by Viola Grace
“Jorvin, can bring those restraints over?” Cindy asked.
Jorvin moved to the cot, tripping on her way because she couldn’t take her gaze off Devin. A flurry of emotions were racing through her body, fear that they would expose her, anxiety that they came to hurt her family and intrigue because Devin was so good looking. Hawt didn’t even begin to do him justice. That was until a knowing smirk came to his face.
You’re an elf, he mouthed.
Her stomach knotted in terror. As she handed the restraints over, she mouthed back, Am not.
Are, too.
Am not. She looked around frantic, afraid someone had seen their exchange, but everyone was too busy to notice. They were all running around, getting blood, setting up the portable x-ray machine and other things that a full-fledged trauma consisted of. The only ones not caught up in a flurry of activity were her and Devin. Jorvin felt her breath hitch as his heated gaze locked onto her. A strange tingle went through her body as she returned his scrutiny. She knew she should turn away and get to the job at hand, yet she couldn’t. For some strange reason, she was drawn to this elf. She even took one step in his direction before she caught herself and stopped.
Thank Goddess the moment was shattered when the patient looked at her and he let out an ear-piercing shriek. “More elves! They are everywhere!”
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a good thing the human had intervened. She shot a pleading look in Devin’s direction and his face softened in understanding.
Don’t worry, he mouthed.
Now out of her spell, Jorvin noticed Hunter was giving them both shocked looks.
The human added his own special mix by yelling again, “More elves, she’s an elf, too, I tell you!” He bucked against the restraints, the tendons popping up in his neck.
“Sure, buddy,” Devin drawled. “Jorvin, Hunter and I are really elves living amongst humans, hiding who we are. Did you know that Jorvin here is a princess because her father was next in line for the throne before he got exiled?”
A few of the staff snickered at his statement. Jorvin, for her part, froze as she felt the blood drain from her face. Even though it appeared that to everyone he had been playing along with the patient’s hallucinations, she knew every word he’d just spoke was true.
Hunter, for his part, was studying her close, too, and there was no mistaking the determination on his face. Jorvin knew he recognized her as Korin’s sister and there was no way Jorvin was going to slip away from him now. Not when he knew she could lead him to her.
“Don’t you two have to get back on the road?” she asked pointedly.
“This was our last call for the night.” Devin flashed her a cocky grin that made her knees a bit weak. Even though he was annoying as hell, he was still way too attractive for her good. “So we don’t mind staying around to catch up on old times.”
The patient continued to scream about elves and the evil they were capable of, but no one in the room was listening to him. Much to Jorvin’s dismay, they all universally decided that she and Devin were way more interesting than some stupid college kid tripping on drugs.
“You didn’t tell us you knew them?” Cindy accused as she struggled to get one of the patient’s hands tied to the railings.
“I didn’t realize who they were until now.” She smiled as she shot daggers at Devin. Even though she was furious at him, she still couldn’t help but admire how nice he filled out his uniform. Her mouth became suddenly dry as she thought about how it would feel to run her hands over those strong biceps, to trace her fingers over his abs, to…
The human somehow managed to get one hand free and he snagged her wrist in a painful grip. “You stupid elf bitch.”
She let out a gasp of pain when his nails dug into her tender flesh. “Let go,” she commanded in a hard voice. The male just tightened his hold, his filthy, blood-crusted nails going even deeper into her.
Before anyone else could come to her aid, Devin was there. He grabbed the patient’s hand and firmly pried him loose. Once she was free, Devin gently pulled her away into the corner of the room and examined her. There were four deep crescent shaped wounds, which wept blood.
“Do you need treatment?” one of the doctors yelled over the mayhem.
Jorvin and Devin exchanged looks, the wounds were already beginning to heal up at a supernatural rate thanks to her elf biology. The last thing any of them needed was for a human to see that. “She’s fine,” Devin called back. “I’m just going to take her into another room and clean her up.”
“Good idea,” Cindy said. “We don’t know for sure if this guy has anything.”
Another look was exchanged between the elves. There was no way any human diseases would have any effect on her. “I’ll take good care of her.”
His eyes held the same promise as his words and she shivered in response. Before she could argue with him, he took her by the hand and led her out of the room. Once they were out in the hall, she tried to pull her arm back. “I can take care of myself.”
He refused to release her. “I have no doubt of that. Hunter told me your brothers made sure all of you females could fend for themselves. He also told me they were overprotective of you. After what happened with him and Korin last year, I’m surprised they let any of you out of the house.”
Hunter came bursting through the doors and made his way toward them. His eyes were narrowed in a determined glint. “Where is Korin?” he demanded, his voice raw with emotion.
She opened her mouth, yet no sound came out. Torn between what was right, she was struck dumb. Part of her was still fearful of revealing anything about her family. They had survived thus far because they had relied only one each other. Then the image of Korin sitting by her bedroom window, looking out for her lost mate flashed through her mind. There had to be some way she could help Korin and avoid a huge fight between the males.
Hunter took offense to her silence and took a threatening step forward. “So help me Goddess, if you don’t tell me where she is, I’ll—”
“Hunter!” Devin interrupted sharply. “Go clean the rig, I’ll handle this.”
Jorvin bristled at his heavy-handed manner. “As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing here that needs handled. Why don’t you two kiss my ass?”
“Gladly,” Devin muttered under his breath.
Hunter and Jorvin both gaped at him in shock.
Hunter recovered first. “I won’t lose my mate again.”
“I know you won’t, I promise.” The concern and love he had for his brother showed through in the tone of his voice and the way his features softened. “Go take care of the rig, I’ll be right out.”
Hunter clenched his jaw and gave an angry glance over at her again, but he listened to his brother and went out the automatic doors to the ambulance bay.
“Come on, let’s get this blood off you,” Devin suggested.
Taking her to an empty exam room, he led her over to a sink, turned on the water and washed the blood off her. The instant his fingers started to rub her, she knew she was in trouble. In all of her life, no male’s touch had affected her so strong. Her knees felt weak, her heart fluttered and she got wet and not from the water in the sink. What was the matter with her? The first male of their kind she’d ever seen outside of her family and she was practically swooning at his feet. After all the heartbreak she’d seen Korin go through the past year, Jorvin knew she was being a fool. Yet, she couldn’t stop herself, for some reason she seemed drawn to this male like a moth to flame.
Jorvin only hoped she didn’t get burned by said flame. She remained rooted in place, staring at the water, as she became overwhelmed by the sensation of his fingers gliding over her. When his body pressed flush against her back, she was hard pressed not to lean back and mold herself to him. Her breasts ached for his touch, her mouth yearned for his lips, her body screamed for a release only he could give.
“Do you know a male elf recognizes his mate on first sight?” he asked.
His breath cascaded on her neck as he spoke and she almost moaned in appreciation. “No, I don’t know much about our kind. We’ve never lived anywhere but the human world.” She was pleased that there was only a slight tremor to her words.
“Hunter did mention that.” The water continued to run in the sink, but neither one of them noticed it. “Since you don’t know about the mating habits of our kind, let me enlighten you. When a male finds his mate, he has an uncontrollable desire to be with her. Nothing short of death stops that. He lives for her, he exists to make her happy and he will kill for her.”
Waves of apprehension, shock and then delight shot threw her as the weight of his words registered. Was it possible he was feeling the same attraction to her as she was to him? “That sounds very—interesting.”
“So you can see why Hunter is so desperate to get to your sister. Fool that he was, he gave his heart to her and now the sap is miserable without her.” He reached forward and turned the water off.
Her stomach dropped at his words. Now waves of dread, embarrassment and disappointment shot through her. Of course someone like him wouldn’t be interested in her. She glanced down at her baggy scrubs, scruffy shoes and ragged nails in disgust. Devin probably was used to females ten times more beautiful than her. “Would it matter to you if I told you that Korin has been just as miserable as Hunter?” He still hadn’t moved away from her so when he sighed she felt it against her flesh.
“Do you think she would be willing to leave her family to be with him if it came to that?”
“In a heartbeat.” Her stomach clenched at that hard truth. “She has never forgiven herself for not going with Hunter in the first place.” She took a deep breath to give her the courage to say the next words, “My brothers aren’t going to make it easy. They mean well, but they are afraid of her getting hurt. They just won’t let Hunter go and take her away.” He gently spun her around and she was pleasantly surprised to find their lips were mere inches apart.
“Your brothers need to get it in their thick skulls they have two very beautiful sisters and they aren’t going to be able to keep them hidden away forever.”
“Oh, so you’ve met our other sister, Nivian, then?” He leaned closer to her and she became lost in his male scent. He smelled like a deep forest after a fresh rain. The Earth Elf in her couldn’t help but appreciate that. Even though she lived as a human, some elf things came to her instinctively and this was obviously one of them.
“I never met your other sister. I was talking about you. Don’t you know how damn hot you are?”
“Please, I think you’re just trying to flatter me so I will help you,” she scoffed and tried to move away. “You can save it, I’ve already decided that I’ll help for Korin’s sake.” His arm snapped out and snagged her around the waist. When he slammed her against his hard chest, she let out a gasp as the breath left her body.
“This is not lie.”
He rubbed his pelvis against her and there was no mistaking his hard cock pressing against her.
“I want you so bad it’s all I can do not to throw you on that exam table and have my way with you right here and now.”
“What makes you think I would let you?” she replied even as she knew deep inside she would.
In response, he slanted his mouth over hers and captured her into a life-altering kiss. The instant his soft lips touched hers, she knew nothing was ever going to be the same again and it wasn’t because of Hunter, Korin or even her brothers. It was because a piece of her heart now belonged to this male elf and that both scared and thrilled her at the same time. She gripped his strong biceps with her wet hands and held on for dear life as his tongue slipped into her mouth and started to stoke inside.
A small whimper slipped from her as she started to return the kiss in earnest, her tongue dipping in to taste him. Oh, this was so good, she could kiss him all day long and then come back for seconds later. One of his hands splayed out over her ribs, dangerously close to her breast, and her nipples grew hard in anticipation. The thin scrub top allowed his heat to come through and it was almost as if he were touching her skin to skin. “What’s happening to me?” she moaned against his mouth.
“What’s happening to you?” he echoed as he nipped on her bottom lip. “I’m supposed to be helping my brother and all I can think about if taking you as mine.”
“Then we should stop,” she said between kisses. “We should be trying to figure out a way to help them, not be making out like a pair of horny teenagers.”
“I agree.”
He started to rain kisses down her neck and she arched her head back so her could get to her better. He thrust his cock against her aching core and she rocked against him instinctively. The movement caused her cotton panties to slide against her clit and she moaned in pleasure.
If she was already this close to orgasm simply by rubbing against him, how would it feel once he buried his cock inside her? And that was what was going to happen, sooner than later. She no longer tried to lie to herself and deny the fact she was going to make love to him. There was no way she could refuse this attraction between them.
The door opened and they jumped apart.
Cindy stood there, an amused smirk on her face. Her gaze honed into Jorvin’s rumpled scrub top and Devin’s kiss-swollen lips. “I guess you two are catching up on old times,” the human quipped.
Jorvin felt a flush come to her cheeks.
Devin grabbed her hand and started to drag Jorvin out the room. “Come on, we have to go.”
She dug in her heels as she balked. “It’s shift change and I have to give my report to the nurse relieving me.”
“Oh don’t worry,” Cindy assured with a wave of her hand. There was a devilish glint in her eye. “I’ll cover for you. Go have fun with your paramedic.”
“But—”
“No, buts,” Devin interjected. “You heard the lady. We need to have some fun.” He shot of a seductive smile to Cindy and the nurse let out a small sigh of appreciation.
Devin all but dragged her through the sliding doors out to the ambulance bay. The cool air stung her bare arms. “I have to get my purse,” she argued.
Hunter was putting the cot in the back of the rig. If he was surprised to see her, he didn’t show it.
“You mean the purse that no doubt has your cell phone in it?” Devin lifted her into the back of the rig and hopped in after her.
Hunter slammed the doors shut from the outside and made his way to the driver’s side door.
She settled into the bench seat and Devin crowded in next to her, his hard thigh pressing against her. “Of course my phone is in my purse,” she replied, exasperated.
“Then no.”
“Why not?”
* * * *
Devin stared at the beauty sitting next to him and tried to think of the answer that would least piss her off. Although truth be told she was kind of cute when she got mad. “I don’t want you to call your brothers and warn them we’re coming.”
Her forest green eyes flashed as her high cheekbones turned red with anger. “Why would I do that? I already promised to help you.”
The petal pink softness of her bottom lip beckoned to him and he reached over to brush over it with the pad of his thumb. When she didn’t pull back, he felt an alpha pride thrill of victory. “I know you did and part of me does believe you, but there is another part of me that still has trouble trusting anyone. My brother and I got screwed over big time when our elf clan exiled us. After that, we learned to rely on just each other.”
“Kind of like my family.”
Her tongue darted out, briefly to touch his thumb and he sucked in a breath. The last thing he needed right now was to find his mate and have the uncontrollable urge to claim her. But damned if that wasn’t what was happening to him.
She reached a hesitant hand out to touch the brim of his hat. “Do you mind?”
When he gave a slight shrug, she slipped if off so his ears were revealed.
&nb
sp; A small smile played on her mouth. “I like them.”
When her fingers trailed up to caress the tips, Devin closed his eyes and moaned in appreciation. Whenever an elf got aroused, their ears became very sensitive and he had been turned on ever since he’d first saw her in that trauma room. The urge to take her was so strong that he caught himself glimpsing from the cot to his brother who was driving. Devin wondered just how offended Hunter would be if he went through with it.
I would be very offended so don’t even think about it.
Hunter’s voice snapped in Devin’s head, using the telepathic link they had shared since they were young.
What the hell are you doing anyhow? We’re supposed to be getting Korin back, not satisfying your dick.
Devin shot a guilty look toward the front of the rig. It’s more than that.
Oh, shit! I don’t want to hear this, do I?
Devin caressed Jorvin’s cheek, never taking his gaze off her as he answered his brother, If she will have me, I will make her my mate. Now I see why you have been pining for your female so bad. The feelings I have for Jorvin are nothing like I have ever experienced before.
“You should wait until later to get Korin,” Jorvin said, oblivious to their internal conversation. “My brother Avery works midnights and it will even the odds for you.” Her brow wrinkled in worry. “You won’t hurt them, will you?”
“No, we won’t.” He kissed her softly on the lips.
“Promise?”
“I promise,” he vowed as he ignored Hunter’s snort of disgust.
Oh gawd, you are seriously making me sick to my stomach here, Hunter groused in his head.
Good, it’s not even a close start to making us even for all the whining you’ve been doing this past year, he sent back. Now it was Devin that raised a tentative hand, his directed at the clip holding her hair. “Do you mind?” he asked, echoing her earlier words.