One Hot Momma by Cara North Page B

Rodeo he may have won. He may not have, but certainly if he wasn’t going to point and yell at her, he wouldn’t have been let out of the gate before he was ready.
    “Why are yelling?” He laughed a little.
    “I don’t know.” She continued to shout. “You have no idea how hard it is to say no to you. I’ve been saying no to you for so long, Rafe , I wish I could say yes. I wish you could just get up and walk into your living room, or out the door to see how amazing it looks outside today, but you can’t and it’s my fault.”
    Rafe looked at her for a long moment. “Come here.” He waited. “You just said you didn’t want to say no, so come here.”
    Layla walked closer to him, and he could see why she was trying to keep her distance; she was crying. He patted the bed on his left side. She walked around and stood there facing him. This was the woman he had been lusting after forever, the woman who came everyday and gave him incredible pleasure because she thought he needed it. He bit his lower lip. He knew he was being a bit of a scoundrel with that one, but how could he resist? Like she said, it was the one thing he had asked her to do for him not medically related she didn’t say no to. “Sit.”
    She sat on the edge of the bed. “I need to do laundry.”
    “ Layla , come closer to me.” She moved closer but didn’t face him. “Kick your shoes off and get up here for crying out loud. Don’t make me drag you.”
    “ Rafe , what can I do for you in this bed?” She snapped, and then her eyes softened with a memory of what they had done in this bed once before he was sure of it. Then she was all business again. “I can talk to Heath and see if he will give me your crutches back.”
    She was sitting next to him, not looking at him, her mind obviously turning with her to do list for the day. She looked healthier than he had ever seen her, but her eyes looked tired. She needed a nap, for that matter so did he. If he could wrangle her under his arm, he could keep her there until she fell asleep. Slowly he slid his arm closer; then like a snake striking, he wrapped her up and pulled her close to him.
    “ Rafe !” she scolded, but he could tell she was afraid to resist him. She was afraid to hurt him.
    “ Shhh . You look like hell, Layla . Just settle down a few minutes and lay with me.” He hugged her even closer. He could smell her hair as she let her head drop to his left shoulder. The soft tendrils touched his skin, and he took a deep fortifying breath. He couldn’t see her face from this angle, but he could feel her hand gently rest on his chest. They were at an angle thanks to the million pillows she stuffed behind him daily to prop him up.
    “I look like hell because it is tough to sleep around here. I’m afraid I’ll miss it if you call for me. The guest room is so far away from you. Even though Heath brought the phone things that let you call me, I keep dreaming you call, then I get here and you’re fast asleep.” She yawned. “Am I hurting you?”
    “No,” he said and stroked her hair. “Hand me your glasses.”
    “I can’t see without them.” She tried to protest, but he could use the tips of his right fingers. He pulled them off and placed them on the nightstand beside him.
    “You’re getting better with that hand now.” She sighed. He could feel her breathing slow and knew she was fighting the sleep.
    “I’m getting better at a lot of things now.” He turned his head to kiss the top of hers. She was already asleep.
    Rafe had been asleep for an hour when a pain shot through his ankle, and his eyes opened stinging with unshed tears. It was Layla . She had looped her left leg over him in her sleep and kicked his ankle. He fought the urge to wake her and ask for the pain medication. He didn’t want to take it unless he needed it. The throbbing was present and burning with shooting pains up and down his right leg. He turned on the television and decided to try to block it