Amber Eyes (Amber Eyes #1)(21)

He kissed the top of her head, helpless to do anything but wait until Hunter was through binding the arm.

Hunter rocked back on his heels, his expression stormy. He stood abruptly then glanced down at Jericho. “You should take her to bed so she can rest.”

Without another word, Hunter strode to the kitchen, and Jericho heard the clanking of dishes.

“Are you feeling any relief yet?”he asked Kaya.

Slowly she drew away until he could see her red, tear-stained cheeks. She nodded and clutched her splinted arm to her chest. “I’ll be fine, Jericho. Now I must rest and heal.”

As if seeking to comfort him, she put her free hand to his jaw, resting her fingers on his cheek.

“I will be all right.”

He grasped her hand and moved it over his lips so he could kiss each fingertip. With exquisite care, he eased forward, holding her like she was precious glass. Then he stood, hoisting her up until she rested against his chest.

With a weary sigh, she laid her head against his shoulder, and her eyes were closing before he got to his bedroom. He gave thought to getting her another change of clothing, but he was too afraid of hurting her, so he put her on the bed and pulled down the covers.

She settled among his pillows with a sigh that sounded blissful. Her splinted arm rested over her side as she snuggled deeper into the covers.

How soft and utterly feminine she was. He liked the way she looked in his bed. Liked it very much. She was perfection. Slim. Long legs that sprang from rounded hips. Just a slight curve that didn’t upset the lithe lines of her body at all.

A narrow waist that led up to small, high br**sts with just enough plumpness to tease a man. His hands itched to touch her. To caress her and show her all the gentleness he was capable of. Lord it had been a long time since he’d ached so badly to hold a woman.

“Are you coming, Jericho?”she asked around a sleepy yawn.

He hadn’t realized that he was still standing there staring down at her like a moron. Then he blinked at how normal her request sounded. Like a wife asking her husband if he was coming to bed.

Jesus. He needed some of that whiskey Hunter had given her.

He kicked off his clothing and then crawled into bed next to her. The sheets had cooled since his abrupt departure almost an hour earlier. He could feel her shivering.

As soon as he moved closer to her, she snuggled against him, fitting her slight form to his with no hesitation. Again she sighed, and her breath blew over his neck, sending forty thousand chill bumps dancing down his spine.

No matter what he may have done wrong in his life, no one deserved to be tortured like this. What kind of a sick joke was it to have a gorgeous, naked woman wrapped around him like a second skin when she had a broken arm and he was supposed to temper his raging hormones?

She was asleep in a matter of seconds while he lay there, wide awake, his body jumping through hoops while his mind tried valiantly to think of other things.

Gradually he relaxed, positioning his arm over her hip, mindful of her injury. He drew her closer until they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

Damn but she felt good. Right.

And now that she was asleep, he was forced to go over what he’d witnessed in the living room. The sheer impossibility of what she was, of what she’d done.

Part of him wondered if he hadn’t finally gone off the deep end. Too much work. Too much stress. But that wouldn’t explain why Hunter had seen the same damn thing. They couldn’t both be nuts.

No matter how many times he told himself that it wasn’t possible, he had to face the fact that it was. That the world as he’d known it, simply wasn’t. And if he’d been wrong about this, what else was he wrong about? What else existed out there that was beyond his realm of understanding?

For a man who prided himself on his acceptance of harsh reality, there was no way to reconcile this in his mind. No, he didn’t understand it. He wasn’t even sure he accepted it. All he knew was that he wasn’t about to let Kaya walk away again.

But she spent the majority of her time as a wild animal. How could he stop her when she decided to go?

Chapter Twelve

Kaya woke, shivering in the grip of a dream that had haunted her sleep for years. Her gaze automatically shot to Jericho who had turned over so that his back was to her. There was at least a foot of distance between them, and the urge to move closer to the heat emanating from his body was strong.

She glanced at her aching arm, unable to tell in the darkness how much the swelling had lessened. On the edges of her mind, the shadows grew. Lengthening until she swallowed against the unbearable sadness.

She feared what would happen now that Hunter and Jericho knew her secret. She hadn’t gotten close to people over the years. The rapport she’d shared with these two strong, enigmatic men was the most intimate she’d had with anyone since her childhood. She hadn’t allowed such a bond before.

Again she glanced over at Jericho who hadn’t stirred since she’d awakened. Then, propelled by the need to see Hunter, she quietly crawled from the bed, favoring her broken arm.

The cabin was colder, the warmth from the fireplace all but gone. Outside the wind howled but no new snow fell. The windows shook and rattled as the cabin creaked and moaned against the bitterness of the elements.

She’d half expected to find him in the living room, but Hunter wasn’t on the couch. He’d probably sought the comfort of his bed. The floor cold beneath her bare feet, she turned to go toward the other bedroom.