“On the floor?” he asked, skeptical.
“With Bethy.”
Magic glanced at Christina.
“It’s fine,” she shrugged. “He should stay still for a couple hours at least.”
He nodded. “Alright. Leave him.”
The three men filed out. Layna squeezed Beth’s arm. “Doc and I will check in on you in a few hours.”
“We’ll be fine.” She didn’t know if those words were true. She didn’t know what Renner was or if this was real. Or if he should be in a hospital. Or if she should run.
She only knew she couldn’t leave him.
Chapter Seven
This wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he decided he wanted Bethany’s hands on him. No, his ideas had been much more enticing and involved warm oil and her wearing a lot less clothing. Lying bloody on the floor with all his secrets exposed was not how this should’ve gone down.
A bone deep shiver wracked his body.
“I need to get you cleaned up,” she whispered.
“Not yet.” He needed to rest a while, let his animal begin the healing. Things would hurt exponentially less in a couple hours’ time. “It’ll be easier if we wait a while.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Her fingers threaded through his hair and his eyes closed. Sleep was pulling at him, but he had to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere.
“If you leave… I’ll find you.” Her hand paused on his head. “I won’t keep to myself this time. I’ll hunt you down, bring you home. You’re mine. My Bethy. Bethany. Whatever the hell name you want to go by. It doesn’t matter.” He squeezed her thigh, and was reminded of how weak he was.
She went back to rubbing his scalp. “Sounds like I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“You don’t. But whether I’m yours… that choice belongs to you.” His words slurred as exhaustion took over.
Bethany sighed. “You’ve always been mine. My sad boy. Now, get some sleep.”
But he didn’t want to be her sad boy. He wanted to be her man. And when he got stronger, he’d show her how much he’d changed. He’d show her what it meant to belong to a panther.
Renner awoke to the sound of faint snoring. Several moments passed before he realized it wasn’t coming from his own mouth. Opening his eyes, he spotted a tangle of dark hair obstructing his vision. He shifted to his back and was relieved that it didn’t feel like being shredded by glass. A blanket had been draped across his body, but he was cold and uncomfortable. The blood from his wounds was drying and sticky.
Bethany was asleep on the floor next to him, her head touching his, but the rest of her body was far away from the mess. Damn, he had a lot of cleaning to do. But just moving to the shower was going to be a chore until he healed a little more.
He reached to touch her cheek, but lifting his arm was like hauling a load of boulders with a pinkie finger. Impossible.
Dark hair spilled on the floor all around her shoulders making her look like a piece of magic among chaos. She looked so perfect like this, relaxed and unworried. He hated to wake her but he needed help in the shower.
The idea of her playing nurse made him smile. This wasn’t exactly how he’d planned to introduce her to the goods, but then sometimes you had to roll with the punches. Or gunshots. Whatever the case.
“Babe.” His voice was a breathy croak. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “Babe, wake up.”
Her eyelids twitched, and he made another attempt to touch her. He dragged his hand across the floor until he was close to her face. With his thumb, he grazed her chin. Sleepy eyes opened to him. Their color was different, paler, when they were just opening after a rest.
“How are you feeling?” She didn’t move anything but her delectable mouth.
“Like I need a shower,” he answered.
She stared, and he’d give a nut to know what she was thinking. But he didn’t ask. He’d let her make the first move.
“What are you, Renner?”
Ah, so that’s what was on her mind. He’d tell her because if this was going to work, there could be no lies or half truths.
“A shifter. Part animal, part human. A werecat.”
He watched her carefully.
“I had no idea such a thing existed,” she whispered.
“We’re very careful with our secrets.”
“And… when we were kids? Were you born this way?”
Renner nodded.
“Is that why you left?”
“Yes. I started the change, and I couldn’t risk you and Ryan finding out about me.”
She was silent, staring at him with thoughtful eyes.
“Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”