Whirlwind Groom by Debra Cowan

you to offer, but so far I’m able to manage. I’m working slower but it does give me something to do. I hope to get a little stronger every day.”
    â€œIf you change your mind, let me know.” The other woman patted her hand. “We’ll go on now so you can get a little rest.”
    â€œThank you for coming.”
    Brother and sister said their goodbyes to Davis Lee and walked out. The sheriff followed them to the door. From the hall, she heard Loren’s voice, low and urgent, but couldn’t understand his words.
    Now that she was alone with Davis Lee, she fully expected him to leave, too. Instead he turned, his gaze flicking over her.
    He braced both hands on the door frame and leaned in. “Looks like you’re coming around, Josie. I see you made it over to your spot by the window today.”
    â€œIt feels wonderful to get up,” she said carefully. She caught the warning tone in his voice. Yes, he definitely knew what she was about.
    That shirt fit his broad chest entirely too well. The white fabric shifted with the play of muscle, brought out the deep bronze of his skin and the piercing blue of his eyes. “It’s been a long four days.”
    His intense study had her skin warming. “Catherine’s been here?”
    â€œThis morning.” The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the strong column of his throat and a hint of dark chest hair.
    â€œWell, I’m glad to see you’re up. Just stopped by to check on you.”
    â€œThank you,” she murmured. Most likely he had come to see if she was spying on his jail.
    He tipped his hat and levered himself away from the door.
    â€œUm, Sheriff?”
    â€œDavis Lee,” he reminded in a gravelly voice.
    â€œDavis Lee.” She swallowed, fixing her gaze on a spot in the center of his chest. “I wondered if I might get my scalpel.”
    â€œSure. It’s still in my saddlebag.”
    â€œAnd my…” She cleared her throat, assailed by the memory of him jerking off her undergarment. “My corset. You have that, too. Don’t you?”
    â€œDo I?” His lips quirked. “You saying you lost yours, Miz Webster?”
    â€œNo.” The banked heat in his eyes flustered her. “Yes.”
    â€œWhat’s it worth to you?”
    Her eyes widened. “You’d make me bargain for my own clothing?”
    One corner of his mouth hitched up in a grin. “Could be interesting.”
    â€œAnd just what are you going to do with it?”
    â€œWell,” he said in a voice that sent a jolt of sensation straight to her toes, “I only know one thing to do with a corset.”
    And the bold sweep of his gaze over her body said he’d done it the day she’d been bitten.
    â€œOh.” She tried to breathe past the lock on her lungs. His gaze was too hot, too raw. She glanced away.
    â€œAny more of your corsets I should be looking for around town?”
    Her face burned. “Stop teasing me. It was hard enough to ask you.”
    He grinned. “I’ll be right back with your things.”
    â€œThank you,” she said quietly as he walked away.
    Davis Lee couldn’t miss the blush that colored her peach-tinted skin. Jogging down the stairs, he tried not to think about how tempting she looked sitting in the sunlight with her deep mahogany hair tumbling around her shoulders like gold-touched silk. Or how her modest green-and-white striped dress turned her eyes the color of moss.
    He wouldn’t allow himself to get waylaid by her pretty face or her sinful curves. The telegram he’d sent three days ago to the sheriff of Galveston County still hadn’t been answered. Davis Lee had no choice but to make allowance for the hurricane and any resulting damage, but he was impatient to find out if Sheriff Locke knew anything about Josie Webster.
    He reached his horse, which was hitched in front of the jail, and flipped open