“You ever see one of them, with the buzzed hair and crude hammer inked on their brow, run.”
Yeah, well, not like she had plans to engage with those doofuses ever again.
“How are you here…?” His brow furrowed, then his eyes narrowed. “Did you follow me through the portal? Dammit, Leya!”
“What? Ugh, get over yourself.” She glared at him, her adrenaline spiking once more. “Yes, I have a busload of questions and even more so now, but I’m not an idiot to leap into an anomaly brought on by demons and your enemies. I’ll admit I was near the portal and curious about it, when the damn cretin came from behind and shoved me through.” She rubbed her arms and shivered.
A tic pounded on his chiseled jaw. The wound on his brow continued to seep. Impatiently, he swiped it with his hand. “My pardon, Leya.”
Jeez, back to being polite.
He dragged off his jacket, revealing the gray t-shirt he wore plastered to his muscular shoulders, but the bloodied slash across his chest snagged her attention. How was he still on his feet with those injuries?
Then he draped the jacket around her shoulders.
“What are you doing?” Shocked, she grasped his wrists and tugged. “You’re hurt. You should keep it on. It’s freezing cold.”
His hands remained on her shoulders, stopping her and causing the awareness that had taken hold of her since she first met him to hike again.
“You need it more. You’re human—” Another harsh inhale. “I’ll be fine. Put it on.” His tone said the order was nonnegotiable.
“What, you’re suddenly Superman?”Or a wizard?
Heck, she’d seen him and that scary-ass power of his, but now was not the time to satisfy her curiosity.
“I don’t know who that is.” He angled his body away from her and lifted the clean hem of his t-shirt to wipe the blood from his brow, revealing roller-brush abs—
Her breath lodged in her throat at the lickable sight. Sadly, he dropped the hem far too soon.
Head lowered, Leya pushed her hands through the long sleeves. It almost swallowed her whole, dropping to mid-thigh and enveloping her in his warmth and wonderful scent. Sighing, she ran her fingers down the sides of his jacket. A hardened spot in the leather abraded her fingertips. She picked up the leather and frowned at a burn hole the size of her fist.
What the heck?
Her gaze rushed to his side, but he’d turned away to retrieve his fallen dagger. Then he grasped her hand and carefully slit the nylon digging into her wrist.
She rubbed the red welts on her skin. “Thank you. You’re hurt. Let me—”
“I’m fine.” He stalked to the entrance. “C’mon, we must get out of here before night falls.”
Leya hurried after him. He stopped suddenly, and she crashed into his back. He stumbled and slapped a hand against the wall, his power sizzling free, pinging her like a million little darts and causing bits of rock and debris to rain down on them.
“Aerén!” She grabbed him around his waist before he toppled over. Prickles of his power rushed through her, and her blood warmed, chasing away the immense cold—
“Don’t!” he snarled, pushing her away.
“Yeah, well, you can harp on it later because there is no one else here to help you,” she retorted, hurt seeping through her. Sure, she was a gardener and worked in the dirt, and he was a mighty wizard from another world—whatever—but she had standards, too. And his Lordship here wasn’t on her list of potential conquests, no matter her stupid, inconvenient attraction to him.
Ignoring his scowl and gritting her teeth, because the damn prickles were also causing her libido to go haywire, she tightened her grip on his waist as he shuffled back into the cave.
That he actually let her help him had her belly constricting. How badly was he hurt?
Near the back wall, he grunted and collapsed to his butt on the ground.
Eyes shut, he leaned against the rough stone surface, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
Her concern growing, Leya knelt at his side. Carefully, she lifted his bloodied, ruined t-shirt to view the gory wound on his chest, and her breath caught in her throat.
The six-inch gash glistened with blood, but that wasn’t what caught her attention. On his side, it appeared as if a chunk of his flesh was missing. No wonder he’d kept that part of himself away from her.
