Though the heat smoldered inside him, she kept him sane. Just by her pliancy. Though passion began to take over, she kept him calm. Just by her serenity. He’d never looked for serenity in his life. It had simply come to him, as Kate had. He’d never understood what it meant to be calm, but he had known the emptiness and the chaos of living without it.

Without urgency or force, he slipped inside her. Slowly, with a sweetness that made her weak, he gave her the ultimate gift. Passion, fulfillment, with the softer emotions covering a need that seemed insatiable.

Then she slept, and he left her to her dreams.

* * *

When she awoke again, Kate wasn’t groggy, but weak. Even as sleep cleared, a sense of helpless annoyance went though her. It was midafternoon. She didn’t need a clock, the angle of the sunlight that slanted through the window across from the bed told her what time it was. More hours had been lost without her knowledge. And where was Ky?

Kate groped for her nightshirt and slipped into it. If he followed his pattern, he’d be popping through the door with a loaded lunch tray and a pill. Not this time, Kate determined as she eased herself out of bed. Nothing else was going into her system that made her lose time.

But as she stood, the dregs of the medication swam in her head. Reflexively, she nearly sat again before she stopped herself. Infuriated, she gripped the bedpost, breathed deeply then put her weight on her injured foot. It took the pain to clear her head.

Pain had its uses, she thought grimly. After she’d given the hurt a moment to subside, it eased into a throb. That could be tolerated, she told herself and walked to the mirror over Ky’s dresser.

She didn’t like what she saw. Her hair was listless, her face washed-out and her eyes dull. Swearing, she put her hands to her cheeks and rubbed as though she could force color into them. What she needed, Kate decided, was a hot shower, a shampoo and some fresh air. Regardless of what Ky thought, she was going to have them.

Taking a deep breath, she headed for the door. Even as she reached for the knob, it opened.

“What’re you doing up?”

Though they were precisely the words she’d expected, Kate had expected them from Ky, not Linda. “I was just—”

“Do you want Ky to skin me alive?” Linda demanded, backing Kate toward the bed with a tray of steaming soup in her hand. “Listen, you’re supposed to rest and eat, then eat and rest. Orders.”

Realizing abruptly that she was retreating, Kate held her ground. “Whose?”

“Ky’s. And,” she continued before Kate could retort. “Dr. Bailey’s.”

“I don’t have to take orders from either of them.”