I run to her side, drop to the floor to lift her onto my lap, cradling her upper body and pushing the tangled mess of her curls away from her face.
“Arianna? Stunner…” I speak to her softly while I inspect her body, trying to work out what the hell has gone on in the shortspace of time I’ve been gone. She’s breathing, but it’s shallow, and the thought of losing her paralyzes me. I’ve not had her long enough to lose her.
The lump swells in my throat, but I force it down and pull my cell out of my pocket.
“Jack. I need you up here, now,” I bark. “In her apartment, there’s been … fuck, I don’t know what’s happened but she’s unconscious and …”
“I’ll be right there, sir,” Jack answers, in that reassuring, calm voice of his.
“It’s okay, Stunner…We’re going to take you to the ER, and it’ll all be fine,” I murmur to her, but I’m not sure if she can hear me. Maybe the words are to comfort myself.
She looks so small, so helpless. There’s no resistance in her limbs. No strength in her body. No warm affection coming from her soul.
What the fuck has happened?
“Fuck,” I hiss. There’s no way I’m having Jack see her like this. I don’t want anyone else seeing her body, no matter what the situation is.
I place her gently back on the floor for just a minute before grabbing a pillow off the bed and placing it under her head. I rummage through her drawer and pull out a pair of those little shorts that make her ass look so damn cute, although there’s nothing remotely sexual about this moment. I slide them up her legs just as I hear the elevator arrive. With no time to cover her top half, I whip off my t-shirt and pull it over her head. By the time Jack has entered the room, she’s covered as best as I can manage.
“I need you to drive us to the ER.”
“Yes, sir,” he says calmly, but it’s betrayed by the worry in his eyes.
“Call Spike and tell him he’s in charge this afternoon, and he can get me on my cell.”
Jack nods. “You need a hand to help her up?” he asks.
“No,” I snap. No one is touching her in such a vulnerable state. Not even Jack. “I can do it.”
I stubbornly scoop her into my arms, and Jack follows me out of the apartment and downstairs to the waiting car.
Chapter 2
Arianna
Ajackhammer pounds in my head as I try to open my eyes.
They’re heavy. So heavy, and the continual thud makes me want to screw my eyes tight shut and go back to sleep.
Sleep?
Was I asleep?
Where am I?
I flex my fingers. They move slowly, and feel strange. Clumsy.
I turn my head into a soft pillow and deduct that I am in bed. It’s not my bed. It doesn’t smell familiar.
I gingerly crack open my eyes. The light pierces my vision, and I snap them shut immediately, letting out a groan.
A hand touches my forehead softly and I try to lean into the gentle touch.
“Arianna,” a familiar voice murmurs.
I force my eyelids open and allow them to adjust to the soft lighting in the room. It takes a couple of blinks until I can hold them open. My vision is blurry but I can just make out the man sitting next to my bed.
“Denham?” My mouth is dry, my tongue feels difficult to move and I start to panic. My body is not responding as it should and I’m scared.
