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Her legs carried her towards the fire – and Elon – on autopilot. She extended her hands as she drew near, warming her palms. Except it wasn’t only that it was turning cool; she was shaking from an ice inside her body, a cold that came from the exhaustion of adrenalin.
His touch surprised her; she jumped a little, her eyes lifting to his as he ran a finger over her cheek. Heat of a wholly different kind began to spread through her body. Fortunately, he was focussed intently on her wound, not her cheeks which, she suspected, must have been glowing bright pink at the strangely intimate gesture.
“I need to check you over.”
She blinked, almost certain the words had no meaning beyond what he was currently doing. “I – erm, I’m fine.”
Now his eyes met hers, but they were serious and businesslike. There was no hint of flirtation, no indication that he was trying to use their position to get close to her. Of course he wasn’t. Hadn’t she spent the majority of the day feeling that he couldn’t even stand to be sitting beside her?
“You’re not fine,” the words were terse. “You were right in the line of fire as the window broke. Your dress is torn, look.” He briefly moved his hand to her hip, the touch there light and far too brief. “There is every likelihood you have shards of glass embedded in your sides.”
Surprise had her drawing her gaze lower. He was right! Her dress had several holes in it; she hadn’t realised. Shock had robbed her of all sense.
“I can…check in the bathroom.”
He made an exasperated sound. “And your back? How will you check this?”
She bit down on her lip. “I can see a doctor when I’m home.” Home. A country that didn’t want her, a palace where people looked at her like a pariah. Her voice sounded so small all of a sudden! She looked away, refusing to give into the tsunami of emotions threatening to swallow her.
“You’re not going home.”
She blinked up at him.
“Not tonight, at least.”
“Why…why not?”
“Because you’re safe here.”
“I’ll be safe in my country, too.”
“Perhaps. It’s impossible to know for sure until we understand who was behind the attack. I’ll contact my security minister soon and find out what I can. For now, we stay here.”
She thought about arguing with him, but an awareness of how little she understood this region – its landscape, people and politics – held her tongue. Rather than argue, she couldn’t help observing, “You don’t strike me as someone who’d hide from danger.”
His square jaw tightened. “For myself, no. But charged with protecting you? Then yes, Ella. I will hide you until we understand exactly who’s to blame for this. And despite the fact we have long been enemies, I would expect your brother to do the same with my sister, if she were ever in this position.” He straightened to his full height, his eyes glinting in the flickering firelight, so she wondered if she’d offended him by accusing him of cowardice.
“You have a sister?” She asked quietly, somewhat mollified by that.
“Yes, Luna.” His manner didn’t soften. “Now lift off your dress so I can see what we’re dealing with.”
It was such a clinical, cool way to speak – it was hardly a precursor to seduction – and yet her pulse went through the roof regardless and her fingertips tingled.
“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” she prevaricated.
“What’s the problem, Ella? I’ve seen photos of you stumbling out of nightclubs wearing little more than lingerie; what’s with the shy virgin act now? You think that removing your gown is going to make me want to drag you to bed or something?”
She blinked, momentarily lost for words.
“I hate to disappoint you, but women like you have never held any interest for me. I can promise you, you’re safe. Now, take off the dress and let me help you.”
