Theo jumped next to her and swung her up in his arms, turning and hurrying away from the emergency vehicles. Somehow he kept hold of her suitcase.
She jostled against his chest, clutching her laptop bag. “What are you doing?”
“Your feet are bare. There’s glass and who knows what else on the ground.” He wasn’t even breathing heavily.
She tried to remain stiff in his arms, but her body relaxed right into his warmth. Theo was all muscled male strength around her, and for the first time in far too long, she felt safe. For the moment. Wrapping her arm around his neck to help him keep his balance, she gave in to temptation and rested her face against his neck.
They were both soaking wet and covered in soot, but somehow, he smelled good. Wild and masculine, with a hint of something spicy. His heart beat steadily against her chest, and she shut her eyes. Just for the second. Pretending that she was safe and belonged with him. For years, she’d fought her own battles, even while pretending to be helpless. While she was more than capable of taking care of herself, under normal circumstances, she had no problem being saved by somebody who cared for her.
It was too late to save her.
More importantly, Theo Reese didn’t care for her. He saw her as the manipulative bitch who’d broken his brother’s heart, and as a thief who could harm his family. “I didn’t really hurt Jared, you know,” she said softly, her lips moving against his warm skin.
Theo stiffened but kept moving through darkened alleys. “Yes, you did.”
Her stomach ached. “He didn’t love me. Not really. He loved the idea of how strong I made him feel back a million years ago.”
“Maybe,” Theo allowed.
She sighed. “If he’d really loved me, no way would he have let me mate somebody else. You know that.” In fact, Jared had used his hurt ego to become a pirate on the open seas, which he’d truly loved. “Right?”
“There’s truth to that,” Theo said, his mouth next to her temple. “He’s happy now, and that’s all that matters. He found the right mate for him, without question.”
“So stop being mad at me.” She hated how needy she sounded, but fighting just took too much out of her. “Please.”
“Give me the file back and we’ll talk about it,” he said, making another turn in the dark night. The sirens and sounds of the crowd slowly disappeared. Snow started falling, mixing with the soot covering them both.
“Where are we going?” she asked, her body beginning to shut down.
He slipped on the ice and quickly regained his footing, not slowing in the slightest. “I have a car around the next block.”
She couldn’t get into a vehicle with him, but her body was done. “I can’t get you what you want, Theo. I’m so very sorry,” she mumbled into his neck, finally giving in and relaxing completely against him.
“Then you’re about to have a pretty rough night, sweetheart.” His tone was all determination with more than a hint of threat.
Chapter 4
The woman wasn’t faking exhaustion. Theo carried her through his apartment to the master bedroom after driving more than an hour to get through the city. She’d fallen asleep before he’d even put her in his car.
She slept soundly against him, her small body curled against his chest. The witch brought out feelings in him he really didn’t like, and he couldn’t exactly blame her since all she was doing was sleeping. It was the one true time he knew she wasn’t trying to manipulate him, and yet, he wanted nothing more than to protect her and keep her safe. How did she do that?
More importantly, what the hell was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she create fire?
He laid her down on the bed and then sighed, looking at her sopping wet clothing while switching on the bedside lamp. “Ginny? Wake up.”
She didn’t even stir. Surprisingly long lashes swept down her pale cheeks, and in sleep, her pink lips were relaxed and tipped up. Even out cold, she somehow smiled as if she knew a secret.
Why he liked that, he’d never know.
All right. If he left her in the wet dress, she’d freeze all night. But he couldn’t just take off her clothes. Damn it. He ran a hand through his hair, scattering soot.
He’d been with more women than he could count, but this one was one of a kind. He didn’t like that. Lifting her too easily with one arm, he drew back the covers and set her on her butt, her head leaning into his stomach. His dick instantly hardened to rock. Damn it. Forcing himself to relax, he deftly untied the corset and drew it off before laying her back down and quickly covering her with the bedclothes. Her thin panties could remain on. No way was he removing those.
She murmured something and turned toward him.
He pushed her hair away from her face, noting the silky softness, even with soot in it. But the mass had dried into tumbling curls. Figured she’d have naturally curly hair. “God was kind to you, darlin’,” he murmured, running a knuckle down her smooth cheek. “Way too kind.”
Yet what was going on?
