Free Hell on Heels by Victoria Vane

elevator doors opened. He pulled her inside.
    â€œLobby, please.”
    He punched the button.
    Monica braced herself against the far wall, watching him warily as if she anticipated him making a move on her. “What makes you think I’m interested in finding out?”
    She could fake it all she liked, but the air around her still vibrated with unresolved sexual tension. Leaning against the opposite wall, arms crossed over his chest, Ty let his gaze slide over her. She’d put herself back together. Mostly, anyhow. Her hair was still a bit mussed, and the wrinkles in her clothes remained. He liked that look on her—maybe a bit too much. He wondered if she’d put her panties back on.
    Their gazes met, then hers flickered downward, lingering far too long on his crotch. Her flush confirmed that she was thinking exactly like he was thinking. Even as pissed off as he was, he was having a damned hard time keeping his hands to himself. For the next twenty seconds he let his imagination run wild. They were back in the office. She was splayed out on the desk again, but this time he was buried to the hilt in her. The elevator dinged, ending his fantasy.
    â€œDid you want to get off now, Ms. Brandt? Or maybe you’d like to stay and let me take care of that for you?”
    â€œThanks for the offer, cowboy, but I’m quite able to take care of myself.”
    Fuck. That was one image he didn’t need. As if on command, his dick stirred back to life. His balls still ached something fierce, and nothing but release was going to bring him any relief.
    She exited the elevator with a wordless smirk.
    They may have called a truce, but the war was far from over.

Chapter Seven
    T y pulled into the private rehabilitation facility with a powerful sense of guilt. He hadn’t visited Tom since they’d moved him out here, almost a week ago. Part of it was to avoid Monica, who’d stayed by Tom’s side while he adjusted to his new surroundings, but the other reason was for Tom’s sake.
    It was agony to see such a robust man laid so goddamned low, but he knew it was far worse for Tom to be seen in such a weak and helpless condition. So he’d stayed away to give him time to adjust and come to grips with the situation. In the meantime, Ty had done his best to focus on work and not worry about what he was going to do when his fifty-three days (and quickly counting down) expired. He still hadn’t a damned clue.
    His other reason for staying away secretly shamed him. Since childhood, he’d had a bone-deep revulsion of nursing homes—the noises, the smells, the oppressive atmosphere. He remembered visiting his great granny when they’d had to put her in a facility after she lost her mind to dementia. Even now the recollections made his skin crawl.
    He knew Monica would see that Tom had the best care, but he was still shocked to walk into the vaulted-ceilinged, marble-tiled foyer of The Oasis, with a reception area that wasn’t far removed from that of a luxury boutique hotel on The Strip. After he signed in at the security desk, a nurse escorted him to Tom’s room. She was fortyish and surprisingly attractive. He wondered in bemusement if they recruited ex-showgirls as nurses. He chuckled at the thought. Tom would like that.
    Monica was just leaving Tom’s room when he arrived. “I’m glad you came,” she said, her forehead etched with worry lines.
    â€œOh? How is he?” Ty asked, instantly anxious.
    She leaned against the door with a sigh. “Not good, I’m afraid. Not good at all. The doctors said there’s minimal damage to his cognitive functions, but he won’t cooperate with his therapists. He won’t even make eye contact with anyone. I know he can hear me, but he just stares off into space. I don’t know what to do, how to get through to him.”
    She looked close to waterworks, which surprised him. The last thing he’d ever