“I’ll take it out,” she whispered.
He glanced over his shoulder at her beforegiving a brisk nod of his head. His body would eventually push itout, but the wound would heal much faster if she removed it now.She patted the bed closest to him and stepped back as he approachedher. Settling on the edge of the bed, his shoulders hunched up whenher hands rested upon them.
“This is going to hurt,” she murmured.
“I can take it.”
Her fingers wrapped around the piece ofwood. From his angle, he could see her in the mirror as sheinspected the injury. Her curly hair tumbled around her shoulders,her blue-green eyes were shadowed, but they gleamed withdetermination. Her chin jutted out, she took a deep breath beforejerking it from his body.
A low groan escaped him; he flinchedbriefly, but showed no other sign that a six inch long piece ofwood had just been torn out of his back. Paige lifted it up beforeher; her eyes nearly crossing as she took it in. “Could you getthat away from me,” he said with a grim smile.
“Oh, ah, yeah.” Walking over, she tossed itinto the trashcan beneath the sink. Paige returned to him with thetrashcan in hand. “There are a few pieces of glass still in yourback. I’ll pull them out too if you’d like.”
“Yes.” In the mirror he saw her gaping athis back. He could already feel the flesh on his back closing, theblood ceasing its flow out of him as the hole closed. Lifting herhead, she met his eyes in the mirror and held them.
Something more than pain and anger sizzledover his skin as he held her turquoise gaze. His body heated at thetouch of her fingers upon his shoulders; his blood flowed into hiscock, causing it to jump when her tongue slid out to wet her lips.She nervously looked away from him and focused on his back, but hecouldn’t tear his gaze away from her as she began to tenderly pickthe shards of glass from his flesh.
Paige forced herself to focus on the task athand instead of on the eyes she could sense watching her in themirror. Her fingers trembled as his skin rapidly knitted backtogether. With a rattling ting, she tossed the last piece of glassinto the trash and lifted her head to meet his relentless gaze inthe mirror.
“They used me, didn’t they?” sheinquired.
His brow furrowed. “Who used you,Paige?”
“The hunters. I remember what happened now,with Nabel in the alley. One minute he was behind me, and the nexthe was gone. He left me there, with my…” she broke off before theword father slipped out. She trusted him more now than she’d everbelieved possible, but she wasn’t ready to dig into that horrorfrom her past, not after everything that had just happened. “Enemy.I was bait to them, something to lure the vampires in, and nothingmore.”
“I don’t know the answer to that.”
“But you think they used me, don’t you?” shepressed. “You said as much before.”
He rolled his shoulders back and heaved asigh. “Yes, I do.”
Something inside of her broke; she’d alreadyknown the answer, already known what he’d believed, but to hear itconfirmed again just made her feel more lost and confused. “Ireally believed they were the good guys.”
“Not everything is as black and white as youbelieve.” He rose to his feet and stretched his back. “Yes, thereis good and evil in this world. But people and vampires are also somany other colors that you can’t even begin to imagine. It’s whatmakes this ride called life so fantastic.”
“I think we’ve taken a really strange rideso far.”
“Sometimes those are the best.”
“What color would you be?” she inquired.
“Well, dear girl, I’m all red ofcourse.”
“Oh, of course,” she muttered. The smile heshot her caused her stomach to flutter. “Why didn’t you let thosevampires take me? You didn’t have to protect me.”
His smile vanished, his eyes glittereddangerously. “Noone is ever going to take you or hurt youagain.”
“They could have killed you,” she whispered.“You were outnumbered.”
“It would have taken a lot more than thethree of them, and I would have gladly killed them all to keep yousafe. My life is intertwined with yours Paige; there’s nothing Iwouldn’t do for you.”
Inexplicable tears burned her eyes; sherapidly blinked them back. “Is that because you believe I’m yourmate?”
He sat on the bed again. Taking hold of herhand, he pulled her down beside him. She perched on the edge of thebed, afraid to get too close. His touch could make her forgeteverything, and right now she didn’t think burying her head in thesand was the way to deal with what was happening in her life.
“Youaremy mate. There’s no doubtabout it in my mind. I’d die for you, and I would die without you.”Paige couldn’t breathe as his eyes burned into hers. Lifting hishand, he brushed back a strand of her hair. His fingers lingered onher cheek as he leaned closer to her. She could feel the warmth ofhis breath against her lips. “I know, as a human, this is difficultfor you to understand, but you’re everything to me. There willnever be anyone, but you, for me from now on.”
“Ian…”
