My mouth dropped open. “Wow. Rude.”
“Guilty as charged,” he countered, pulling me a little closer so he could see the cut better. “But do you blame me? I’m stuck babysitting you and Omelet all the way back to Darlington. Now, hold still.”
I hissed at the sting of the disinfectant. “Iodine? I thought people stopped using that decades ago.”
“What can I say, I’m old-fashioned.”
I grumbled to myself but didn’t pull away. His hands were steady and warm, and the way he focused on my arm made it hard to keep up my irritation.
“Tell me what happened, starting with your name. How did you end up with a dragon egg?”
“So it really is a dragon egg? I never got confirmation from whoever I talked to earlier. And don’t you dare tell me that it was Desmon. I’m not stupid.”
“It wasn’t. You spoke to Mateo, the head of security at the museum.” He picked up a bottle that looked more like poison than anything that should go on a wound.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a magical ointment. It helps accelerate healing.”
Before I could stop him, he slapped some on the injury. It didn’t hurt. But it did make it feel a lot better almost instantly.
“This better not kill me.”
“It won’t. Now it’s your turn to talk. Name, and tell me what happened.”
I sighed and launched into my story from the very top, starting with my name. I told him how I’d snuck into Karim’s office to hide some cameras in my search for proof of his infidelity, and how I’d hidden in the closet. I recounted how when he returned, not with his secretary but with a man I’d never seen before, the deal they were trying to make had gone south. Then I told himabout the panic I’d felt when I had watched the man I thought I was going to marry murder someone in cold blood.
“I ran out so fast that I didn’t realize I picked up the wrong bag until I got home. My gym bag is still in his office, and the egg is with me. I knew I couldn’t just give it back and pretend everything was hunky dory, not after what I’d seen. So, I ran. I called the museum since that was the closest thing to contact with a dragon I had.”
By the time I got to the part where I was hiding behind the counter at the coffee shop, I realized he’d already finished bandaging my hand, and I was still tucked up against his body, molding to him better than these jeans to my legs. The big guy ran hot, and the temperature in the motel was dropping as the night progressed.
Then there was the fact that my ass was still hanging out, my jeans having given up halfway up my thighs. There was only a thin scrap of fabric between me and the rough denim of his pants.
A part of me knew I should push him away, but my back felt so good pressed against his chest. The stress of the day had officially caught up with me, hitting me like a ton of bricks. I was done fighting, at least for now.
“Well, now I’m the closest thing you have to a dragon.” He seemed less grumpy than he had when we first met, probably because I wasn’t fighting him anymore.
“So you’re really here on behalf of Desmon?”
“I am.” The corner of his lips lifted in an amused grin that made him look sexy as sin.
“Fine. I’ll believe you. For now. But only because I’m really tired and I need someone to watch my back while I sleep.”
“You’re not sleeping here. First, there are still people after you. And second. The lock to the door is broken.”
“You broke the lock? Damn it.” I groaned. “First the car window and now this? Today is going to cost an arm and a leg.”
“I’m sure Desmon will cover all your expenses.”
“Seriously?”
Now that was the first bit of good news I’d had all day.
“Yes. But you will have to come with me. You’ve witnessed a murder, and over a dragon’s egg no less. It is no longer safe for you to return to your life.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” I said with a sardonic eye roll. “I was trying not to think about that so I don’t freak out.”
“You may freak out now. It is safe.”
