Page 48 of Bond of Passion

She watched, heart in her throat as he struggled to remain upright. He must feel so betrayed by his body and unguarded in its nakedness. And for this to be happening in front of witnesses…

She should be enjoying his humiliation. She should be taunting him for his weakness.

But all she wanted to do was help.

He remained braced against the wall for a long time, his broad shoulders rising and falling with the force of his heaving breaths. Feeling like a voyeur, she looked out the window into the night at the Irish countryside, its rugged landscape awash in shades of silver and gray under the light of the full moon. The werewolves would be out tonight.

“Deja?”

“Yes?”

“I’m not fine.” A tremor shook Tavin’s voice…and her heart. “Would you mind giving me a hand?”

The sadness and vulnerability in his words wrecked her. This wasn’t how this plan was supposed to go. She was supposed to make him feel for her, not the other way around. But in a matter of hours—minutes, even—he’d sparked feelings she’d thought long dead. It shook her to the core seeing someone so strong fighting his memories, emotions, and his broken body.

“Of course.” Wondering how she’d gone from wanting to kill him to wanting to help him in a few short hours, she hurried over and tucked her shoulder under his, wrapping her arm around his waist.

He was heavy.

But no heavier than the weight of her confused heart.