He rested his head against Wilder’s shoulder, the man’s earthy scent surrounding him, and as much as he was loath to admit it, it made him feel safe. Everything hurt, every muscle in his body screaming, but his heart was beating steadily, as if it knew Wilder meant protection.
When Wilder put him in the passenger seat of a car, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest, listening as Wilder moved around. There was a low sound from the seatbelt being pulled, followed by a click, and then his door was shut, the driver’s side door opening shortly after.
The motion of the car made him nauseous almost instantly. He opened his eyes to look out of the windshield, hoping it would help. It didn’t, so he turned his gaze on the man in the driver’s seat.
Wilder’s jaw was clenched, his grip on the steering wheel making his bruised and bleeding knuckles pop.
“You okay?”
Wilder drew in a sharp breath, gaze snapping toward Emmett for a second or two. Whatever emotion was swirling around in those eyes, he was too dizzy to decipher it.
“You almost got killed,” Wilder said, his voice hoarse. “So, no.”
“Not your fault,” he said with a yawn, eyes blinking as a bout of exhaustion rushed over him.
Wilder’s only response was a grunt.
He didn’t like that, so he reached across the console to pull one of Wilder’s hands off the steering wheel. He brought it into his lap, gaze rising to watch Wilder’s expression soften.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled.
“You’re not,” Wilder said, but squeezed Emmett’s hand gently.
“That’s the second time you’ve carried me.” He watched Wilder, a smile pulling at his lips. “Another time and it’ll start to become a habit.”
He couldn’t remember why that was supposed to be a bad thing when Wilder looked over at him with a smile that lit up his whole face, the creases around his eyes giving him a kind of ethereal beauty that made his heart skip a beat. Or maybe that was the concussion he most likely had.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Wilder
HE WASN’T sure why Emmett’s hand in his made breathing easier, but considering the guilt eating at his gut, he wasn’t about to question it. Emmett was half asleep in the passenger seat, mumbling incoherently under his breath. He was safe and in one piece. That was all that mattered to him.
Emmett lifted his head with a groan, his hold on Wilder’s hand tightening. “You sure it was you and not the SUV that hit me?”
“I’m sure,” he said, his lips pulling into a small smile as he glanced over at Emmett and met hazy blue eyes for a second before returning his gaze to the road.
“You’re basically an SUV.”
His bark of laughter startled both of them, but then Emmett chuckled, and the sound was like pure happiness injected into his veins. That could become a problem real fucking fast. He’d never been addicted to anything, but that laugh? Yeah, he could become addicted to it easily. Way too easily.
He turned down the gravel driveway, slowing down to keep the rustling of the car to a minimum for Emmett’s sake. He stole a glance at Emmett, anger rising to the surface at the pained expression on that gorgeous face. He was going to kill those bastards. He was going to fuckingbreakthem.
He pulled up in front of the house, parking close to the front porch so Emmett wouldn’t have to move so far. He hesitated before pulling his hand free from Emmett’s grip, the loss of thattouch leaving him with a strange, empty feeling in his chest. He breathed in deeply through his nose, regretting it instantly when that sweet, creamy scent that was pure Emmett hit him like a brick wall.
It took much more strength to get out of the car than he dared admit to. He walked around the front of the car, movement on the front porch catching his attention. Spencer’s concerned eyes met his gaze as he headed down the steps.
“Go get Emma,” Wilder yelled, keeping his voice as low as possible.
Spencer didn’t bother with even a nod before whirling around and jogging back inside. Wilder blew out a breath and reached for the handle on Emmett’s door.
“Guess we’re making a habit of it,” he said, reaching across Emmett to undo his seatbelt.
“Huh?”
Blue eyes blinked up at him. Fuck, they had no right to be so stunning. He wasn’t sure what it was about Emmett that simply took his breath away. He needed to get a grip.
He put his arms under Emmett and lifted him out of the car, teeth grinding when Emmett groaned low in pain.
