one eye. “In my room?”

      “I’m in a hospital.”

      “That’s not exactly like being in church.”

      “I know, but serious things happen here. Sometimes people die.”

      He opened his other eye. “You can’t swear where people are dying?”

      “No. Death is a sacred experience.”

      He rubbed his forehead. “You’re from another planet, aren’t you?”

      “Sometimes it feels like I am,” she admitted, thinking how different her world was from his. “I did very well in my classes at college, but none of them prepared me for this sort of thing.”

      “Are we talking about swearing or prison riots.”

      “Both.”

      “Uh-huh.” He closed his eyes again.

      She took the opportunity to study him. Even with his injuries, he was a tough-looking man. She supposed he should have frightened her, but he didn’t. She knew that underneath the power and muscles beat a good and noble heart. He wasn’t the kind of man to take advantage of a defenseless woman. Which was just her bad luck.

      “How long will they keep you in the hospital?” she asked.

      “Overnight. They want to make sure my head injury isn’t serious. Somebody nailed me with a metal chair. I ducked, but not fast enough.” He fingered the bandage. “There’s some bruising around my inner ear, so I’m a little wobbly.”

      After last night, she knew the feeling.

      “What about your leg?”

      “It was a clean shot. Through the meat. It’ll need regular changing, but it’s just a matter of letting it heal.”

      He’d spoken without opening his eyes. Haley had the feeling that he was getting tired. She knew she should go and let him rest, but first she had to thank him for all that he’d done for her. And apologize.

      “Kevin, I—”

      A faint ringing interrupted her. He opened his eyes.

      “Dammit, that’s my cell phone,” he mumbled, turning his head toward the sound. “It’s in my jacket pocket. Probably in the closet. Would you get it?”

      “Sure.”

      She rose and crossed to the small closet. As she opened the door, the ringing got louder. She pulled the phone out of his chest pocket and carried it to him. Kevin pushed a button.

      “Harmon,” he said, his voice brisk and all business.

      A little shiver went through her. He was competent, she thought. So in charge. Not like any man she’d ever met, certainly nothing like Allan.

      She