Page 495 of Coal Hearts

Slowly, she leaned back. “I don’t think any of them are broken but they’re heavily bruised. I’ll give you some antibiotics for your arm, just in case, and you can take some arnica tablets with Ily to ease your bruises. I also need you to drink what I’m about to give you to replace everything you lost today. Give one to Ily when she wakes.” Pushing to her feet with a tired groan, she padded toward a small fridge next to her medical cupboard and returned with two bottles of glow-in-the dark blue liquid.

“Electrolytes.” She gave me a half smile, passing me the bottles. “You’ve lost a fair amount of blood, but I think your dizziness is mainly from lack of sustenance and whatever else happened out there today. As long as you drink this and take a few days to rest, your body will make up the blood, and you’ll feel better. If you’re struggling to regulate your body temperature and think you can avoid falling down the stairs, go grab some food from the kitchen. That’ll help too.” Ripping off her latex gloves, she arched her chin at the door. “Now, go away. I’ll pop by in the morning to check on Ily.”

She didn’t speak again as I slipped my no-longer bleeding arm into my gown, lashed the belt tight, then slipped back into the night.

Chapter Thirteen

...............................

Ily

––––––––

I WOKE WITH A START.

I felt as if I’d lost something but couldn’t remember what.

Echoes of Krish.

Of Peter.

Henri.

God, Henri...

I groaned as sleepiness switched into pure fire. Fire in my blood, my heart, my core.

Every part of me hummed.

Fragments of my dream taunted me and the wetness between my thighs hinted it hadn’t been a platonic kind of fantasy. I felt empty after being full. Cold after being hugged. Lost and confused and lonely and—

Just a dream.

Kicking my legs beneath the suffocating blankets, I rolled onto my other side.

I hated that even the cotton acted like an aphrodisiac. I’d grown well acquainted with achy desperation since meeting Henri, but this was far, far worse.

This felt insidious...growing hotter and hotter—

Ignore it.

Burrowing onto my side, I winced at the slightest flares of discomfort. The softest twinges of pain as I did my best to ignore the heat in my lower belly and tingles in my breasts.

I made the mistake of opening my eyes.

I froze.

Him.

The smallest halo of white light bled over the sweet-smelling cream pages of a book. The nightlight, jammed into the thick story, gave just enough glow to read by—a tiny puddle in the dark.

In the shadows cast by the booklight, my gaze drifted over strong masculine hands holding the binding spread. Veins popped over bruised knuckles, tendons threaded under tanned skin. Both marvels of the human form worked their way up powerful forearms.

I stopped breathing as my eyes locked on his bare chest.

Chiselled with darkness and sculpted by the monster housed within, his pecs twitched as I studied him. The flinch dragged my eyes to his stubble-decorated jaw, over the hollows of his stern cheeks, and up, up, up to his burning, blazing grey eyes.

Even in the pitch darkness, even in this fortress of blackness, he was beautiful.