Mac didn’t dare move. He’d had no idea how overwhelming it would be to hold her like this, to have her soft, fragrant hair brushing against his face, to have her body yield trustingly into his, and yes, to have her breasts pressed to his side. . . If she moved, even the slightest bit, she’d be able to feel what her closeness had done to him. So Mac focused on breathing the way the doctor had taught him—in through the nose, out through the mouth.

“Does your chest hurt?” Her breath fanning his heated skin only added to the problem in his lap.

“No.”

“Why are you breathing like that? Does something else hurt?”

Mac chuckled. She was so cute. “Nothing that’ll kill me.”

After a long pause, she suddenly got it. Gasping, she began to move away from him.

He tightened his hold on her. “Stay. Please. I love holding you like this, but I can’t help that having you so close turns me on.”

“Oh.”

In the waning darkness, he smiled. The innocent way she always said that single word was adorable—as if it was a huge surprise to her that she turned him on. She had no idea what she did to him, but apparently she intended to find out. Her injured hand moved from his belly to his face, her fingers caressing his jaw. Mac swore his heart stopped while he waited to see what she would do next. “Maddie. . .”

“Hmm?”

“What’re you doing?”

“Touching you.”

Jesus. Kill me now. He’d never been more painfully erect in his life. “Honey, you’re going to be tired tomorrow—or I guess I should say today.”

“S’okay. I’ve got someone covering for me at work.”

He laughed. “Poor sucker.”

“Mmm.” Her fingers moved to his mouth, smoothing over his bottom lip in a light caress that once again stopped his heart.

Releasing a tortured groan, he held her tighter while being mindful of her injuries. They didn’t seem to be bothering her at the moment.

“You’re so handsome,” she whispered.

Startled by the unexpected compliment, he cleared his throat. “Is that so?”

“Sure,” she said, laughing. “Like you don’t know.”

“I had no idea until this very minute.”

She poked his ribs, making him startle and then laugh again. “You’re so full of it.”

Brushing a soft kiss over her lips, he studied her face for a long time. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”

“That can’t possibly be true.”

He stopped her from looking away and forced her to meet his gaze. “It’s absolutely true.”

Her fingers skimmed over his chest to his belly, which quivered under her tentative touch. Mac inhaled sharply as he reached out to stop her wandering hand. “Sleep.” Glancing at his watch, he discovered it was after five. For a long time, he lay there listening to the bleat of a foghorn and squawking seagulls before he finally fell into a deep sleep.