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“Could he be right?” she whispers.
“About what?” Despite the ache in my back and the throbbing in my head, her scent, her body pressed to mine manages what nothing else can. I start to relax, my lungs able to draw in more air.
“About this being an accident. About the stove.”
“He’s an ass. And we need to move out of here, hide somewhere.” But instead of moving, I close my eyes and rest my cheek on her hair, trying to imagine we’re the only people in the world and all the shit flying around us won’t hit us.
“But it’s possible, right?”
“Anything’s possible.”
Like falling for a girl wanted by a triad and being so clumsy I almost killed us both by placing a takeout bag on top of the stove. Right?
Fuck, it sure is possible, no question. But is it true?
RAYLIN
I’m struggling to hold it together and not freak out—I mean, there’s a frigging piece of glass stuck in Storm’s back, and he’s bleeding, and white as a ghost, and looking completely out of it. Maybe it’s time to panic and start screaming.
Or not. Raylin O’Brien doesn’t panic. She doesn’t scream. Focus on the important stuff.
“So I’m your girl?” I ask.
And wince. Oh good job. That’s the important stuff? For shame, Ray.
He huffs, a tiny puff of air ruffling the top of my head, making me shiver. “He was looking at you.”
I stiffen. “So you said it just to stop your friend from ogling me?”
“Ogling…?” The huff comes again. “Would you rather I let him?”
Disappointment tastes bitter on my tongue. “Of course not.”
That wasn’t my question. Guess I got my answer anyway. He didn’t mean it, it wasn’t even out of jealousy that he said it. It was so that I feel comfortable.
Should be good enough. Even injured he thought about me, how to put me at ease. Then why doesn’t it feel like it’s enough?
Fucking, I remind myself, doesn’t mean anything. Not to men, and especially not to young millionaires with the world at their feet.
“You should stay away from me,” he says, confirming my thoughts. “It’s dangerous.”
“Because you’re clumsy?”
I can feel his grin on top of my head. I’m so aware of him, it’s as if he’s under my skin, as if we’re sharing the same nerve-endings. “Right.”
He doesn’t believe it was an accident. After what he told me back at the beach, who can blame him? But apparently Hawk and Rook, his best friends, do believe it. It’s so confusing.
“You should stay until it’s done.” His embrace is so warm. His scent is delicious, and I can’t help but press my nose to his shoulder, inhaling him. “Until I’ve talked to the lawyers, signed the papers, and found a safe way to pay that debt hanging over your head. Then…”
I shiver and burrow closer to him. The thought of leaving him hurts like a rusty blade twisting in my heart. “Then?”
“Then you should run away as fast as you can, and not look back.”
I swallow hard. Maybe that would be for the best. It’s not like we have a future together. Covered that already. I should be grateful, let him save me and go.
Maybe I will. After I make sure he’s okay. After that wicked piece of glass is out of his back, and he’s not bleeding on the covers and shaking against me.
Where the hell is that doctor?
