Page 52 of A Touch of Crimson
“Hi, El.” She smiled at the handsome lycan. “How are you?”
“Alive.” Elijah’s deep voice rumbled across the room. “In large part, because of you.”
“Whatever. You were kicking ass. I just tried to be more than a helpless human.”
“Helpless.” He snorted. “No, you’re not helpless. You’re fucking crazy.”
Lindsay nodded grimly. “For the most part.”
His brilliant emerald eyes swept over her in a clinically examining glance. “How are you feeling? Is the arm hurting you at all?”
She approached him with her hand extended. The pinkness of the flesh was fading, and a light dusting of peach fuzz had sprung up since she’d taken her first shower earlier.
Elijah looked at her arm and whistled. “I thought for sure you’d lose it.”
“It was bad, huh?”
He shot her a wry glance. “Yeah. It was nearly blown off by a shotgun.”
Lindsay remembered the searing agony and hugged her arm, massaging the phantom pain. “How did he do it?”
“Wish I knew.”
Since he seemed so fascinated by it, she offered, “You can touch it.”
“No way.”
One brow rose. “I don’t bite.”
“I’m not pissing Adrian off. Curiosity killed the wolf, too.”
“Seriously. You’re totally overestimating any possessive tendencies on his part. Besides, how would he know?”
“He’d smell me on you.”
The other brow rose to match the first.
“Seriously,” he parroted drily. “Hate to embarrass you, but I smell him all over you.”
Her stomach knotted.“Did you also smell me on him?”
“Yep.”
“Shit.” She shook out her hair with agitated hands. “If I wanted to pack up and run, would I have to ditch you? Or would you let me go peaceably?”
“Try to ditch me.” He growled softly. “See how far you get.”
“Do you have orders to detain me?”
“No. But I won’t let you out of my sight.”
Because she trusted him, she let him see her turmoil. “I’m playing with fire, and I’m going to get burned. I could live with that, but Adrian—he doesn’t need this kind of heat. He’s still recovering from Phineas’s death.”
“He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.” Elijah’s features softened. “Worry about taking care of you.”
Her gaze moved to the table. She remembered vividly what it felt like to have Adrian inside her. The edge to his voice had been as intimate as the physical act, and the foreign words he spoke resonated inside her, striking her in a way that was distantly familiar. She didn’t know their meaning, but she knew they were words spoken from one lover to another. They were as potent as tangible caresses, drifting softly over her skin like a warm breeze.
If she were the only one to face consequences, she would take him. Keep him. Make him hers. But it wasn’t that way. He would suffer…
