She shook her head. “That’s not good enough. Not this time. What have I told you about playing outside?”
He frowned, looking reluctant to add to her upset. “I don’t remember.”
“Yes, you do. Never alone. That’s the rule.” Leni expelled a sharp breath instead of the curse that leapt to the tip of her tongue when she thought of all the awful scenarios that had played through her head from the moment she woke to find him missing. “You do not leave the house by yourself. Especially not now. Not ever. Do you understand?”
“But I wasn’t alone. Fred came with me.” He held up the stuffed bear as if to prove his point. “And we made a new friend in the woods too, but I don’t know her name ‘cause she ran away when I tried to ask her.”
Leni pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t have the energy for this right now, kiddo. I can’t deal with talking toys or imaginary friends. Not today.”
“But Aunt Leni—”
“Enough,” she bit off tightly. “This is real life now. You broke the rules today and I don’t ever want you to do that again. Promise me.”
He nodded, his sweet little face drooping with remorse. “Promise.”
Leni lifted his chin and untied the corners of the small blanket draped over him. Divested of his cape, she took Fred out of his hands and set both items on the floor beside her. Next came his rain boots.
“Go on upstairs to your room now. I’ll be up to talk to you about all of this in a few minutes.”
“What about Fred?”
She shook her head. “He’s staying down here with me.”
“Why can’t I take him?” he whined.
“Because both of you are grounded until I say otherwise.”
“No!” He stomped his stockinged foot. “That’s not fair—”
“I said go.” She jabbed her finger in the direction of the stairwell. “Up to your room, Riley. Right now.”
Her sharp tone clearly took him aback. He whirled away from her on a huff, then ran upstairs in a burst of tears.
Leni let out her breath in a long, heavy sigh. “I’ve never raised my voice to him before. I’ve never had to discipline him.”
“You’re doing it out of love. Every kid should be so lucky,” Knox said, his deep voice devoid of judgment. “He’ll survive.”
“What about you, Knox?” She stood up and pivoted to face him. “Your burns—”
“Are nothing,” he said, shrugging as if the extensive blistering and smoldering skin on his muscled arms and handsome face didn’t faze him in the least.
What must he have endured in his life that agonizing injuries like this meant so little to him?
That he’d risked the exposure to help her and Riley made Leni’s heart squeeze even tighter in her breast. She moved toward him, hating that she was the reason for his pain.
“You shouldn’t have done it,” she murmured. She reached for him, wanting to touch him but uncertain where her fingers could land without adding to his discomfort. She rested her hand lightly over the center of his chest, which had been shielded from the light by the fabric of his T-shirt.
He flinched under her fingertips. “Does this hurt?”
“No.” The word sounded strangled and thick. His heartbeat thudded heavily against her palm. Leni looked up at him and found his blue-gray eyes fixed on her. Embers glittered behind the stormy hue of his irises. “You shouldn’t stand so close to me, Lenora.”
The points of his fangs showed behind his lip as he uttered the tight, low warning.
She didn’t heed it. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and never let go.
“Tell me what I can do to help you. Your skin needs care, Knox.”
God, she could barely stand to look at the severity of his burns. They went beyond anything she’d ever seen before, closer to a prolonged dose of pure radiation than even the worst bout of sunburn. Just standing in close proximity to him she could feel the heat of his burns warming her own skin.
