Suddenly, Gray is standing before me, covered in blood. His dark eyes are full of concern. He is so beautiful.
“Hi, Little One,” I grin. It is so damn good to see him. “Thank you for helping.”
I called. He came. It is enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Suddenly, the room tilts and everything goes blurry. Shit. I’m about to pass out.
“Sammy needs the whole ‘the paranormal world is real’ conversation,” I gasp.
And then there is nothing.
Chapter twenty-eight
Gray
Mal looks so vulnerable. I hate it. I want to climb up onto the bed, crouch over him and hiss at anyone who comes near. But I won’t. I’m going to stay here, sitting beside his bed and holding his hand instead.
“When will he wake up?” I ask Brodie.
The healer rubs his hand over his face. “I don’t know. I’ve fixed the fracture in his skull and stopped the bleeding. He will wake up when he is ready.”
I frown. That is not good enough.
Brodie stands up. I send out a blast of magic to shove him back down into his chair. He yelps as his ass hits the seat, then he glares at me.
“You’re a healer. He is sick. You are staying,” I growl.
Brodie sighs, “There is nothing more I can do.” He freezes as I hiss at him. He raises his hands in surrender. “Fine. Okay. I’ll stay.”
I nod, and turn my full attention back to staring at Mal. I think he looks comfortable. He doesn’t seem to be suffering. He is just…not here.
I’m holding hands with his body. But Mal is somewhere else. Somewhere I can’t follow. I hate it.
He has to come back. And soon. The basement doesn’t feel the same without his presence filling it. Nothing feels the same without him.
I want to see his eyes. And his grin. I want his deep voice to rumble through me. I need him to hold me.
He is a liar and deceiver, but he never hurt me. He helped me and he was kind.
But he tricked me. Denied me the freedom I yearned for.
I shake my head, but my twisting thoughts don’t stop. They haven’t stopped since the moment I left Mal’s side. I don’t think they are ever going to leave me alone. They are going to torment me until the end of days.
Should I forgive him? He made me happy. But was that because I was pathetically grateful for any small kindness? He is a liar. What else is he lying about? I can never trust him.
And my urge to fall back into his arms might be driven by my desire to never spread my legs for anyone else. I don’t want anyone else’s cock. I could stay in Hell and do without, but giving up the power that feeding gives me will be hard. And I love Earth. It has been my home for a long time. This all has to be influencing me.
I take a deep breath. My twisting thoughts need to wait. Mal needs to wake up. That is the only thing that matters. Whatever I feel about him, I know one thing is true. I don’t want him to die. I want him to live and be safe. And happy. Even though the thought of him being happy without me tastes bitter.
Suddenly, something shifts in Mal’s breathing. My thoughts scatter like smoke on the wind and all my attention is acutely focused on him.
His eyelids flutter. I’ve forgotten how to breathe. I squeeze his hand and try to wake him with the power of my longing.
His eyes open. They take a moment to focus, then they fix on me. A dazzling smile stretches across his lips, then abruptly, he reaches out and pulls me down into a tight embrace. Squishing me across his firm chest and holding me tightly.
He smells like Mal. All citrus and wood and divine. He is warm. Alive. Here. My eyes close. I want to purr and stay here forever, but I pull myself away to allow Brodie to check him.
The healer does an efficient and thorough check.
