:Wounded Wooing:

Penny was just coming up the stairs when she heard something thump from 4A. She paused a moment but was reluctant to go over to the boy's apartment. Leonard's girlfriend, Priya, had made it very clear she wasn't welcome. She turned to her own place and pulled out her keys. Just as she was about to unlock the door she heard a loud crash that made her jump. She forgot all about Priya as she turned and rushed across the hall.

She flung open the door and gasped at the overturned bookshelf. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw Sheldon laying facedown under it. She dropped her purse and ran around the couch. She shoved the shelf off him and swept aside the DVDs and action figures. Pieces of a broken Thor bust were everywhere. She rolled him over and gasped at the smear of blood on his forehead.

"Oh god," she cried! "Sweetie? Wake up! Please, Sheldon! Open those baby blues for me!" she begged as she leaned back and tried to grab her purse so she could get her cell phone. A large hand settled over her arm and she looked down to see him opening his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked, the drawl in his voice thick and husky.

"The bookshelf fell on you, sweetie," she said as she ran her hands down his arms and legs checking for breaks. "I need to get you to the hospital."

"Aw, Kitten, this ain't nuthin'. Just a little bump on the head," he said as he sat up. Penny was speechless as he winked at her. "Hell, I've had worse hangovers."

Penny slowly stood as he got to his feet beside her. "Okay, now I'm really worried. You aren't talking like yourself, sweetie. Let's get you an MRI or something, okay?"

Sheldon looked up from brushing pieces of Thor from his pants, a slow grin spreading across his face. "I'm fine, I promise. Darn fool shelf was wobbly and when I tried to move it, it took offense. I ain't even got a headache." He moved closer, making her back up a bit. "But if'n you want to play doctor, I'm game."

Penny's eyes widened and her heart thumped alarmingly "S..Sheldon? What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly as he walked her backwards until her legs hit the back of the couch.

He bent his head and nuzzled her neck. "Kitten, you always smell so damned delicious. Makes my mouth water."

Penny couldn't stop the small moan from escaping her throat as Sheldon's right hand caressed her hip. Before she knew what was happening, she was sitting on the back of the couch, legs wrapped around Sheldon's waist, while his hands slid under her shirt. Their tongues dueled for dominance as he ground against her core.

When his hands moved down to the waistband of her shorts, Penny snapped back to reality. She pushed at his chest until she could fall back over the couch and scramble to her feet.

"Wait!" she gasped out. She pulled her clothes back into place as he came around the couch with a fire in his eyes. "Wait, Sheldon! We are not doing this!"

He grinned widely. "Kitten, are you playin' hard to get with me?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, of course not! Now, look! Um," she thought frantically, trying to find a way to reason with him. "I worried about you, baby. I just want you to get some rest. We can fool around after that, okay?"

He reached out and pulled her close to him. "Kitten you know I can't sleep when I'm harder'n a three week old biscuit." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders loosely. "Least you could do is tuck me in."

Penny closed her eyes against the desire that washed through her. "Okay," she breathed softly. "I'll tuck you in."

Sheldon grinned and swung her up into his arms. He walked to his bedroom, and dropped her on the bed. He had the door closed and locked before Penny could even sit up. He grabbed the hems of his shirts and whipped them over his head as he walked to the bed.

Penny's eye were drawn to the bulge straining against his pants and she swallowed hard. Sheldon laid down on the bed and rolled to face her. Penny started to slid off the bed, but he gabbed her waist and pulled her against him. "Where you going?" he pouted sadly.

Penny wasn't fooled; she could see the lusty gleam in his eye. "I'm going to tuck you in so you can get some rest," she said.

Sheldon curled his fingers over her hip. "But I'm injured. You should stay to keep an eye me."

"This is so not smart," she muttered as he turned her away from him, her head on his shoulder.

Sheldon gave her hip a squeeze as he pressed against her backside. "I want you so bad," he whispered in her ear. "I want to bury myself inside you over and over until you scream my name."

Penny moaned and pressed back against his arousal. "Sheldon," she whispered fervently. She couldn't decide if she was begging him to stop, or to keep going. When he kept shifting against her, she reached back and slipped a hand between them. She palmed his erection firmly and he growled in her ear.

He reached around and pushed her shirt up so he could caress her breast as his lips found that erratic pulse point and tongued it. "I want inside you," he begged. "Quit teasing, Kitten."

Penny unfastened his pants and pulled him free. She wrapped her hand around him and pumped him steadily. In only took a few minutes for him to erupt over her hand, a guttural cry in her ear. Penny slowed to a stop as he relaxed against her back. She ignored the sticky warmth seeping into her shorts, and the tight coil of need that burned in her belly.

After a couple of minutes Sheldon mumbled sleepily against her shoulder and she knew it was safe to move. She slipped from his embrace and pulled the blanket over him tenderly.

She turned off the light and left the room quietly. She was halfway across the apartment when the front door opened. Leonard and Priya looked at her with surprise. Penny blushed and looked over Leonard's shoulder.

"Um, Sheldon had an accident." She pointed to the shelf on the floor. "He took a knock to the head," she said quietly. "I tucked him into bed. He just needs some rest."

She moved toward the door but Priya stopped her. "You look pretty …disheveled," she said suspiciously.

"I was out jogging," Penny said honestly. "I was just coming back when I heard the shelf fall. I helped him up and tucked him in. Just," she sighed and looked over her shoulder, "keep an eye on him, okay?"

Leonard nodded and Penny hurried out of the apartment. She got into her apartment and locked the door behind her. Her body still hummed with need so she moved through the apartment toward the bedroom, shedding her clothes as she went. She grabbed her vibrator from the bedside table and threw herself down on the bed. She pictured Sheldon rising above her when she closed her eyes. When she came she had to bite her lip hard to keep from screaming his name.

"Good pre-vening, Penny," Sheldon said as he opened his mailbox.

Penny glanced at him nervously. It was the first she had seen him in a week. Two days after 'the incident' she had come home to find a vase of daisies and roses, a box of Godiva chocolates, and a card that read Penny, Leonard informs me I should thank you for taking care of me. So, thank you. Dr. S.L. Cooper.

"Hi, sweetie," she murmured. "Thank you for the flowers and chocolates." She grabbed her mail and turned toward the stairwell.

Sheldon fell into step beside her. "You are welcome. I am sure you will be glad to know I suffered no ill effects."

Penny smiled at him slightly. "That's good, sweetie." They moved in silence up the stairs until the reached the fourth floor. She stepped toward her door with a nod of goodbye.

"Penny?"

She turned and jumped when she saw how close he was. "Y..yes, Sheldon?"

He stared down at her for a second. "Thank you for what you did," he said softly.

Penny patted his arm. "You're welcome."

Sheldon leaned in close enough for her to feel the heat from his body. He placed his lips near her ear. "For everything you did," he drawled softly.

Before Penny could do more than gasp, he hurried across the hall and went into his apartment, his cheeks a bright pink. Penny let herself into her apartment and collapsed on the sofa. Good lord! He remembers!