Page 41 of A Touch of Crimson
He picked up the phone beside her and punched a button, ordering room service. They were in a hotel, she realized. The windows to the right of the bed were at least two stories tall and had light blue blackout drapes drawn across them. There was a large sitting area and a massive entertainment center opposite the foot of the bed. Considering the size and opulence of the room and the grand piano she saw through the open living room doorway, they were in…
“Las Vegas?” she queried.
Setting the phone down, he nodded. He poured her a refill and returned the tumbler to her.
She blew out her breath.“How long have I been out?”
“We were in Hurricane the day before yesterday.”
Yikes. “Is everyone okay?”
His gaze bored into her. “You were the only one seriously hurt.”
“That’s good.”
“The hell it is,” he growled, his voice rumbling through the room like thunder, rattling every loose object. “I told you to stay put.”
Here we go. “That was my plan, too. Until the vampire on the porch aimed a shotgun at you. Then I couldn’t stand still.”
“Why the fuck not?”
God, he was sexy when riled. She’d never seen him show anything besides total self-possession, but he was visibly seething now. “Because you needed someone at your back. Everyone else had their own problems to deal with. I couldn’t take the risk that you’d be spread too thin and leave an opening.”
“I could survive it.”
“You don’t know that! You told me yourself that you’ve had casualties. You’re not indestructible. I wasn’t going to stand around and watch you die.”
If there was any mercy in the world, she’d never have to watch another person she cared about die.
“So you decided to make me watch you die?”
Again…
The unspoken word slid insidiously and inexplicably through Lindsay’s mind. She winced and pressed her palm against a suddenly throbbing temple. Adrian took the glass from her other hand—the hand that should have been too weak to hold it—and bent to press his lips to her forehead. The pain left her like a receding tide.
“If only you could bottle that talent,” she murmured. Remembering how she’d vaulted over the vampire as he’d turned to ash, she freaked herself out with her own coolness.
How the hell had she known how to do that?
He straightened. Although his voice came smooth as silk, the sensation of turbulence inside him hadn’t abated. “You’re going to drive me insane.”
“Can you open the curtains?”
Adrian hit a button on the nightstand, and the drapes parted, revealing an overcast sky and drizzle. In Las Vegas. Not that it never rained in the desert city, but at this time of year…?
She looked at him, knowing his mood was once again affecting the weather, which in turn affected her. “You were really worried.”
His hands went to his lean hips, exposing the entirety of his perfect torso and delicious biceps. His wings materialized, extending with a sinuous grace. He was so damn beautiful. So fierce and proud. He was like catnip to her. She wanted to roll around with him in a blissful stupor, breathing in that scent of his that drove her wild.
“When you dropped to the ground—” He exhaled harshly, his lashes lowering to hide the sudden flaring of his brilliant eyes. His arms crossed his chest, and his feathers ruffled, giving so much away with his restless movements. “Yes, I was worried.”
“You shouldn’t care so much. You don’t know me.”
“Speak for yourself. You risked your life for me.”
He was right. A hard-driving fear of losing him had spurred her into charging a vampire holding a shotgun. It had been a suicide run for anyone, especially for a weak human. But he was… Well, he was invaluable to her.
In such a short time, he’d given her a sense of belonging. He knew the worst and best of what she was and passed no judgment. As much as her father loved her, Eddie Gibson didn’t know the truth of what she’d seen the day her mother died or how she hunted because of it.
