A tickling sensation roused me from my deep sleep. The gentle prickles tracing across the back of my hand felt as if a spider was stepping across my skin. I forced my eyes open, hissing when the bright lights above me seared through my brain.

"Sophie?"

I moved my spider free hand and covered my eyes before opening them again. Moving my head to my right, I saw Brady sat at my side. He had my hand against his mouth, his spikey stubble dancing across my soft skin.

I looked past him, seeing the clinical white room, and realised I was in hospital. Sighing, I said, "I thought I told you no hospitals?"

He grinned and kissed the back of my hand before rushing out of the room. I didn't move, I didn't have the energy to. My stomach muscles were already tight and telling me of their agony. A dull pounding in my head echoed throughout my whole body and the back of my throat felt as if I'd swallowed acid.

Footsteps came back in the room—more than one set. Groaning, I realised he'd fetched a doctor or nurse.

"Good afternoon, Miss Woods."

The well-spoken English accent snapped a hold of my attention immediately. I glanced to my left to see a tall, thin gentleman in his fifties smiling back at me.

"Am I back home?"

Chuckling, he shook his head. "No, you are in Tucson Medical Centre. I'm Doctor Tate. How are you feeling?"

I licked my dry lips and smiled. "Like I've been hit by a bus."

"Well," he said, looking through the clipboard of notes he held in front of him. "Luckily for you, your CT scan revealed no major injuries, but you have suffered a severe concussion. Have you ever had concussion before?"

"Does a coma count?"

Raising a salt and pepper eyebrow, he seemed to lose all sense of any comical edge. "When was this?"

"Um...about three months ago. I had a bad car crash."

"I see. This was back home? In England?"

I nodded.

"And what were your injuries exactly?"

"Broken leg, broken arm, three broken ribs, and a fractured skull. I was in a coma for six days."

"Right, well, unfortunately, that means you're going to be staying in for the night. Once a head injury has been sustained, future injuries are always a cause for concern. The fact you've experienced a coma does not fill me with enough confidence to sign you out of my care."

"But I'm fine, honestly."

His grey eyes flickered over to Brady and his thin lips pulled up into a quirky smirk. "I was told you said exactly the same thing before you wound up in my care."

I frowned, pursing my lips. "Please. I really don't like hospitals."

"Have you got any family back home you want me to contact for you?"

My heart lurched in my chest. I couldn't be doing with causing such a fuss. It was a simple fall from a horse, but knowing my parents, they would insist on coming all the way out here even though I was fine.

"No, thank you."

"Not even your parents?"

I took a second to gather my thoughts. "I'll stay for the night without a fuss if you drop the whole calling my family thing?"

He chuckled and tucked his clipboard under his arm. "I can do that. I'll be sending the nurses in every hour to check your vitals so don't expect a peaceful sleep. Also, you're nil by mouth until I'm satisfied otherwise."

I rolled my eyes and nodded.

Saying his goodbyes, he vanished with his white coat splaying out behind him liked Superman's cape.

After the nurse had done her checks, the young girl turned to Brady and informed him when visiting hours were finished.

"I'm staying with her," he said, not a flicker of hesitation in his voice.

His affirmative tone shocked her into scurrying out of the door only to return a minute later with confirmation it was ok. She disappeared, closing the door behind her.

"Thank you," I said, looking at my handsome cowboy.

"For what?"

"Staying with me."

"You don't need to thank me for that, Sophie."

I blushed and looked away. My heart was pounding like a jackhammer. The room I was in was spacious, but with the growing tension between us, I suddenly felt very claustrophobic, like all the walls were closing in on me.

Taking hold of both of my hands, he grabbed my focus again. "I do have to tell you though, that was incredibly stupid and reckless what you did, Sophie."

I cringed, my cheeks burning from my over-confidence winding me up in hospital for the night.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he asked.

"I felt fine. I was having such a good time, I didn't want to end it just because of a little blip."

"A blip? Sophie, you could have been killed. Is that what you want?"

The tone of his voice had lost its velvety edge and his handsome face was creased into a serious frown. The strong hold he had of my hands only further told me of his growing irritation.

"Of course not. I just—"

"You don't need to prove anything to anyone out here, ok?"

I took my hands back and inched myself up the bed into a sitting position. "I'm not trying to prove anything, Brady."

"It looks a little different from where I'm sitting. There's nothing wrong with feeling vulnerable, especially after what you've been through. All I'm saying is, don't try to be tough because that's what you think you should be. That idiotic move today could have resulted in you currently being in a coffin."

I wanted to bite back my temper, but I couldn't stop the volatile wave from flowing out of my mouth. "Don't patronise me, Brady. I'm not trying to be tough for anyone. It was a simple fall from a horse—I've had plenty over the years and been fine. Stop trying to psycho-analyse me from whatever programmes you've been watching. Just spare me the lectures, ok? I'm twenty-five and a big enough girl to make my own decisions."

He drew his lips into a thin line and opened his mouth to say something, but I carried on, regardless.

"What the hell does it matter to you anyway? You've known me for all of a week, half of that spent acting like the world's biggest arsehole might I add, and now you think you know me well enough to not only give a psychological evaluation but to scold me for making bad decisions? Just who the hell do you think you are?"

Running his hands over his face, he gave a groan of frustration. Balling his fists, he glanced up at me, a mist of water glazing over his dark eyes.

"I'm just a man, Sophie." He paused for a moment and clenched his fists to the point where his sun kissed skin turned milky white. "A man who is falling head over heels for you."