Page 2 of Like You Love Me

“I’m fine,” she said with an impatient wave.

“A concussionisn’tfine.” He frowned, staring at her.

Stubbornly, Bianca reached down to unzip her black riding boots and flinched when she felt pain at her left side.

“Dammit, let me do that.” London kneeled on the floor and took her foot into his hands.

She sustained several bruised ribs from the impact of the crash. The injuries would take time to heal. Bianca hated feeling so needy. “Is Sierra coming home today?” she asked about their seven-year-old daughter, deciding it was time enough to change the subject. The sooner they forgot about the incident, the better off they all would be.

“No. Sierra’s going to stay with your brother and Brenna tonight. They wanted to give you a chance to come home from the hospital and rest.”

All I’ve been doing is resting.

Even though Bianca knew her daughter was in good hands, she missed her. Brenna, her sister-in-law, had brought Sierra by the hospital earlier to see her. While Sierra was at the nurses’ station asking for orange juice, Brenna confessed that Sierra was hysterical when she found out her mother had been in an accident. Knowing she would be okay had eased her fears, and Bianca didn’t want to do anything to upset her even more.

After London slipped the boots from her feet, Bianca walked across the room to a large redwood chest of drawers and removed a pair of candy-striped flannel pajamas. Bianca felt warm and snuggled just looking at them. Raising her arms, she tried to remove the sweater and winced in pain.

“You’re so hardheaded,” London muttered under his breath, and he hurried around the bed and over to her. Carefully, he slipped the blue cashmere sweater over Bianca’s head then helped to unfasten the black lace bra. Bianca heard the soft intake of air as his eyes landed on her breasts. The devilish glint in his eyes caused her nipples to harden.

“London, how long did the doctor say we had to wait?” His warm breath against her cheek caused a rush of heat to fill her belly.

“At least until your follow-up appointment. Why?”

She licked her lips.

“Don’t even go there,” London warned with a chuckled. “It’s going to be hard. No pun intended.” He rumbled with laughter. Bianca joined in until the pain at her side reminded her of the injuries. London helped slide her arms inside the pajama top then said, “Sit down so I can help with your leggings.” He gripped the waistband, then peeled the material over her hips. Again, she heard a soft moan escape his throat. Her body quivered, especially when he leaned forward and captured her lips again. His mouth was doing crazy things to hers.

“Down boy.” Bianca released a soft moan even as she feebly protested. When his tongue swept across her lips, she spread her thighs. London leaned forward and lowered her onto the bed with her legs up around his waist. Using his forearms, he braced himself, making sure not to press his body weight on top of her while he devoured her in a deep, delicious kiss. Bianca felt her desire kicking up a notch, and she was ready to say, “to hell with the doctor’s orders,” and beg him to make love to her. Long fingers were at the waistband of her panties, ready to peel the fabric away from her skin. “London—” she whimpered as a rush of heat filled her belly.

He stilled. As he swore under his breath, London eased up and rolled over. “Dammit, sorry baby. I got carried away.” He lifted his head and looked down at her. As his eyes slowly traced her features, the air caught in her throat. “At least let me look at you.”

“Look at me,” she whispered. Their eyes locked, causing her body to warm under the intensity.

“You have no idea how scared I was,” he confessed while gently caressing her cheek.

She nodded. “Yes, I do. You were as scared as I was that I would never see you again.”

The muscle ticking at his jaw let her know he was still angry. “Rest assure, Troy is behind bars. Thank goodness the bail was too high for him to raise. Otherwise, I was about to become a stalker.”

Smiling softly, Bianca reached up and brushed a hand along the beard that shadowed his jaw. “Let the law handle him. All that matters is that I’m home safe with you.”

“Yes. Right where I can keep a close eye on you.” The frown creasing London’s brow eased a little. He kissed her again, and then he lifted his tall frame from the bed and helped Bianca under the covers.

“I want you to kick back and watch something on BET plus.” He rolled his eyes upward, and Bianca giggled. He hated Tyler Perry’s soap operas that she loved so much.

“Oh yes, there should be a new episode ofRuthless,” she teased. And while she laughed, London grumbled and handed her the remote.

She flipped through the DVR, and by the time the popular drama series was playing on the large flat screen television, mounted above the fireplace, London had a cozy fire roaring to life.

“Thanks, baby.” Bianca slid up on the bed toward the headboard. London propped two pillows behind her head to make sure she was comfortable.

“How’s that?”

“Wonderful.” Grinning, she dragged the covers up over her shoulders until the room became warm enough to knock out the chill.

“Can I get you anything else?” London asked, caressing her cheek. She quivered under the arousing feeling of his strong fingers.

“Some hot cocoa would be nice.”