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Not so shy now, he thought with a surge of hunger and a rather shocking possessive protectiveness

He couldn’t tear his eyes fro screao and coht, the ache for her tight and hard in his gut He wasn’t going to be able to hold on, but then it didn’t ain, herhih

It was too rowled out a heartfelt "oh fuck" and buried his face in her hair as he followed her over, coh control to make sure his knees hit the hard wood floor and not hers He turned her to face hi her neck After a ed a helpless one fro his lower lip "That’s a pretty ord for what that was I bet you could coer "I’uy"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

"So…" she said, softly "Show et love--I’d rather fall in chocolate!

Mallory didn’t knohat had brought Ty to her in the , but sitting in her entryway nad was a pretty daood start

Or finish

She blushed as he bent in to kiss her, and he laughed softly against her lips as if he could read her er down his chest, over a hip, and found an unnatural ridge She took a look at the jagged scar that ran the length of his body froroin to knee, and she stilled in horror for what he’d suffered

She realized that she was all coainst his chest The position couldn’t possibly be co right now"

She laughed breathlessly, relieved at the lessening of the sudden tension in his big, battle-scarred, perfect body "Good," she said "I know it gives you pain frorimaced "And it wasn’t a car crash It was a plane crash"

She controlled her instinctive gasp of horror "You survived a plane crash?"

"That wasn’t as bad as the several days that went by before rescue"

"Oh, Ty," she breathed, feeling her throat tighten in pain for hi able to "How bad was it?"

"Bad enough"

"Your injuries?"

"Cracked ribs, broken wrist, collarbone fracture So That was the worst of it for ain "Unlike everyone else"

She couldn’t even iine the horrible pain he’d suffered For days And the others…He’d been the only one to survive Aching for hi the fine trereat sex, maybe

Or memories

"Your friends," she said softly "The ones you’ve mentioned before That’s where you lost them"

"Yeah My team"

"Were you--"

"Mallory" He shook his head "I really don’t want to talk about this"

"I know" She clutched the infinity char the pain "No one ever wants to talk about Karen either But she was really ione--after I failed to save her--I couldn’t bear to re, shuddery exhale of breath and drew her in closer, burying his face in her hair "How did she die?"

"She took a bottle of pills" She felt hinant It was ruled an accidental OD but…" She closed her eyes and shook her head "It wasn’t Accidental, I htened his grip on her "Doesn’t sound like you could have saved her"

"We were sisters I knew she had a drug proble back to look into her eyes "There’s nothing you can do, nothing, to help soretfully true, she could barely speak "How do you get past it?"

"You keepYou keep living" His hands were on the ht, and she ed then, froedly deter," she repeated "That’s a good plan--Oh, God, Ty," she whispered when he sucked a nipple into his o ahead and talk all you want," he said gently, then proceeded to not-so-gently once again take her right out of her mind, in slow, exquisite detail

Much, much later, she lay flat on her back on the floor, completely boneless "Good talk," she whispered hoarsely

Ty woke up flat on his back, the wood floor stuck to his spine and ass, a warm, sated woman curled into him He’d taken her on the floor and had the bruises on his knees to prove it Soered to his feet, then scooped up Mallory He’d have to tell Josh that if his leg could hold out through , and see if that got him cleared

"No," she muttered, the word a slur of exhaustion as she stirred in his ar around the clock, on her feet for twelve hours and more at a time She worked damn hard "Shh," he said "Sleep"

Her muscles went taut as she woke "Ty?"

Well, who the hell else?

"Where we going?" she asked groggily, slipping her aret the hell out, before he did so Sleeping together afterwards turned it into so else…

At her bed, he saw the two big stuffed aniainst her pillows An odd feeling went through hiot when they had a crush This was immediately chased by wry amusement at the both of them

He leaned over the bed to deposit Mallory into it, but she tugged and he fell in with her "Cold," she mur her close--just for a rabbed the co it up over the top of them He’d share so Once she was asleep, he’d head out

"M her face into his throat, tucking her cold-ass toes behind his calves "You feel good"

"I’ which one of the, the woain

It didn’tslow and deep, the kind of sleep only the very exhausted could pull off She was out for the count

And all over hiently against his jaw, her bare brsts flattened against his side and chest She had one hand tucked between theers twitched, and she , he ran his hand down her back "Shh"

She i Warm Plastered to him like a second skin