Page 8 of Rev
Several minutes later, every muscle in my body tightened instinctively before I even fully looked up. Delaney stepped out slowly beside Hadley, swallowed whole by a set of navy scrubs that had obviously been made for someone bigger than her. The loose cotton pants had been rolled twice at the ankles, and the top hung off one shoulder, exposing the pale line of her collarbone.
Her strawberry-blond hair was still damp from where Hadley had helped clean her up, the soft locks wavy around her face now instead of hanging tangled and wild with dirt. Even bruised and wrapped in borrowed clothes, with exhaustion still clinging heavily to every movement she made, she was still one of the prettiest fucking things I’d ever seen in my life.
The moment Delaney stepped through the doorway, those striking hazel eyes swept the room, searching until they locked onto mine. My reaction was so fierce, it almost knocked the breath from my lungs.
There wasn’t any hesitation in the way she looked for me either. Her gaze went straight to mine like some instinct buried deep inside her had already decided I was safe, and the tinyrelease of tension that softened her shoulders once she found me did dangerous things to my head. The realization wrapped itself around every protective impulse already burning through my bloodstream.
Mine.
Damn, that word was becoming a fucking problem.
That possessive certainty had clawed through me ever since she stumbled out into the road and threw herself into my arms, but seeing her look for me like that only rooted it deeper.
I crossed the room toward her without hesitation. The second I reached her side, she visibly relaxed beneath the oversized scrubs. Hadley noticed it too, if the knowing smile tugging at the corner of her mouth was anything to go by.
“She’s trying real hard to stay awake,” Hadley murmured.
“I’m fine,” Delaney whispered. But she barely made it two steps before exhaustion visibly hit her again, her body swaying faintly.
“Easy there, angel,” I murmured, sliding one arm around her waist before she lost her footing completely.
The second my hand touched her, she melted toward me while her arms looped loosely around my neck. It was as if she had already learned I’d catch her before she hit the ground.
The oversized scrub top shifted a little when I lifted her, exposing more smooth skin along her throat and shoulder. The sight damn near made my mouth water despite the situation.Fuck me.
It was fucking ridiculous how hard my body reacted to her. Even exhausted and bruised, every little thing about her was affecting me.
The soft weight of her pressed against my chest, the warmth of her thighs resting over my forearm beneath the thin cotton scrubs, the faint scent of clean skin and soap now lingering beneath the remnants of fear and adrenaline—it all hit meharder than it should have. My cock thickened painfully behind my zipper while my mind instantly filled with filthy images I had no business thinking about right now.
Whether her skin would flush pink all over when I kissed my way down her body. The sounds that would drag from her pretty mouth that had nothing to do with fear. What she’d look like stretched out naked beneath me on dark sheets while I buried myself deep inside her.
Wondering if she’d make those same soft little sounds if my mouth was between her thighs instead of my hands wrapped around her waist. I desperately fucking wanted to know how she’d look coming apart underneath me while those striking hazel eyes went glassy and dazed with pleasure instead of panic.
For fuck’s sake, man. Get your damn head on straight.
I carried her back toward the hospital bed, but the second I started lowering her, her arms tightened around my neck, stopping me before I could fully set her down. Not panicked this time, just unwilling to let go. It felt more instinctive, like her body simply refused to let too much distance settle between us. That sent another pulse of heat straight through my bloodstream.
“Angel,” I murmured, my voice roughening despite myself.
Her lashes fluttered heavily while she looked up at me with obvious exhaustion. “Don’t go.”
The words were soft enough that they were probably impossible for anyone else in the room to hear clearly, but I caught every single syllable. Something possessive unfurled in my chest at the sound of it.
Instead of forcing her onto the table, I shifted directions and lowered myself onto the chair beside it, settling her carefully onto my lap instead. She curled against me, her body fitting against my chest like she’d always belonged there. My hand spread across her lower back beneath the oversized scrub topwhile the other settled over her thighs, keeping her secure against me.
The position was dangerously intimate, considering how badly my body already wanted her. But it felt right.
Every tiny movement she made only tightened the leash on my control further. My mind kept slipping toward thoughts that were hotter and dirtier than they had any right to be under the circumstances, especially every time the loose neckline of the scrub top shifted enough to expose another tempting glimpse of pale skin.
Cage glanced over while tossing supplies into a trash bin, his expression dry as hell. “If you stare at her any harder, you’re gonna set off smoke alarms. And try not to look at her like you’re deciding between marriage and murder, brother. It’s unsettling.”
Hadley snorted softly while organizing bandages nearby. “That’s rich coming from you considering how psychotic you acted when I got a paper cut making dinner.”
Cage looked offended. “You needed stitches.”
“I absolutely did not.”
“It bled aggressively.”
