“You’re only in a sheet.” But she removed that too, dragging it aside in a way that he could easily pull it back over him if he wanted. He wore only low slung faded gray sweat bottoms. His chest was bare except for the light dusting of hair that ran from pec to pec. His belly rose and fell with his breathing, hard and ridged with muscle, but also nearly concave from not eating for days.

He hadn’t shaved, and she looked at the shadow on his jaw. At the shadows beneath his eyes. And everything within her softened, melted. “Can I get you anything?”

“A hammer to the head.”

“You need more pain meds?”

“No.”

He’d been stubborn about those, and she knew why. He hated to be out of control, hated to feel weak. She shifted a little closer and put her hand on his chest, and then frowned at how hot he really was. “You are too warm.”

His fingers came up to cover hers. She would have softened some more, melted some more, but he shoved her hand off him. “You don’t have to stay,” he said. “Kenny’s coming later. I’ll be fine until then.”

“You think I don’t want to be here?”

He didn’t answer, and that made her mad. Leaning over him, she put her hand back on his chest and waited until she felt each of his muscles tense in reaction at her touch. “You of all people should know I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

“I’m not in the mood for this, Summer.”

Summer. “Well, isn’t that fine and dandy, because I’m not in the mood to watch you go through all this pain, through being laid flat and helpless when I know damn well how much you love that.”

A long moment passed. Joe was still in his own zone.

“Stop staring at me,” he finally said. “Your thoughts are so loud they’re penetrating the pleasant buzz of the drugs.”

“You haven’t taken any drugs.”

“Then you’re penetrating the pain, an admirable feat. Why don’t you go for a run?”

“I don’t want to leave.”

“Odd, since before I was shot, you didn’t want to stay.”

“Maybe watching you be so stupid changed things.”

“Changed what?”

It’d made her realize how fragile a balance life could be. That maybe living for the moment wasn’t quite enough. That maybe there needed to be sustenance too. Up until now, the men in her life had all been like junk food. Fun, but not necessarily good for her. Joe was sustenance. Very good for her. She ran a finger down the center of his chest to low on his belly, then swirled it around his belly button.

“Red.”

The word, uttered with soft warning, gave her a shiver. “You should let me get you something to eat.”