“My name is Dorian Kavanaugh, and I am going to take you to get that foot looked at.”
She gripped the back of his neck, her arm resting on his solid, broad shoulder. “You can put me down. I can walk to the first aid room.”
Dorian strode forward. “Not without getting blood all over the floor. Áine would be mighty sore at you for staining her carpets.”
“Who is Áine?”
Dorian smiled. “The lass who owns Tullamore. Have you no’ met Áine yet?”
Jesenia looked at the side of Dorian’s face. Handsome was an understatement. And damn if that accent wasn’t sexy as hell. She shook her head when he glanced her way, looking for the answer to his question. His pale-green eyes glinted in the light as he stepped into the hallway. A tickling sensation danced through her lower belly. Really? A wolf had nearly devoured her and now her body had chosen to go from fight or flight to fuck. But honestly, how could she not. She was in the arms of a well-muscled, hot Irishman.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll run into her sometime during your stay.”
Jesenia glanced around at her surroundings. She didn’t recognize anything. Gray stone walls with an occasional woven tapestry met her gaze. She looked over Dorian’s shoulder to see rich-blue carpet flowing down the hall. Yeah, she could imagine bloodstains would be a bitch to get out. “Where are you taking me exactly?”
“Up ahead where the old castle meets the newer portion. There’s a small medic station. Áine likes to keep a nurse on duty in case of accidents.”
No wonder she hadn’t recognized anything. She’d avoided this older part of the castle ever since she’d arrived. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered checking in a few days ago. In the office near the concierge desk, a red-haired woman in a business suit tried to console another female guest. The woman swore that a ghost had climbed into bed with her. When asked for her room number, the woman had pointed toward the old wing.
While Jesenia had never encountered a ghost before, she sure as hell didn’t want to go looking for one. And having one climb in her bed, no matter how horny she was, sounded creepy as hell. “Do you believe in ghosts, Dorian?”
He chuckled. “Ghosts? As in the wee flying white specters?”
“Never mind,” she mumbled.
“Sorry I laughed, but first you come in crying wolf and now you want to know about ghosts. Will you be asking me about vampires next?”
She wiggled in his arms, her irritation rising. “You can put me down here. I can find my way.”
He tightened his hold. “Nonsense. We’re nearly there.”
She clenched her jaw tight. “So happy I could amuse you. You seemed to know a lot about the castle and its owner, so I figured you might have some information on the ghost stories circulating. And why do you know so much? Do you work here or something?”
“Nah. My cousin Seamus, the red-haired lad sitting in the old breakfast room, works here. He’s a valet. Here we are.”
Dorian steered her feet first into a room. A medical exam table sat in the corner and a pale-green-and-pink curtain hung from a track around it. A petite woman with short black hair stood up from her rolling office chair.
“My, what have you done to your foot?”
“The lass ran across the rocks outside after losing her shoe.”
Jesenia pursed her lips in his direction as he sat her down on the table. “I didn’t lose my shoe, it was taken from me.”
Dorian hung his head and shook it. “Lass.”
“What do you mean ‘it was taken’?” the nurse asked.
“I was out by the cliffs when a wolf crept up on me. When I ran from it, it yanked off my shoe with its teeth.”
Jesenia watched as the nurse made a funny face and then turned away. She masked a laugh with a cough and Jesenia sighed. “Great. You think I’m full of it too.”
The nurse let the laugh loose as she turned to face Jesenia, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But there aren’t any wolves in Ireland. Maybe you saw a dog or something.”
She wasn’t in the mood to argue with these people. She knew what she saw. “Maybe.”
“Well, don’t you worry. I’ll take care of this quickly. My name is Elina, what’s yours?”
“Jesenia North.” She winced as the nurse pulled the sock from her foot.
“The damage isn’t too bad. Mostly contusions and mild abrasions. I’ll disinfect it for you and wrap it up.”
“Thanks.”
Dorian leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Jesenia’s gaze locked on him as the woman began working on her foot. “You don’t have to wait for me.”