Seduced by Santa(5)
“Take your time,” she mumbled softly, content just to sit there and look at him. Warmth and a feeling of safety crept over her as he put the car in drive. All she needed now was a nice fleecy blanket and possibly a bigger seat so he could fit in with her and snuggle. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He slid her a sideways glance and smiled, but she caught the worried look in his eyes. Reaching out, she smiled and patted his arm.
“Thank you. If you and your friend hadn’t come along, I don’t kn…”
She trailed off for a second, her throat closing over as she thought of what might have happened. She wasn’t under any illusions. Once they’d discovered there wasn’t anything of value in her purse, their attention would have fallen on her. She wasn’t tall or pretty. In fact she was fairly ordinary looking. She doubted that would have mattered much. Life was cheap in certain circles, and thugs hyped up on god-knew-what were capable of just about anything. She had no doubt she’d have ended up as just another corpse found behind a dumpster.
Determinedly she dragged her mind from ‘what if’s’ and focused on him again. Smiled, even if it was a little weak.
“Just…thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome. It’s what we do.”
He shrugged, the shirt pulling across his shoulders again and distracting her. Damn it, he had to have picked that shirt specifically for the effect it had on women. No way could he not know what he looked like in it. And from what she recalled, his friend had been just as good looking, if a little…hairy.
They weren’t human.
“You’re with that protection agency thing, aren’t you?”
Dazed as she was, the cogs finally slid into place. She’d walked past that new place on North Street. Personal…no, Paranormal Protection Agency. She remembered seeing the sign go up and thinking about that. Para’s had been out of the ‘closet’ for years now, but from what she knew of them, most had scary-ass abilities. So why would they need protection?
She sat up a little, eager to learn more. She’d begged her father to hire some para bodyguards when she was a teenager with a crush on a newly outed paranormal actor. He’d refused. In fact he’d flat refused to have any para’s on staff at all, so she’d never gotten chance to sit down and talk to one. But now her chance was here. Live and in the oh-so-sexy flesh.
Pain stabbed through her skull, like a hot needle jabbed behind her eye. She caught her breath, and then clapped her hand to the side of her head as the world did its own tilt-a-whirl thing around her.
“Fuck, hold on sweetheart. We’re nearly there.”
“Well, you have a mild concussion, but there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Go home, get some rest and avoid anything stressful.”
The doctor smiled down at the petite woman in the bed and reached out to pat her hand reassuringly. Lurking like a caged dog by the door, Rhod bit back the urge to snap at him to get his hands off of her, even though the guy was old enough to be Candy’s grandfather.
He didn’t know what had come over him. He’d carried her into the Emergency Room in his own arms. She’d been as white as a sheet, complaining about a headache, and clinging to his hand as doctors swarmed around her.
She hadn’t asked him to leave, and thanks to a hitherto unknown protective streak, he’d glared down any suggestion from the medical staff that he do so. Elf he might be, but of the cutesy ‘sit on the toadstool’ type he most definitely was not.
The removal of the overlarge coat, expensive but obviously a couple of years old, had revealed a body to match the delicate little face. She was small and slender, her frame leaning toward petite as he’d guessed. What he hadn’t counted on were the curves. Bundled up, he’d considered her childlike. But she had a set of curves rounded enough to tempt a saint, and a rack…he bit back his growl and reminded himself that she was ill. Concussion, he told himself sternly.
It made fuck all difference. He still wanted to shove the doc out the door, drag her into his arms and learn what her lips tasted like.
Fuck. He was a sick man.
“Do you have someone to stay with you for a couple of days? Family perhaps…” The doctor was asking, and then sent a glance over his shoulder toward Rhod. “Or your boyfriend maybe?”
Rhod paused, waiting for the delightful little human in the bed to chuckle and say that he wasn’t her boyfriend…to give another name and a number to call. Jealousy rose again, sharp and immediate, as he thought of her voicing another man’s name. Instead she bit her lip and avoided looking at him.