“Still?”
“She’s been in Colorado for more than seven weeks. I don’t know if she has an agenda—besides f**king up things between us.” Ronin’s eyes bored into hers. “That’s not me refusing to take responsibility for not telling you about my familial ties, but what Shiori freely admitted to me.” He reached for her hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about any of this. But being an heir isn’t something I’m proud of because I didn’t earn it. I hate that you questioned your own judgment because of me. I know what that feels like.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“I’d really like to have you back in my life, because it’s been empty without you in it.” Ronin stroked her cheek. “I missed you.”
“So you’ve said.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me?”
“I think that you actually showing me this sweet side of you is the result of your concussion.”
“I’d turn you over my knee for that smart-ass comment, but it hurts too f**king much.”
“Speaking of . . . You are putting on that brace as soon as we’re done talking,” she warned him.
“When did you become such a hardass?”
“When you asked me to take care of you. That entails more than fluffing your pillows and administering your meds.”
“Yes, ma’am. So now it’s your turn to talk about fun family stuff.” He blinked at her with confusion. “I know in the past I’ve been lax about remembering details of things you’ve told me, but I’m positive you never mentioned you were planning a trip back to North Dakota.”
Amery’s cheeks heated. “I needed to get away. And since money is tight—not that you’d understand what that’s like—I couldn’t jet off to a tropical island for a few days. I ended up in my car, heading north. Ironically enough, my father’s thirty-fifth anniversary as an ordained minister was that weekend.” She twisted her fingers. “I wasn’t going to go. In fact, I’d told them I wouldn’t be attending. Then all that happened with us, and I couldn’t leave town fast enough.” She looked away. “Pathetic, huh? That the only place I had to go was the last place I ever wanted to be.”
“Jesus, Amery. How—”
“I’m glad I went if for no other reason than my brother, Aiden, got seventy-two hours’ leave from the army and surprised our parents, which worked out for me because I didn’t spend much one-on-one time with Mom or Dad. They were pleased that I showed up more for how it looked to my father’s congregation and the community than from joy at seeing me. So it was a miserable trip with the exception of spending time with Aiden.”
“Baby. I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
After an uncomfortable moment, Ronin asked, “Are we done talking about this?”
“For now. But I reserve the right to ask other questions as they occur to me.”
“Anything, anytime. From here on out, I’m an open book for you, Amery.”
As much as she wanted to believe him, unless he proved that statement true, he was just paying lip service to what she wanted. “Good. But for now, you need to get back in bed. I’ll grab the knee brace.”
He slowly rose to his feet but still had to slap a hand on the wall to keep his balance as he started down the hallway.
His knee buckled, and Amery made it to his side before he hit the floor. “Sweetheart, you need to remember I’m here to help you.”
“God, I missed hearing you call me that.” Breathing hard, he sagged against the wall.
“Are you okay?”
“No. I’m exhausted. Feels like I got hit by a truck while running a marathon. But that’s not the worst part.”
Amery waited as his eyes roamed over her face.
“The worst part is, after six goddamn weeks without you, I can’t even kiss you like I want to.”
Maybe it was reckless, ignoring the warnings to take it slow, but she closed the gap between them and slid her hands up his chest to cup his jaw. Meeting his gaze, she said, “Then how about if I kiss you?”
Those soulful brown eyes watched her with hunger and relief.
She swept gentle kisses across his upper lip, placing an extra-soft kiss on the stitches. Then she moved to the corners of his mouth and his lower lip, dipping her tongue inside that pouty lower swell. Keeping their eyes locked, she pressed her lips to his fully, letting the moment linger.
Watching his beautiful banged-up face, she knew her tenderness soothed more than just his bruised mouth. “Let’s get you tucked in.”
• • •
WHILE Ronin was resting, she raced to her loft and showered. In her overnight bag, she packed clothes, her laptop, a few client files, and her e-book reader.
At Target, she bought the bare necessities for groceries. Just because Ronin hadn’t shown much of an appetite didn’t mean it wouldn’t suddenly appear. She picked up a bottle of over-the-counter painkillers, an extra ACE bandage, and two more ice packs. In the clearance section, she noticed a single wooden crutch. That would allow him to keep weight off his knee. She threw it and a pair of foam pads in the cart.
The universe smiled on her when she found a parking space close to the dojo. Trying to get all the bags carried to the front door in one load made for slow going.
She heard angry footsteps and looked up to see Knox bearing down on her.