A smile curved her lips, but her eyes remained worried as she lifted her head. “You imagined me on my knees for you?”

“Once or twice.” Or every other minute of the day . . . He let himself fall onto his back when she got his boots off, too shaky to do more. “But just so you don’t think I’m a misogynist pig, in my fantasies, I go to my knees and do you first.”

She let out a quiet laugh, which said she liked the sound of that. Leaning over him, her face came into view. “Don’t move.” Then she pulled off his pants.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t think I’m up to the task right now,” he managed, his voice already hoarse and rough with the impending freight train in his head.

She gave a soft snort and brushed a warm hand over his cold, clammy forehead before covering him with a light blanket. “You can owe me. Where are your meds?”

“Got ’em.” Gavin came quietly into the room with a pill bottle and water. “Emmitt told me where you keep them. Said you needed to take ’em right away or they won’t work.” He was breathless, as he’d clearly run his ass off to get to their house and back in the time he had.

Cam downed the pills and a very small bit of water, not wanting to throw them up. “Thanks.” The only way to get through a migraine was to sleep through it, if he could. Thanks to the military, he could fall asleep at will.

As he drifted off, he heard Gavin ask, “Is he okay?”

“He will be,” Piper said, with the same determination she used both on her job and in her personal life.

A personal life that now included him.

He hadn’t gone looking for this, for her. But he couldn’t have known he’d come home to help his dad deal with the unexpected blow of losing a son, only to also fall in love. With Wildstone. With the people.

With Piper . . .

It wasn’t just the off-the-charts sex either, although that was a pretty great perk. But earlier at Rowan’s makeshift service, she’d been there for him when he hadn’t even realized he’d needed her.

And she was still there, sitting silently at his side in the dark, watching over him, making sure he was okay.

No one had ever taken care of him like this, not without wanting or expecting something in return. He had zero idea what to do with that, but he thought maybe he could get into trying to figure it out.

Chapter 24

“I think the words you’re looking for are wow and amazing.”

Piper woke to her name being said in a gruff whisper.

Cam.