Catherine saw the deer darting across the highway as only a quick flash of white and brown. Slamming on her brakes sent her car careening off the highway and over the gravel side. She screamed as she saw the wooden fence looming ahead of her and laid on the horn. Cattle scattered out of the way as her car blasted through the fence, sending pieces of wood flying into the air. A man sitting on top of a tractor waved his arms and shouted, but there was nothing either one of them could do to stop her car's forward momentum.

She closed her eyes.

Damn it.

Her father's image floated in and out of her mind.

Her wonderful, loving mother, so devoted to her only child, reached out to her. She wanted to take her mother's hand, but something pulled her back.

Mamma?

Light hit her then was swept away by darkness. Pain seared through her like a hot blade. Sounds penetrated the heavy fog clouding her mind, yet she couldn't make out what the sounds were.

Are they voices? Am I at the office? At home? Is that a cow?

"Open your eyes."

What? But how?

She didn't want to open them. Not yet anyway. Her eyelids felt as though they were glued to her cheeks.

"You can do it." The voice changed, going from an encouraging softness to a harder, business-like tone that spoke words she didn't understand.

No matter. The voice is nice. Deep and rich. Velvety and sexy all at the same time.

She smiled-or at least she tried to smile-as the voice flowed over her, comforting her. Whoever it was sounded very sure of themselves. That had to be good, right? Especially since she hurt so damn much. She'd be happy to let someone else take charge.

"Open your eyes. Are you listening? Open your eyes, damn it."

The voice was more commanding now, as though whoever the man was had the right to order her around. Giving someone the okay to take charge was one thing. But no one had ever ordered her around, including her private school teachers. They wouldn't have dared to tell Richard Alexander's daughter what to do. Only her father had the power to tell her what to do and, much of the time, even he hadn't tried.

She felt hands running along her body but not in a way that made her feel wanted. Sometimes the hands were even rough. A quick flash of pain hit her hand, and she moaned.

"That's good. Keep moaning. Now open your eyes."

She wanted to see who was ordering her around. Who the hell did he think he was? Once she did, she'd tell him to call her concierge doctor. And after he'd done that, she'd tell him to go to hell.

"Open your eyes, Catherine."

Did he know her? Did she know him? Curiosity added to the wild mix of emotions warring inside her. A strange feeling, different from the rest, enticing her, sped its way through her.

What went wrong? My company? My car? Did I hit a damn cow?

"Please, Miss Alexander, open your eyes."

At least now he was showing her the respect she deserved. Was it the man on the tractor?

Suddenly, her memory came back full and intact. As though standing outside, she saw her car careen off the road, hit a fence, and plow into a pasture.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

Panic swamped her. Am I going to die? No. I'm too young to die.

She tried to sit up but couldn't, held down by something around her arms and legs. Instead, she opened her eyes and sucked in a big gulp of air. To her relief, she didn't see the pearly gates of Heaven. But what she did see was almost as good. Maybe even better since she was still alive to enjoy it.

Smoky gray eyes met hers. A nice smile, kind of cockeyed but genuine, grew wider. "Hey, there you are."

The man could take her pain away with one look. Or at least she thought so until a fresh wave of hurt swept through her. She groaned and again tried to sit up.

"Nope. Don't try to sit up. Just lie back and take it easy."

His face was handsome, his voice the one she'd heard. He was stocky with arms that rippled with muscles as he moved his hands over her, checking one place then another. Her gaze settled on the badge sewn on his uniform.

Smoke Westbrook EMT

Nice name. It fits his eyes.

More aches hit her as she attempted to move.

"Don't move." He gave her a stern look that wasn't really all that stern. The concern weighed out the sternness. "You don't take orders well, do you?"

She moaned and wished the moan was a result of the feel of his hands and not from the pain.

"Just kidding." He glanced to the side then locked those amazing eyes of his back to hers. "Miss Alexander, you're in an ambulance on the way to the Crosston Regional Medical Center."

Fear hit her as the rest of her memory returned.

I was in an accident. Am I going to die? Have I been disfigured? Will I have ugly scars?

She sucked in a hard-won breath as panic set in. Why was everything bad happening to her?

"Hey." He put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be all right. Stay calm, okay?"

"My car?" Was it a total loss? She loved that car. Had waited months to get one exactly the way she'd wanted it. She'd taken great pains to keep it from getting scratched even parking away from the other executive cars at work.

A slight flicker of annoyance crossed his features. "Sorry, but your car didn't fare as well as you. Still, the good news is that you're going to be fine. I'll take good care of you until we get to the medical center."

Disappointment was an unexpected surprise. Couldn't he take care of her after the hospital? What was she supposed to do? Hire a cold-toned nurse? She'd much rather have his handsome self and his deep voice at her bedside.

"You can talk, right?" he asked.

She cleared her throat to find that it was suddenly raw. Instead of her melodic voice, which she really liked and had actually practiced to make it sound sexy, out came an awful croak. "Yes. I can talk."

But could she? Suddenly, the strange, enticing sensation she'd felt before struck her again, making thoughts difficult and speech even harder. She searched his face, wondering if he'd experienced the strange, but oh-so-good feeling, too.

"Good." He glanced toward the front of the ambulance. "It won't be long now. You just lie back and let me handle things."

She sighed and closed her eyes. It would be very nice to let someone else-especially someone who looked like him-handle things for a while.

Yeah. Very nice.
 

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