Dee, Lavada - Nothing to Lose [Blackhawk Brothers] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Online Free PDF

ointment out and give her some privacy. When he turned back, he sucked in his breath at the sight of the bruises that literally covered her. They were in different phases of healing, attested to by the yellow, green, and dark-blue colors. He fought for control as overwhelming anger swept over him.
    Galynn closed her eyes. When she opened them, she met his gaze in the mirror over the bathroom sink. A flush suffused her face, and she quickly ducked her head. Cooper didn’t know where to put his hands. There wasn’t an inch that wasn’t covered in a bruise. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” He tried to curb his anger and temper his voice so it didn’t sound so harsh. When she flinched, he took her upper arms, and, careful not to make her lose her hold on the shirt she clutched in front of her, he pulled her up against his hard chest. Gently, he kissed her hair. Softening his voice, he whispered, repeating what he’d just said. “You have absolutely nothing to feel embarrassed about. Not with me.” Again his gaze met hers in the mirror. This time, he was the first to look away.
    Instant desire flooded through him. He wanted to turn her around so she was facing him. It was torture to be so close and yet not close enough. He needed to get control. Reluctantly, he moved back and reached for the bandage covering the wound. Trying to lighten the emotions whirling over him, he said, “Hold on, honey, this may hurt.” His hand trembled, and it wasn’t all with the effort of dressing the wound.
    “How does it look?” Her voice shook.
    “Actually, not as bad as I’d expected. It’s still red, but there isn’t any oozing around the wound.” He swabbed her back with the cleansing stuff his brother had given him and reapplied some antibiotic cream. With that done, he took the scissors he’d gotten from the drugstore and cut off a piece of bandage. She sat perfectly still, trusting him and touching a part of him he hadn’t known existed.
    He finished and turned back to the counter to again give her privacy. “All done. It’s pretty early yet. Want to see if there’s a movie on the television?”
    She made quick work of getting her shirt back on and turned to help him clean up the mess on the counter. “Sure, but don’t worry about entertaining me. What do you usually do on a Saturday night?”
    Coop watched as the pink crept into her cheeks and laughed. “Not what you’re thinking.” She was so transparent. It wasn’t hard to guess she’d been thinking that it was Saturday night, and he was single, and, well, what went with single and Saturday night.
    If possible, she turned a brighter pink. Cooper winked at her and resisted the urge to reach over and kiss her. Her lips were so close. He backed up, indicating for her to go ahead of him. When they reached the kitchen, he took a deep breath at the relief of being in the bigger room.
    By mutual agreement, they found a movie. It wasn’t long before Cooper fell asleep. At eleven, Galynn turned on the late news and woke him up. He came awake with a start and guiltily grinned at her. “Sorry, too much paperwork today. I can work all day on the job and come home feeling great, but an hour in the office and I’m toast.”
    They watched the news in compatible silence. When it ended, Galynn said a shy good night and moved toward the stairs while Cooper watched. The design of the house consisted of two master bedrooms. He used the one on the main floor. Tonight he wished he’d chosen the upstairs one, which would have been next to the guest room he had put her in. Reluctantly, he headed for the kitchen to set the coffeepot for morning.

    Chapter 4
    Galynn walked into the office and stopped short. Cooper hadn’t been exaggerating. She didn’t know what to say. It turned out that she didn’t have to say anything. He said it for her. “A mess, huh? Bet you thought I was kidding. Want to back out?”
    “Not on your life, but by the looks of things you could