by Terry Spear
Page 23
“Wildhaven. ”
But he didn’t repeat the word.
“What… is… your… name?” she asked. Could he see her face when she couldn’t see his?
He kissed her lips, licked them, pressed his tongue into the seam, but she was determined to learn who he was. She pushed at his chest. “No. Tell me. Who are you?”
He shook his head. Not understanding? Or not willing to tell her? Did he already have a mate?
Oh, this was so ridiculous. He was just a fantasy lover.
She turned away from him, wanting him to be real, not some made-up illusion. He ran his hand over her shoulder with a tender caress, tickling her. She closed her eyes. He melted her annoyance, stirring a flicker of flame deep inside her. He licked her shoulder, touching her bare hip, not pressuring, using the most sensuous of tactile explorations. Trying not to give in to the lust, she clenched her teeth, lifted his hand from her hip, and moved it to her mouth.
“No,” she mouthed against his hand.
She wanted him to communicate to her. But instead of helping, he pulled away… and vanished.
“No!” She felt the soft bed in the guest bedroom beneath her, and saw Tom sitting in a chair watching her, his look startled. She sat up taller in bed and frowned at him. “Are you all right?”
Although she felt remiss in not saying something earlier, it was the first time she’d even thought about asking him about his injuries. Then again, she hadn’t been herself with all of the medication she’d been on. For the first time since the incident, she felt clearheaded, without any chest pains, just some strange prickling where her healing properties were busily taking care of the injured areas. Maybe by morning, she’d look and feel as good as new. Then again, maybe not.
Tom smiled at her finally, and she imagined he’d been half-asleep, he was so slow to react. He touched his temple where the bandage was gone. “Just a scratch and it’s nearly healed. Head wounds bleed a lot, so I had to get a little blood. Jake wouldn’t give me any. Said he’d used all he could spare on you. ” He winked, the most devilish twinkle in his light brown eyes. “Pretends he doesn’t like you, but his actions tell another story. ”
Pulling her covers higher, she gave a ladylike snort.
“Right. Nurse Grey forced him to give blood the second time. Probably the same the first time around, too. ”
“He’s all show. ”
She didn’t believe it for a minute. “He didn’t like my sister, did he?”
“He didn’t like that Darien was upset about what to do concerning her. She was deeply troubled, but she wouldn’t let anyone close enough to find out what was wrong. Jake doesn’t like the silent suffering type. Get it out in the open and deal with it. That’s his motto. I figured whatever nightmare she was living, she couldn’t handle on her own, but she didn’t feel confident enough in herself even to tell Darien. Considering how she was mated to a red, and someone was blackmailing her to keep quiet about it…” He shrugged. “She hadn’t known Darien that long. Probably was afraid he’d want to kill her for what she’d done. ”
The thought sent a shiver sliding down Lelandi’s spine. “Would he have?”
Tom raised his brows.
She wasn’t sure how to respond to his reaction. What if Darien knew she had a lover? Would Tom tell his brother she asked? Her whole body warmed with mortification. Tom didn’t seem to mind her being here, and now she’d blown it big-time. But the truth of the matter was, what her sister had done could push some lupus garous over the edge. Being that Darien was the leader of his pack and could get pretty angry—
“I should be asking if you’re all right. You’ve been talking a lot in your sleep. Nightmares?” Tom asked, consoling.
“What… what did I say?”
Sheesh, Larissa never wanted to stay in the same bedroom with her because Lelandi walked and talked in her sleep when she was overly tired and stressed out. But she hadn’t done that in a long time… that she knew of. Of course, after Larissa had moved in with Crassus, no one would have known of Lelandi’s clandestine nighttime activities, although her father scolded her for finding him in the den late one night watching an X-rated movie. She wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t yelled at her and woken her up. From then on, she guessed he knew better and sent her back to her room without waking her, or else he made sure she didn’t catch him watching the movies in the den anymore.
Tom shook his head. “You didn’t say much that made sense. ”
Thank god. She looked at her hands clenched into fists and let go, smoothing the comforter to release the tension filling every muscle fiber, while she listened to the voices downstairs, some heated, some calmly speaking, but none of which she could make out clearly.
Tom eased out of the chair and handed her the card from his roses. “From me. ”
She read the card.
You saved my life and I owe you mine. Love, Tom.
“You’re… you’re welcome. But it was all my fault that the gunman came after me. If you hadn’t been with me, he wouldn’t have shot you. Heck, if you hadn’t been there, you wouldn’t have called for help, and no one would have known what had become of me. So you saved my life. ”
Tom leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Then it means you owe me. ” He glanced toward the door.
Someone was coming. “Looks like my relief. ”
Despite saying he felt fine, he looked weary.
The door opened slowly and Darien stepped in, first looking at Tom, who gave him a lopsided grin, then at Lelandi. Surprise reflected in his expression to see her awake. “Feeling pain?” A frown collected across his brow.
“No. Just woke up. ”
Darien turned back to Tom. “Are you doing okay?”
“Yep, fine as can be. I’ll join the ruckus downstairs, and then retire. ”
Darien listened to the noise drifting upstairs. “Tell them to keep it down. ”
“Yeah, will do. ”
Secrets? She was certain whatever the grays wanted to discuss was not to be shared with the rest of the grays in the pack, and certainly not with her unless Darien said so.
“See you in the morning, Tom. ” Darien waited for him to leave.
Tom gave Lelandi a nod and a smile. “’Night, Lelandi. ”
“Good night, and thanks for watching over me,” she said, with a hint of sarcasm.
She knew damned well they were not only making sure Ural didn’t get to her again, but she had a sneaking suspicion they didn’t trust her to stay put either.
Tom’s smile broadened, then he closed the door behind him.
Darien opened his mouth to speak, but paused when Tom hollered halfway down the stairs, “Keep it quiet down there!”
To her surprise, Darien crossed the floor and touched her forehead, then used the back of his hand to feel her cheek. “No fever. ” He seemed somewhat relieved, yet the wrinkle in his brow didn’t fade.
“I’ll be ready to run laps by tomorrow morning. ”
A trace of a smile formed. “Wouldn’t surprise me. ” He remained in place, hovering over her, and she wondered what he wanted now. He glanced at her water cup, still full. His gaze returned to hers. “Need anything?”
“Nope, thank you. ”
“All right. ” He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it.
Whatever was bothering him was starting to bother her. He seemed glued to the patch of carpet next to the bed, and she assumed he wanted to interrogate her.
Glancing down at the comforter pulled up to her chin, he said, “Doc’s orders, we have to change your bandages every four hours. ”
Lupus garous were not shy around others. So why did she feel nervous? Her skin grew a faint coating of goose bumps. Maybe because he was acting anxious. Silva had already changed her bandages twice earlier in the day, no big deal. Yet, it seemed a big deal when the male gray leader wanted to change them. Maybe i
t was because he was waiting for her to say it was all right, when Silva charged in like she’d been trained as a nurse before she began waitressing, knew what she was doing, and had no qualms about it. Or maybe because every time Darien got near Lelandi, she felt the sexual tension in the air between them sizzling like exposed live electric wires, smelled the scent of his sex, could nearly taste the craving he had for her.
“Doesn’t need changing. ”
Folding his arms, he lifted a brow. “Doc said the wounds weep until everything’s healed. If the bandage gets too wet, you could get chilled again. That’s what Doc said. Change it every four hours to keep it dry and free of infection. ” He glanced at the clock on the bedside table to emphasize the time. “Been four hours. ” He looked back at her, waiting for her to agree.
“I’ll take care of it. ” She pulled the comforter away so she could get out of bed and go to the bathroom where she could use the mirror to see what she was doing. Big mistake.
The flannel shirt Silva had helped her into earlier that night had ridden up to her navel, exposing her nakedness all the way to her toes. She was sure her skin had turned as red as her short curly hairs, especially when she saw him taking in his fill.
She jerked down the shirt, and his gaze shifted from her bare legs to her eyes. He shook his head tightly, but she noticed that he shifted in his stance then. A glance at his crotch gave her the reason. Hard as a rock.
“Why don’t you let me help you?”
“I don’t need your help. ”
He pulled the comforter up to her waist. “Might as well get this over. ”
He began to unbutton her shirt, his shirt, but it felt too much like he was getting her ready for sex, and she quickly brushed his hands away. “I can do it. ”
“Just trying to be helpful. ”
She frowned when he watched. This was worse than if he unbuttoned the shirt. Problem was, his touching her was making her way too hot. But his watching her had the same damned effect. “Can you do something else? Read a book or something?”