Free Princess, Without Cover by Courtney Cole Page A

of knowing that the first thought that sprung into her mind this morning was the fact that she was another year older now.  She was 18.  And that being attracted to Stephen didn’t feel quite so criminal.
    “It’s alright,” she murmured gently. “How could you know?  I didn’t tell you. But this is perfect.  You couldn’t have done better even if you had known.”  She sat gingerly on the bed, enjoying the lush softness of her new down comforter. 
    “Syd, you’re moving pretty slow. I know you’re hurting worse than you’re letting on. Let’s get you settled into bed.  The doctor said you needed to rest, so that’s what you’re going to do. Are you hungry?  I’m going to get you settled in here and then I’ll make you something to eat.”  He hadn’t even waited for her answer before he moved her bag out of the way and started turning down her bedding.
    “Sydney?” He looked at her questioningly.
    “Um, I’d be a lot more comfortable in my nightgown, but it hurts to raise my arms over my head.” At his concerned look, she quickly added, “But that’s really the only thing that hurts.  Everything else is just an ache. No big deal.”
    “Right.  Broken ribs are no big deal.”
    He stared at her in amusement.  She knew that she was stubborn in her efforts to pretend that she was fine, but she was also well aware that it was in Stephen’s nature to worry.  She’d given him enough to worry about lately and hurried to reassure him again.
    “They really aren’t a big deal.  They healed up quickly. They must be healed- the doctor took the tape off of them yesterday. They only ache when I move wrong.”  He couldn’t say anything to that and she knew it.
    He sighed in resignation. “What do you want me to do?”
    “Well, it would be great if you could help me maneuver my nightgown so that I can slip into it.” She looked at him hopefully.
    “Um, sure. I can do that.”
    He stared at her hesitantly, his thoughts unreadable.  If she didn’t know better, she would think that he didn’t want her to take her shirt off.  And she had to admit… being in such cramped quarters with him while she was taking off her clothes wasn’t going to help put a damper on the attraction that she was trying hard to ignore.
    She sifted through the clothing in her hospital bag and found the thin gown that she was hunting for. She held it out to him, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the slight tremor in her hand.
    He took it from her and stepped closer.
    “So… How do you want me to go about this?”  He looked from the gown to her in such consternation that she burst out laughing- and then had to hold her ribs.
    “Ow, ow.” She gasped, still laughing.  “Don’t make me laugh.”
    “I didn’t mean to.” He gazed at her in such droll amusement that she had to laugh again.
    “Oh, God.  Stop. It hurts.”  She wrapped her arms around her body and tried to still the quakes of amusement that threatened to erupt into laughter.  Every time she looked at him, the humor bubbled up again.  She couldn’t help it.  He looked so helpless holding her nightgown in his long masculine fingers.
    “Okay.” She took a deep breath, quelling the remnants of laughter.  “If you can help me slide my shirt off and then help me ease my nightgown on over my head, it would be extremely helpful.  I can show you how the nurse and I did it this morning.”
     He held her nightgown out helplessly and she burst into laughter again.
    “At this rate, I’m going to need more pain pills,” she sighed after the laughing fit had subsided. “Okay, let’s try this again.”  He remained silent, afraid that anything he said would make her laugh and cause her pain again.
    She began to shrug her arms out of her shirt and he lunged forward to help.  He grabbed the back of her collar and tugged it up over her head as she bent over to make it easier to slide it off.  As gentle as he tried to be, it still hurt.  A second