Page 62 of Knight’s Dominion

“Yes, it was.”

He shifted in his seat. “I know that pain, and it fucking sucks. Use it, let it fuel your rage on the battlefield, but don’t let it eat away at you. Mark knew the risks, Grace. Every soldier does. You go to war, there's always a chance you won't come back. He knew that, and he chose to fight anyway."

He was right, deep down Grace knew it, but that truth didn't make it hurt any less. "Can I have my phone? I want to call the hospital and check on my friends.”

"They're fine, you're not. You need to rest."

Her body throbbed and ached, but it was only then that she fully took stock. Her injuries had been treated and she was only wearing a pair of panties. There was a dressing on her ribs, and if she moved quickly, pain shot through her side. There was also a deep, constant throb coming from her thigh where the demon had bitten her, and a Band-Aid on the inside of her elbow.

She glanced at Chaos. He looked exhausted, lines etching his handsome face. “Who treated me? The last thing I remember is flying.” And how good it felt to have your arms wrapped around me.

"I had someone come to the compound and treat you. You'd lost a lot of blood, passed out on the way here. I was so..." He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands against the denim covering his massive thighs. "The doctor gave you a blood transfusion. He's a demi and used his power to kick-start your body's natural healing."

"A blood transfusion? From who?"

He pointed to a Band-Aid matching her own on the inside of his wrist.

He'd done that for her? He'd taken care of her people, had rushed her to safety and given her his blood. He'd saved her life. Probably the lives of some of her crew, as well. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized he wasn’t the man she’d believed him to be.

"You’ve been with me the whole time, haven’t you?”

He shifted again, like the question made him uncomfortable, and when he avoided it all together, she knew it did. “Thank you, Chaos. For taking care of me. For taking care of my friends.”

He shrugged like it was nothing.

But it wasn’t nothing. It was huge. And a bone-deep weariness, a kind of disappointment she didn’t understand creeped in.

Because she'd learned repeatedly through her life that nothing came for free. Not even when it came to the people who were closest to her. "I'll repay you, somehow. I promise."

His body stilled in an unnatural way. “What?” His voice held an edge she hadn't heard from him in a while.

Suddenly, she couldn’t meet his eyes. “You saved my life. I owe you. I won't forget it."

"You owe me?" More with the scary voice.

She forced herself to look at him and nodded. “Of course, I do.”

He stood abruptly, hands on hips, and studied the ground for several long seconds. When he looked up again, she knew she’d fucked up.

"You don't owe me a damn thing. You don’t need to… Jesus, Grace.” He shook his head, the muscles in his jaw tightening, then took several steadying breaths. “You hungry?”

Okay, it seemed they were changing the subject. Fine with her. "I could eat."

"Don't move." Then he walked out the door.

She looked around his room, all neat and orderly. No wonder the guy kept his head clean shaven, a hair out of place might send him over the deep end. Not that it wasn't hot, because it was. She squirmed. Shit. Stop thinking about his hotness.

She sat there, restless, not sure what to do with herself. When he returned, she couldn’t stop her gaze from roaming over him as he walked toward her. All tall and hard-bodied, and grumpy, like he wanted to spank her again. Stop it!

Chaos passed her a plate. He’d made her a sandwich. She lifted the top to check out what was in it.

"Sorry, can't cook worth shit.” A blush darkened his cheeks.

Her mouth went dry, and she found she wanted to put him at ease. “Neither can I. Good thing I love PB and J." She smiled, but knew she failed.

The grief and anger inside her wasn’t going anywhere, and now, thanks to the sexy bastard taking care of her, she was also hot under the collar. So messed up. Two of her friends were gone, and her traitorous hormones were prodding her to jump Chaos.

He frowned. "With all the fighting and training you do, you really should be eating a high-calorie, high-protein diet."