Because I’d recognized one of the voices in the melee.
Lucien.Against all the odds, he’d somehow found me.
Again.
But then things went sideways and the girl I was with was caught in the crossfire.She went down and I went down over her, trying desperately to keep her from getting trampled.I realized quickly that she was going to be killed by the men around us if I didn’t get her out of there, and what the fuck is the point of saving girls if you just get them killed in the end?Someone kicked me in the head and hit a spot that some other asshole had already hit me, and that had increased my motivation.I needed to get both of us out of there if we were going to live.
I made the quick decision to save myself and this girl and come back for the others—somehow—and started dragging her.We got out of the line and fire and around the corner, and there, I found a container standing open.Like it was waiting for us.
Shelter.Safety.
Maybe.
I got us inside and closed the door behind us, thinking only of stopping the bullets flying around out there, and then collapsed against the wall, my head spinning and the girl in my arms barely breathing.
And here we are.
I look down at her, taking in her too-young face and freckles, and my heart breaks.I wonder if her brain is looking for a way to survive, skipping through her memories in a desperate bid for knowledge.Trying to figure out how to heal the bullet hole in her shoulder and keep her from bleeding out.Trying to save the meat bag that is her body.
I wonder if my brain can help.
Suddenly there’s a bang from the front of the container and it flies open.I cringe back, holding the girl to my chest to protect her, and glare at whoever has found his way into our shelter.My body tenses, ready to do whatever it takes to kill him.I’m unarmed and hurt, and I don’t know if I can even get up, but if he comes for us my body will figure it out.
I’m fucking tired of being pushed around and beat up.
I’m itching to kill one of them, and I’m going to give my body a chance to do just that.
Then the intruder steps out of the night and into the glow of the light above him, and I gasp.That’s not one of the smugglers.He’s too suave, too well dressed.Far too intelligent.
And I know him.I know the man standing there like he’s being lit by the sun, his eyes furious and his hand clutching a gun as his chest heaves with effort.He’s both glowing and dark, the light around him disappearing into the blackness of his eyes and hair.Sharp cheekbones jut out over hollowed cheeks, and the dark bruises under his eyes tell me that he hasn’t slept in days.
And God, I love him.
“Lucien,” I breathe.“She’s dying.”
The fury melts from his face and suddenly he’s on his knees next to me, his fingers on her pulse and his eyes on her face.He pauses, counting, and then looks at me.“She’s still strong.I’ll get someone to take her.”
He makes a call on his phone, then moves the girl carefully to the side and shuffles on his knees to me.Putting a gentle hand to my forehead, he glances at what must be a bloody gash by this time, and whispers, “What happened?”
I want to make a sarcastic reply.Something funny that will push him back from me and tell him I’m okay, and that I don’t need help.I want to show him I don’t need anyone else and that I’m ready to go into battle, just like always.
But God, I’m so tired of pretending I can stand on my own.I haven’t slept well in too long, and I’ve been running at full speed for as long as I can remember.I started fighting my father before I turned ten, and in New York I’m the one who always has a gun and a plan.I’m the one who always rescues my friends when they can’t rescue themselves.
And fuck, I want to lean on someone else for once.I want to jump off a cliff and know someone is going to catch me.I want to fly through the air, trusting that someone will be there before I hit the ground.And Lucien is the only person I’ve ever known who could support me.Whowantedto.So for the first time in my life, I shut the sarcastic comment down and let someone in.
“A gun, I think,” I whisper.“There was so much shouting and shooting, and I tried to get to the girls but the guards tried to stop me.One of them slammed a gun down on my head and I fell.But I got up, because I wasn’t finished.Someone else kicked me, and then this girl got shot and I knew I had to get her to safety.And I tugged her around to–”
He stops me with a kiss, and his lips are soft and warm and wet and so comforting, and I fall into them, breathing out in relief.He’s gentle with me, his hands roaming my body and looking for other wounds, and before I know it his fingertips are on my skin rather than over my clothes.They tiptoe across my belly, leaving trails of fire in their path, and my body starts to wake up.
My brain turns from the past to the present.
And the world lights up.
Lucien is everywhere.He lifts me up and leans me against the wall of the container, his tongue sliding into my mouth and his body pressing against me.He spreads his legs around mine and rises up to his full height, forcing me to tip my head back to keep kissing him.When my hands move up his stomach, seeking a resting place, he growls in deep approval and kisses me harder.The world disappears around us and it’s only him and his black soul and fucking need to play hero, and I’m flying, though he’s got me pinned so he can kiss me as hard as he wants.
“Woman, I’m getting really tired of finding you bruised and broken,” he says, peppering kisses along the column of my neck.“And I can’t believe how many times I’ve had to save you.”
“Then stop trying to save me,” I gasp, tipping my face up to the ceiling and reveling in the feel of his lips on my skin.My God, I’d forgotten how good he feels.I want his mouth on me.I want him suckling on my nipples while his fingers are busy between my legs, and then I want him to fuck me.My entire body is aching with need for him.
