Jess didn’t even blink. “I don’t know what you imagined you saw,” he began.
“I saw a woman. She ducked into the shadows,” Saber was adamant.
“It happened so fast, honey, and you were frightened.”
“Hit the big slide, Jesse,” Saber said rudely.
“I’m not exactly certain what that means.”
“Don’t you laugh. Don’t you dare laugh. It means go to hell, and for your information, I wasn’t that scared. I know I saw a woman.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to scowl at him. “Not that I blame you for wanting to deny her existence. Her dog probably wants to deny her existence. But I know what I saw.”
“Okay, okay,” he said soothingly. “You saw a woman hiding in our living room, I believe you. Now get out of those clothes and into your night things.”
Saber glared at him. “You’re patronizing me, pretending to pretend to believe me.”
His eyebrow shot up. “This is far too complicated to sort out with you so ill. I can’t even follow the logic of that. If it makes you feel better I’ll close my eyes.”
She considered throwing things at him, but her head was pounding and she was unbearably hot. “So keep them closed,” she ordered and stalked into the bathroom.
Saber was observant; he had to hand it to her, although it shouldn’t surprise him. She was running a high fever, was terrified of the dark, and must have been even more so by his unexpected assault. Yet she had noticed that whisper of movement in the darkest corner of the room. And her movements had been calm enough, calculated, and might have worked on someone with less training.
She emerged, clad in a long T-shirt reaching halfway to her knees, looking more beautiful than ever. “Are you still here?” she demanded as she flounced across the floor to fling herself on the bed.
“Did you take aspirin?”
“Yes.” She made a face at him to show him he wasn’t forgiven. “Are you happy?”
Jess sighed softly. “You’re still angry with me.”
Saber curled up in a little ball, facing away from him, actually hunching a shoulder. “You think?”
It took one powerful motion of his incredibly strong arms and Jess had shifted himself from his chair to her bed. Saber’s slender body stiffened as he stretched out beside her, but she didn’t protest.
He pulled her close, fitting her into his shoulder, amazed at how soft her skin was, how fragile and small she appeared next to him. He reached out a lazy hand to snap off the lamp.
“Don’t.”
“It’s time for you to sleep, baby,” he prompted, plunging the room into darkness with a quick flick of his fingers.
Instantly he felt the shudder run through her body. “I sleep with the light on.”
“Not tonight. Tonight you sleep in my arms, knowing I’ll keep you safe.” He stroked her hair tenderly.
“I have nightmares if the lights are off,” Saber admitted, too sick to care.
His chin rubbed her silky curls. “Not when I’m here, Saber, I’ll keep them away.”
“Arrogant dragon king,” she murmured drowsily, reaching to lace her fingers with his. “Demons wouldn’t dare cross you, would they?”
“Who did you think I was, Saber? Who are you running from?”
There was such a long silence Jess was certain she wouldn’t answer. Finally she sighed. “You’re imagining things. I’m not running from anyone. You scared me is all.” There was the tiniest note of amusement in her sensual, silky voice.
Lying next to her should have produced the familiar relentless ache, but instead he felt a deep peace, something he had never experienced, stealing into him. She felt intensely hot despite the fact that the air in the bedroom was quite cool and he had only pulled a sheet over them.
“Maybe I should call you a doctor,” he murmured. “Eric could be here in a couple of hours.”
Saber sighed. “Stop fussing, Jesse,” she pleaded. Her fingers tightened around his. “I’ll be fine.”