The Welcoming

minute,” she began. “Right after—”
    “Shut up,” he repeated. He laid her on the bed, then gave up. Keeping his arms around her, he buried his face against her throat. “Oh, God, baby.”
    “It’s all right.” She stroked a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry.”
    “I thought you were dead. When I found you I thought you were dead.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry.” She rubbed at the tension at the back of his neck, trying to imagine how he must have felt. “It must have been awful, Roman. But it’s only some bumps and bruises. In a couple of days they’ll be gone and we’ll forget all about it.”
    “I won’t forget.” He pulled himself away from her. “Ever.”
    The violence she saw in his eyes had her heart fluttering. “Roman, it was an accident. Sheriff Royce will take care of it.”
    He bit back the words he wanted to say. It was best that she believe it had been an accident. For now. He got up to get her tray. “Mae said you could eat.”
    She thought of the lists she had to make and decided she had a better chance getting around him if she cooperated. “I’ll try. How’s Ludwig?”
    “Okay. Mae put him out and gave him a ham bone.”
    “Ah, his favorite.” She bit into the toast and pretended she had an appetite.
    “How’s your head?”
    “Not too bad.” It wasn’t really a lie, she thought. She was sure a blow with a sledgehammer would have been worse. “No stitches.” She pulled back her hair to show him a pair of butterfly bandages. A bruise was darkening around them. “You want to hold up some fingers and ask me how many I see?”
    “No.” He turned away, afraid he would explode. The last thing she needed was another outburst from him, he reminded himself. He wasn’t the kind to fall apart—at least he hadn’t been until he’d met her.
    He began fiddling with bottles and bowls set around the room. She loved useless little things, he thought as he picked up a wand-shaped amethyst crystal. Feeling clumsy, he set it down again.
    “The sheriff said the car swerved at you.” She drank the soothing chamomile tea, feeling almost human again. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
    “Damn it, Charity.” He whirled, then made an effort to get a handle on his temper. “No, I wasn’t hurt.” And he was going to see to it that
she
wasn’t hurt again. “I’m sorry. This whole business has made me edgy.”
    “I know what you mean. Want some tea? Mae sent up two cups.”
    He glanced at the pretty flowered pot. “Not unless you’ve got some whiskey to go in it.”
    “Sorry, fresh out.” Smiling again, she patted the bed. “Why don’t you come sit down?”
    “Because I’m trying to keep my hands off you.”
    “Oh.” Her smile curved wider. It pleased her that she was resilient enough to feel a quick curl of desire. “I like your hands on me, Roman.”
    “Bad timing.” Because he couldn’t resist, he crossed to the bed to take her hand in his. “I care about you, Charity. I want you to believe that.”
    “I do.”
    “No.” His fingers tightened insistently on hers. He knew he wasn’t clever with words, but he needed her to understand. “It’s different with you than it’s ever been with anyone.” Fighting a fresh wave of frustration, he relaxed his grip. “I can’t give you anything else.”
    She felt her heart rise up in her throat. “If I had known I could get that much out of you I might have bashed my head on a rock before.”
    “You deserve more.” He sat down and ran a gentle finger under the bruise on her temple.
    “I agree.” She brought his hand to her lips and watched his eyes darken. “I’m patient.”
    Something was moving inside him, and he was helpless to prevent it. “You don’t know enough about me. You don’t know anything about me.”
    “I know I love you. I figured you’d tell me the rest eventually.”
    “Don’t trust me, Charity. Not so much.”
    There was trouble here. She wanted to smooth it from his face, but she didn’t know how. “Have you done something so unforgivable, Roman?”
    “I hope not. You should rest.” Knowing he’d already said too much, he set her tray aside.
    “I was going to, really. Right after I take care of a few things.”
    “The only thing you have to take care of today is yourself.”
    “That’s very sweet of you, and as soon as I—”
    “You’re not getting out of bed for at least twenty-four hours.”
    “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. What possible