Page 11 of Shock & Awe
He winced as he stood, fighting past the pull as he shuffled toward the stairs. The painkillers hadn’t kicked in yet, and mornings were always the worst. He stood at the top of the steps, looking down. It seemed like a long way without someone there to catch him if he fell.
Nick appeared at the bottom of the staircase, peering up at him. “You need help?”
“I thought I didn’t,” Kelly said with a grin. “I might have been wrong.”
Nick took the stairs two at a time, coming to the step below him and letting him lean on his shoulders. Nick’s arm slipped around his waist, and Kelly’s entire body shivered. Nick’s scent, the way he gripped Kelly’s shirt, the warmth of his body, all brought back memories of last night with a confusing rush of sensations.
“You too stubborn to call for help now?” Nick muttered.
“I guess.”
Nick glanced up at him, frowning. Kelly was silent as they fumbled their way down the stairs. He couldn’t quite catch his breath, and he wasn’t used to the way his chest kept filling with butterflies.
When he’d asked Nick to kiss him last night, he’d never anticipated this lingering result.
He didn’t get a chance to study Nick’s face again until he was easing into his recliner. He looked up as Nick bent over him. Nick didn’t seem flustered. He didn’t seem nervous or scared or confused or any of the other myriad of emotions Kelly had felt in the last two minutes. But then, when had Nick ever looked nervous?
“Doc?” Nick said pointedly.
“Huh?”
“I asked you if you wanted food,” Nick said with a smile. “Are you okay?”
Kelly nodded, closing his eyes and grimacing as he tried to get comfortable. He jumped when Nick patted his cheek.
“You hurting?” Nick asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
Nick nodded, his frown deepening. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, voice going softer.
Kelly grinned slowly. That intimate tone of voice, talking about what they’d done last night, was something he found surprisingly sexy.
“Kels?”
Kelly ran a gentle finger over his bullet wound and shrugged. “It bled a little. Maybe a stitch pulled loose or something.”
Nick’s gaze dropped to Kelly’s wound, and his face paled. “Shit.”
Kelly reached out and ran a hand over Nick’s palm, making sure Nick was looking into his eyes again before he spoke. “I wasn’t feeling anything last night but good.”
Nick looked both relieved and amused.
“What are you fixing?” Kelly asked to get Nick’s mind off how delicate Kelly still was. Nick was an exceptional cook. They’d discovered that when they’d been stationed at Lejeune and had all gone in to rent a house together. Nick’s job had always been to cook.
“What do you want?”
Kelly shrugged, shaking his head. He wasn’t really in the mood for food.
Nick sighed and sat on the edge of the coffee table, his hands clasped between his knees. “This is last night catching up to you, isn’t it?” he asked, voice grim.
Kelly’s breath caught. He made the mistake of meeting Nick’s eyes, and he was caught by them, transfixed by their color, by the earnest concern in them.
Nick inhaled deeply. “There’s nothing I can say right now that won’t be awkward.”
Kelly began to laugh. “I know it. We don’t have to talk about it.”
“I kind of think we do,” Nick said. “Eventually we’ll have to. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the feeling of having something hanging between us.”