CHAPTER EIGHT
Sara lay on her back and let her body heal the wounds her father had inflicted, with Rachel’s hand still grasped tightly in hers. “It doesn’t seem real.”
“What doesn’t?”
She turned her head to meet Rachel’s gaze and waved her free hand at her chest. “That he did this to me. I mean it hurts enough that I know it’s real, but it happened so fast the memory of it is kind of a blur.” And it was. But Sara also wasn’t that keen on reliving it. She wasn’t trying all that hard to remember the details.
Rachel’s low growl filled the room, and the prick of claws against the back of Sara’s hand startled her.
“Hey.” She tugged on Rachel’s fingers. “It’s over now.”
“I know, but I remember all of it with perfect clarity and I want to—” she stopped, clamping her mouth shut.
Sara attempted to roll onto her side again and sighed in relief when it didn’t hurt quite so much this time. Facing Rachel properly, she cupped her jaw. “You don’t have to censor yourself on my behalf.” She lifted their joined hands, Rachel’s claws still out. “Pretty sure these are a giveaway of how you feel.”
“Shit.” Rachel frowned at her fingers, and the pressure disappeared from Sara’s skin. “I’m soangrywith him for what he did.” She turned her head enough to kiss Sara’s palm. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I should have said it the moment you opened your eyes. Thank you for saving me.” She hesitated, then took a deep breath in and out, her gaze dropping to the fading scars on Sara’s chest. “It wasn’t a warning. He meant to—”
“I know,” Sara cut her off, not wanting to hear the words. She slipped her hands into Rachel’s jacket, intending to pull her in for a kiss, but stopped suddenly. “What are you wearing?”
“Cam’s jacket.”
Sara’s gaze dropped lower, and her eyes widened. “Why is that all you’re wearing?” The blanket covering them had slipped low enough to reveal the pale, taut skin of Rachel’s thigh.
“I shifted, remember?” Rachel shrugged. “I didn’t exactly have time to undress first.”
“Oh, yeah.” Sara smiled. “I forgot about that.” She tried to keep her eyes on Rachel’s, but her gaze kept dipping to the top of Cam’s jacket where it gaped open.
Rachel was naked under that jacket.
The thought sent a thrill through her, dancing up her spine and eliciting a shiver which didn’t go unnoticed.
“Hey.” Rachel put a finger under Sara’s chin and tilted it. “Eyes up here,” she said with a smile. “There’ll be none of that.”
Unable to help herself, Sara slipped a hand under Rachel’s jacket, her fingers finding the warm, smooth skin of her waist. “Why not?”
Rachel’s hand clamped on hers before she could go any higher. “Because one, you’re still healing. And two, I promised Alpha Cornell that we wouldn’t bond while they were gone, and if we start anything now, it’ll mean I lied to a member of the alpha council. Because I won’t be able to stop, not after what happened today.”
Reluctantly Sara moved her hand away, reaching for Rachel’s again instead. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.” Her voice came out gravelly-rough, belying her words, and she grinned. “Well, not with the council anyway.”
“Talking of the council. They could turn up any minute now they know you’re awake. I should probably find something a little less revealing to wear.”
As much as Sara wanted her to remain gloriously naked, Rachel was right. On all counts. They didn’t need the temptation, and both of them could do with looking more presentable. She gestured to her own bare chest. “I should probably find a new T-shirt.” A bra could wait. Her wounds were almost fully healed, but no way did she want anything tight on them.
They were roughly the same size, so Sara’s clothes didn’t look too bad on Rachel. They’d do for the time being.
Sara glanced up at the sound of footsteps outside. Faint but drawing closer.
“No soundproofing?” Rachel frowned as she asked.
Sara carefully pulled her new T-shirt over her head, only wincing a little at the pull on her chest. “It’s not like she has any close neighbours.”
Rachel glanced out the window. “I guess that’s true.”
The footsteps got progressively louder, and Sara tilted her head, focusing on them. “Two?” she mouthed.
“Sounds like it.” Rachel held her hand out, and Sara took it with a smile. “Let’s go see who it is.”
A couple of minutes later, a brisk knock sounded on the door, and Sara opened it to find Alphas Karin Wallace and Curtis Jones on the other side. “Alpha Wallace, Alpha Jones, please come in.” She tried to hide her shock at the head of the council coming to see her, but obviously not well enough.
