Sabrina felt freer knowing she'd laid all of her cards on the table with Patrick and, based on his heartfelt response, she realized they'd reached a new level of understanding in their relationship where the past was the past and the future was what mattered. Even though she was a little miffed that he'd ultimately orchestrated her breakup with Will, Sabrina couldn't help but appreciate the trouble he'd gone to in order to get her back.

Sabrina wanted Patrick as much as he wanted her, but she also didn't want to aggravate his injury. The last thing either of them needed was for him to end up back in the hospital. However, Patrick was determined and Sabrina knew he wasn't likely to stop trying to convince her to make love anytime soon, despite the orders of his doctor. So, she gave in to what she wanted all along anyway.

After she let down her hair, she glanced at Patrick, who was grinning in triumph. "I'll stay, but there are ground rules, okay?"

"I'll do whatever you say," Patrick said as he reached for her.

Sabrina, however, stood up and backed away slightly. "Nah-uh," she teased as she removed her v-neck tshirt. "Rule number one is that you have to promise to tell me if it hurts." Then, as she kicked off her ballet flats and began sliding her skinny jeans down her legs, she added, "And rule number two is that you have to do your best not to pull your stitches."

Patrick nodded and his eyes filled with desire as Sabrina stepped out of her jeans and walked back to the bed and climbed up. "Because, I really don't feel like having to patch you back up tonight."

Then, as Sabrina straddled him, only their underwear and a thin sheet separating them, she smiled seductively and leaned down, placing her hands on either side of his head. "Is it a deal?"

Patrick ground out, "Deal," and then surprised her by reaching up, grasping her behind neck and pulling her lips to his.

Patrick was in pain, but not the kind Sabrina was concerned about. He wanted her, badly, and would have agreed to any dumbass rules she set forth just to end the slow torture of having to watch her undress from a distance. The woman gave as good as she got in the bedroom and he could tell she was relishing in the power she wielded right now.

When Sabrina settled on top of him, so close, yet so far away, it pushed him to his breaking point and he pulled her down for a smoldering kiss. After he broke away, he drank in the sight of her flushed with arousal and struggling to breathe. Even now, when he wasn't at the top of his game physically, he loved that he was still able to affect her like that.

Sabrina recovered and sat up. As she reached for the clasp of her bra, she threatened, "You're gonna pay for that."

Before Patrick could jest back, it dawned on him that Sabrina was wearing the lingerie she'd bought 'him' last Christmas. "Ah, Sabrina?"

"Yeah?" she asked as her hands froze.

"I have to hand it to you. You almost had me."

She eyed him and then said, "I don't know what you're talking about," with an innocent look on her face.

"The resistance was all just a giant smokescreen, wasn't it?" he teased.

Sabrina laughed nervously. "Ah… I think those painkillers are affecting your brain."

"That they are, honey, but my eyesight is fine. And I will never forget that lingerie - or what it looks like puddled on the floor." To hammer home his point, Patrick reached up and slowly traced the outline of the bra with his finger.

When Sabrina swallowed guiltily and muttered, "Dammit," Patrick raised a triumphant brow.

Then, she sighed and said, "Oh, well," as she unclasped the strapless bra. Using one hand to hold it up in the front, she began making lazy circles on his stomach with the other. "You caught me. The question is: What are you going to do about it?"

Patrick, who wasn't nearly as banged up from his wound as Sabrina believed, moved like lightning and trapped her wrist in his hand. He took advantage of her shock and yanked her down until she was centimeters from his chest. Then, Patrick planted the elbow of his free arm on the mattress and used it, along with his legs, as leverage to shift Sabrina off of him and onto the mattress beside him.

Smiling at her squeak of shock as she landed flat on her back, Patrick lifted himself up and turned his body sideways so that he was hovering slightly over her. Always adept at multitasking, he ripped the bra from her grasp as he leaned down and smiled wickedly, "I'm not really sure; but I think I'll have fun finding out."

At that, Sabrina wrapped her arms around his neck and, right before she captured his lips in a kiss, whispered, "I like sound of that."