Her Dragon To Slay(11)

It was like he could see all of her, inside and out. She felt like nothing was off limits or hidden where he was concerned. He saw it all, even the stuff she buried deep. The most incredible part was that she felt no judgment from him, a luxury she only felt with her family and Grace. He wasn’t offended or appalled by what was buried deep inside. She got the feeling that he wanted to know every detail about her, no matter how small. She felt like, for the first time in her life, she could trust someone with everything. This was a whole new ballgame for her. It also didn’t hurt that the man was hotter than sin. Not that the way he looked should matter but facts were facts and the fact was he was damn good looking.

“Alright, Rayne, since you won’t let me go get help and apparently this stretch of the city is absolutely deserted tonight,’ she looked around again and just as she suspected, they were completely alone. “We’re going to have to figure out how to get you up and moving. The only place I know to take you is my apartment, not that I am completely thrilled with taking a complete stranger to my home, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s about four or five blocks from here.” She glanced in the direction she had been walking before all the excitement. “Do you think you can sit up? We have to figure out a way to get you vertical and walking.”

She watched him suck in a huge breath, then he tugged her wrist for leverage, holding even tighter until he was balanced and sitting, albeit hunched over, facing her. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face. He was panting in pain. She should have felt bad that all she could think about was moving just a few inches forward so that their lips would touch. She could feel her eyes closing and her body leaning closer to those oh so kissable lips. She heard his attempt at stifling a pain filled groan and the moment was shattered. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop the disappointment she felt at missing the opportunity of touching her lips to his. She couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on with her libido. Why had it chosen this night of all nights to rear its sexy head? The poor guy was hurt and bleeding and she was thinking about kissing him with as much urgency as she was thinking about caring for his wounds. When all this was over and tall dark and gorgeous was back wherever he had come from, she had to get a date and get laid. That was all there was to it.

As she sat there deciding the best way to get him off the ground she noticed a small trail of blood sliding down his neck. “Rayne, your head is still bleeding.”

Without another thought but for his well being, she reached around him, grabbed her sweatshirt off the ground and gently pressed it against his wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. She really hoped she wasn’t hurting him. The movement brought her even closer to his beautiful face and those irresistible lips. Their eyes met and the attraction she was working so hard to contain, flared to life. She watched his pupils dilate and heard the tell-tale catch in his breath.

Apparently the attraction was just as hard for him to resist as it was for her. In unison, they leaned in those last few inches and their lips met. That one simple touch was like nothing she had felt before. An electric current flew between them and drew a moan from deep in her throat. The impact of their joining knocked her off balance. She braced her hand on his chest to keep from falling right into his lap. The vibration she felt, as well as, the rumble of satisfaction coming from deep in his deep in his chest confirmed he felt it too. His strong steady heartbeat sped up under her hand and hers beat hard to align with his. She wondered if a concussion or maybe even insanity was contagious because if she didn’t know better she would swear she had heard him growl.

Rayne jerked back, grabbed her by shoulders and sniffed the air around them. Her eyes narrowed as she wondered what, in all that was holy, he was doing. She knew she had been at work all day and that the last few minutes had been stressful but she was sure she didn’t stink. Just as she was about to get offended by the actions of this incredibly sexy, probably deranged man, he looked her square in the eye. “We have to get out of here, now.” The urgency in his voice accentuated by the extra squeeze he gave her shoulders caused her pulse to kick up yet another notch.

“I’m not even going to ask what the ‘sniffing the air’ routine is about. I completely agree with the need to get moving but in case you‘ve forgotten, you’re hurt and I hate to state the obvious but I can’t lift you.” She tried to appear calm, cool and collected while she was anything but. “Got any ideas?”

He smiled a lopsided smile that caused her brain to momentarily lose its train of thought, “I’ll get up. Back up just a bit, please.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders and waited for her to move.