Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(40)

So she cried harder into the body of the one man she’d sworn never to be vulnerable with again.





Chapter 15


Nick held the sobbing woman against his chest, his other hand banded around the wound to keep her from bleeding out. Frustration edged into fury within him, and it was all he could do not to bellow a battle cry. Oh, whoever had shot her would die, and painfully at that. For now, his focus had to be on Simone and getting her to heal herself.

He’d never seen her cry before.

Not once, and not after her own father had shot her. Not when he’d said good-bye to her. Sure, he’d figured she’d at least shed a few tears privately afterward, but never in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his free hand smoothing down her hair. “I’m so sorry.”

She hiccupped and then slowly lifted her face.

Her eyes glowed like onyx jewels, and tear tracks marred her porcelain skin. Vulnerability clung to her lashes and all but oozed from her.

That quickly, he went from a man who’d fight for her to one who’d die for her. “It’s okay, baby,” he murmured, smoothing damp hair from her face. “I need you to concentrate now.” If she didn’t heal her shoulder soon, it might scar and never be quite as strong. “I had to bite the planekite from you. How much got into your bloodstream?”

“I don’t know.” In front of his eyes, she changed. She shook off the pain, and her eyes focused. Healing tingles filled the air around them.

“That’s my girl.” He caressed down her back.

Even with the healing, pain filled the oxygen around them. So strong and so deep. He’d bitten her all the way to the bone before tearing the poisoned flesh free. “Simone? I need you to open your mind to me.”

She stiffened.

“I promise I won’t pry, but you need to lower your mental shields.” He kept his voice low and soothing. While he could actually pierce her shields since her defenses were so far down, he wouldn’t do so without her acquiescence. No way would he violate her like that, even though their combined powers would be something to see. Dangerous and unbeatable. “Come on. Let me help you.”

She nodded and shut her eyes, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

He tamped down the wild edges of his thoughts, smoothing them over, before sliding inside her head to the pain centers. Sucking deep for gentleness, he slowly spread a balm better than any narcotic around the pain.

She sighed and relaxed against him. The sense of healing and tingling strengthened.

He gingerly removed the towel from her flesh and tried not to grimace. “You can heal. Rebuild the muscle first.”

While she mentally stitched flesh together, he shielded and numbed the pain centers, concentrating on the pain sections and keeping his waves mild. At his age and experience, he could destroy a mind accidentally, and it took more concentration to be gentle and unobtrusive than it did to rip a cerebellum to tatters. He also had to work hard to keep from intruding into other areas of her brain. With her defenses down, he could actually glean images and thoughts if he wanted.

But a promise was a promise.

Her pain neurons flared again, and he wrapped balm around them to provide numbness. Once he again controlled the receptors, he stimulated the base of her brain just a little, promoting power so she could heal faster. It was believed the ability to heal the body was centered in the base of the brain.

She gasped, and her chest swelled.

“Just accept the help and use the power to heal,” he murmured. Even though she’d allowed him into her mind, defensive shields hovered all around, showing her strength.

He needed a woman with such strength, no question. At the thought that somebody had dared attack her while she was on the back of his bike, he growled low.

She sucked in air, and pain slid back into her mind.

Damn it. He needed to concentrate. Slowly, he covered the area again and glanced down to see the hole in her arm nearly healed. Very impressive.

Finally, she leaned back. “I need to call this in.” Dark circles marred the skin under her eyes, and even sitting, she swayed.

“I’ll call it in to the Guard,” Nick said. “You lie down and get some sleep.”

“Wait. Where are we?” she whispered.

He breathed out, and his chest settled. “I bought this cottage when I was going to ask you to be mine forever.”

Her eyelashes fluttered, but she visibly struggled to focus. “Wh-what?”

He kissed her nose. “I thought we’d live here, but fate had another plan, and I said good-bye instead.” The woman was too pale, damn it. “I don’t know how the attackers found my other place, but this one is safe. I promise.”

She opened her mouth to protest even as her eyelids completely closed. He tossed back the covers and lifted her with one arm, setting her beneath the sheet. First, he’d call the Guard and report the attack. Then it was time for him to start maneuvering chess pieces into place.

Though he’d wanted to allow the Coven Nine to prove their honor and do the right thing, he’d never been one to sit back and see where the chips would fall. Simone needed protection, whether she liked it or not.

The question was whether she would forgive him for taking over, and he truly didn’t know the answer. But he could live with her hating him for eternity so long as she had an eternity.