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feet and pulled Casey into his arms. C mon, Casey. I didn t mean that. I just hate to see you so upset,
that s all. Trust me, he s going to be okay. Mark is tough.
Man, I can t leave you alone with my girl for five minutes without you trying to beat my time.
Mark! Casey spun around. Joy exploded inside her at the sight of him, standing just inside the waiting
room beside another man. She hurried to him and grabbed his hands, her eyes searching his face. Are
you all right? How do you feel? What did the doctor say?
Mark laughed. Whoa, sweetheart. One question at a time. He pulled her into his embrace and Casey
went willingly, slipping her arms around his waist and lay-ing her head against his chest. The strong,
steady beat of his heart beneath her ear was the most wonderful sound she d ever heard. I am happy to
know you were worried about me, though, he murmured.
The man beside them cleared his throat. Mark re-leased Casey from the embrace, though he kept one
arm around her waist and held her close to his side. Everyone, this is my good friend, Dr. Jon Sorensen.
He s the one who patched me up, so I ll let him tell you how I m doing.
Let me start by assuring you that Mark is going to be fine. As his friends and loved ones know, he s too
or-nery to kill.
Everyone chuckled, as he had intended, then the doc-tor turned serious.
Fortunately for Mark, the bullet struck his shoulder blade at precisely the right angle to slide off instead
of fracturing the bone, he said, demonstrating with his hands. Unfortunately, it plowed a nasty six-inch
fur-row across his back.
Actually, he s extremely lucky that he turned when he did, otherwise the bullet would have struck him in
the heart.
His wound is ugly and I m sure it hurts like hell, but with the right treatment and a little TLC it will heal.
As long as he sticks to just consulting with his patients, there s no reason why he can t return to work
tomorrow. Although, I recommend that he give himself three or four days to heal before he attempts to
perform surgery on anyone.
Thanks, Doctor, Matt said. We ll see to it that he follows your orders.
The doctor excused himself, and Dennis an-nounced that he needed to get back upstairs to his wife and
daughters. He shook Mark s hand. I m glad you re okay, Doc. And don t you worry. We ll get the
bastard.
As they trooped outside, Mark looked over his shoul-der at the two uniformed officers. What s with
Frick and Frack? he whispered to Casey.
Get used to them. Until we catch the shooter, we both are going to have police protection.
What? I can t work with a policeman following me around.
If I can, you can, so don t argue. I m not going to give this guy another chance to get you.
Casey s right, Matt agreed. As long as this mad-man is running loose, you re in danger. Take the
police protection.
But
The matter isn t up for debate, Mark, Casey said. She opened the passenger door of her car and
pointed an imperious forefinger. Now, get in and let s go.
Mark cocked his eyebrow at her tone and looked at Matt.
His brother smirked. Don t look to me for help. I agree with her.
All right, all right. You win, he said, easing into the car.
Officer Kaslowski waited until Casey took her place behind the wheel, then bent down and said, We ll
be right behind you, Detective.
With my bum leg I m going to have to drive slowly, so don t be alarmed.
Gotcha.
Casey started the car, then paused and looked at Mark. Your place or mine?
He laughed. Careful, sweetheart. I could take that for a proposition.
That s how I meant it. That is& if you still want me.
What? Mark stared at her, stunned. Are you serious?
I ve never been more serious in my life.
Of course I still want you. I love you. But
Then it s settled. She reversed out of the parking place and headed for her house.
During the short ride neither spoke, but out of the corner of her eye Casey saw Mark look at her often.
She parked the car in the garage and led the way in-side, still without uttering a word. Casey was afraid
to speak, afraid she d lose her nerve.
The first thing she noticed was the red light on her answering machine blinking. Ignoring the signal, she
started up the stairs.
Someone had picked up Mark s duffel bag off the front lawn and left it in the foyer at the base of the
stairs. He retrieved it and followed Casey up to her bed-room. In the middle of the room, she turned and
saw him standing in the doorway, watching her.
Clasping her hands together to keep from wringing them, she licked her dry lips. Is& is something
wrong? Have you changed your mind?
No. I haven t changed my mind, he said quietly. I am concerned about you, though. Are you sure you
want to do this, Casey? It s been a day of emotional ex-tremes. That can throw your whole world
off-kilter, make you do things you wouldn t ordinarily do. I wouldn t want you to do anything you d
regret later.
Her nerves were strung so tight she was shaking in-side, but she gathered her courage and walked
toward him slowly. You want to know what I regret? I regret that I didn t tell you before now that I love
you.
Mark s eyes widened and he started to speak, but she didn t let him. She forged ahead, afraid that if she
didn t get it all said now she d lose her nerve.
I regret that I didn t admit to myself how I felt until tonight. When I saw you get shot and fall face first
on my lawn I thought I d lost you, and all I could think about was that you would die, not knowing that I
loved you.
She reached him and with trembling fingers began to unbutton his shirt. I learned tonight that life is short,
too short for regrets. Too short for holding back. She unfastened the last button, pulled the tail of his
shirt free of his jeans and pushed it off his shoulders and down his arms, being careful of his injured back.
The shirt dropped to the floor at his heels.
For a moment her gaze wandered over his bare shoul-ders and chest, then she buried her face in the mat
of black hair. She inhaled deeply, her head spinning at the scent of him, overlaid with soap and good
clean sweat and the out-of-doors.
I ll never regret making love with you, she went on in a seductive whisper.
Her breath stirred the hair on Mark s chest and feath-ered, warm and moist, over his skin. He shivered,
and Casey experienced a sweet sense of power. Embold-ened, she stabbed her tongue through the short
curls and tasted the salt on his skin. Matt groaned, his arms en-circling her waist, clutching her to him as
though he d never let her go.
I want to show you how much I care. Not just with words, she went on in loving torment, dragging her
open mouth across his chest. But with my heart and my body.
Mark ran his hands down over her hips and clutched her buttocks with both hands, and Casey s
restraint gave way like water bursting through a dam.
Oh, Mark, I love you so much, she cried, and began to strew hot, frantic kisses over his chest,
punctuating each with a feverish declaration. I love you. I love you. I love you.
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