Page 28 of Her Devoted HERO

“Lady, you’ve been tangling me up since the first damned e-mail with all of your attitude. I was worried that you wouldn’t be as good in person, but you’re even better.”

He was the one who was better in person. She’d damned near swallowed her tongue when she’d seen him in jeans and the Henley this morning. Then to see him wade in on that fight, so sure and so in command. Holy hell!

She shook her head to clear it. Pain shot through her brain.

“Can we stop off at the pharmacy and get some ibuprofen? I don’t have any in my purse, and the medic said it would help with a headache.”

“My place is ten minutes from here. I have ibuprofen, and it’s only twenty minutes from here, so that’s where we’re going. We’re done discussing this,” Dex said as he opened the door to his jeep. He helped her in.

***

“Honey, we’re here.”

Kenna opened her eyes and saw flowers, lots and lots of deep pink and purple buds.

“Where are we?” She asked the question of Dex not taking her eyes off the mounds of bougainvillea flowers surrounding the carport.

“We’re at my townhome. My grandmother has a green thumb. She said that this would look nice. I’m lucky that I can still park my bike under the carport.” Kenna peered in and saw that there was, indeed, a motorcycle parked there.

“This is amazing.”

“Let’s get you inside. I want you to have your medicine and a nap. You fell asleep two seconds after I started the jeep.”

“I’m fine now. I’m awake,” she protested. She might have won the argument if she hadn’t yawned. He just raised his eyebrows and slowly shook his head. Kenna was still struggling with her seatbelt when Dex came around the other side of the jeep and opened the door.

“Do you need help?”

“No, I don’t need help,” she said belligerently. Luckily the hook came unlatched, and she pushed it off. He held out his hand, but she shoved it aside and got out of the vehicle on her own.

“Slow down, Poppy.”

“Quit calling me that.” God, she did sound like a cranky five-year-old.

“If you quit popping off, I’d quit calling you Poppy.”

She glared at his grin. He pointed toward the carport, and she saw the side door. He let her in, and once again, her breath was taken away. Not by flowers this time, but by the indoor jungle.

“It seems that you have a green thumb too.”

“Not really. My cousin’s daughter, Andrea, takes care of my plants when I’m gone, and they multiply like rabbits, then she brings in more. I’m afraid one day I’ll come back from a mission, and I’ll have nowhere to sleep.”

She watched as he got a glass from the kitchen cupboard, and then reach into another cupboard and pull out a bottle of pills. “Let’s get you your meds, and then you can lie down in the guest room.”

“I don’t want to put you out,” she protested.

Weak!

Now that she was here, she totally wanted to check out his home. What did that make her? Weak! She watched as he filled the glass with water from the fridge, then handed her the glass and pills.

“Drink up.”

She did.

“Seriously, how are you feeling? And don’t feed me a line of shit.”

Kenna grimaced, and Dex grinned. “How’d you know I was going to lie?” she asked.

“Everybody always says they’re ‘fine.’ It’s the first response no matter what. You were opening your mouth before your brain was engaged. So now that you’re thinking about it, how are you feeling? You were a little unsteady in Reverend Langley’s office.”