Free Beyond the Shadows by LaVerne Clark

should be out enjoying this night with a date, not looking after a grumpy old man like me.”
    Her eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly. It took a few seconds before she answered. “You’re obviously seeing something most men don’t then Nate.” He caught an underlying note of hurt before she breezed on, “And enough of the young. I’m twenty-six, only five years younger than you are. And when a friend needs me, I’m going to be there for them. You got a problem with that?”
    “No,” he conceded and put an arm over her shoulder to prove it, steeling himself for the zing of lust that shot to his groin at the contact with her smooth skin. “But I’ve never had to rely on someone else before. I’ve always looked after myself. It’s going to take some adjusting to.”
    Kelly nodded and led him down the hallway. He bit the inside of his cheek as their hips bumped. The muscles in her shoulders tensed, proving she wasn’t entirely comfortable, either.
    Upon reaching his room, she ducked out from under his arm and helped ease him down on the edge of the bed. Toeing his shoes off, he bent to peel off his socks and straightened quickly with a hiss as a jolt of pain sliced into the gunshot wound.
    “I’ll do it,” she offered and squatted down to attend to the task. His eyes lit on the crown of her head, the strangely intimate act sending bolts of longing through his groin. God. How was he going to handle another week of this?
    She lifted her chin, her gaze direct and oblivious to his thoughts. “Would you like some help getting undressed?”
    His breath caught in his throat and his cock throbbed at the images that rushed through his head. While she was no doubt thinking practically, his were purely carnal thoughts.
    He came back to the present with a jerk when she tugged on his big toe and tickled the arch of his foot. He cleared his throat. “Uh, no. I can manage.”
    “Good.” She stood and stretched her back. “I’m exhausted myself. Once I’ve talked to the sergeant, I’ll be hitting the sack too.”
    For the first time, Nate noticed the blue shadows under her eyes and the faint worry lines on her smooth brow. Concern for him had put them there. He needed to start making it up to her. “I really appreciate all you’re doing for me, Kelly.”
    She paused in the doorway and smiled. “It’s my pleasure, Nate. I’m just so glad you’re back with us. Those six days you were elsewhere were the worst of my life. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “Night.”
    His eyes travelled without conscious thought to her bottom as she left the room and he curled his hands into fists at his sides. She is not for you, he reminded himself for the umpteenth time, but he was getting mightily sick of listening to that voice. With a sigh, he rose gingerly from the bed and padded across to the bathroom to prepare for a restless night.
    ****
    Kelly hung up the phone with a wry smile. As she’d thought, the sergeant was thrilled to have the media diverted to him. She was more than happy with the arrangement. Now, she could concentrate on getting Nate better so she could get out of his hair. The near kiss had left her shaken. Their relationship had taken a sudden and unexpected turn, and regardless of how much she’d always wanted him, it wouldn’t be a good thing. Not for her anyway. Sleeping with him would never be enough. She’d want more, he wouldn’t, and it would end with her having her heart broken.
    From the first glimpse of him at the station, she’d noted he kept himself distant from the others. Singularly focused on work, he didn’t seem to need the companionship and camaraderie of his peers, didn’t join in telling the raucous jokes that made the grim reality of their jobs more bearable. He hardly ever cracked a smile. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely and seen the occasional glimpse of sadness in his eyes when he thought no one was looking, she would have written him off as someone to stay