Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,33
anything, to sacrifice anyone, in whatever quest they’d chosen to embark on. They would let nothing get in their way.
“This job got way more interesting,” she declared as they finally made it to his room.
He’d never been happier to see his bed.
Until he woke up, his head pounding. His mouth dry. And wearing no clothes.
Which was, considering the last person he remembered, a little disturbing. Casey had undressed him? Surely not. It must have been someone on staff, or even Titan.
Not Casey.
Apart from being almost naked—he at least still wore underpants—he felt weak. Heavy, too, as if all his limbs were weighted down. The inside of his head pounded. He could feel nothing other than a sharp pain.
He stirred, shifting the weight of blankets.
“Don’t squish the princess. She’s beside you,” said a soft voice.
“Casey?” He queried her name since he certainly couldn’t feel for it. His magic would need time to recover after what he’d done.
“Expecting another woman in your room this late at night?” she whispered.
“Is that a trick question?” He rose to a sitting position and cradled his aching head.
“Hands.”
“What?”
“Hold out your hand. Titan left a drink for you.”
She passed him a cylinder, the insulated kind. He twisted off the cap and grimaced. It wasn’t that it tasted bad, just the numbing effect. It helped with the pain and gave him back his strength but did nothing for the blanket over all his senses making him feel blind. Only time would fix that.
He glanced over at his daughter. She lay tucked in the middle, thumb in her mouth, something she only did when she was feeling especially vulnerable.
“Why?” he rasped.
“She knew somehow about the explosion. Demanded to be with you.”
Which explained Casey’s presence. She wasn’t here for him, but for Charlie. As it should be. So why the disappointment?
He chugged the remaining contents of the container then went to rise. A small yet firm hand shoved him back down. “Stay in bed. Titan’s orders.”
The gruffness of his voice grated. “I have to see.” See the damage. Find his cat.
“It was mostly contained to that one room. Almost as if someone tossed it inside a container to hold it. The inside is pulverized, though.”
“Injuries?”
“You.”
“Not hurt,” he grumbled.
“Just out of magic. So get back to bed.” Her fingers still pressed into his chest.
“You should be in bed, too.” Beside him would work.
“I’m fine. You’re not. Go to sleep or I’ll make you sleep.”
She probably would knock him out, too. “You’re mean.”
“Yup.” No apology, nor would she back down.
He closed his eyes as he shifted his head to get comfortable on the pillow.
“By the way, thank you for saving my life,” she murmured.
“No thanks. Was saving my own.”
She snorted. “Saving your own would have been putting a shield around yourself that protected only you and preserved your energy. Instead you went all out to contain the damage.”
“Should have realized sooner about the danger.” It bothered him that, from the moment he touched the prisoner’s mind, he’d known there was something wrong. He should have pressed harder, not risked his people and gone in alone. Not that it would have changed the outcome. Rodoh would have exploded no matter what.
“You did good,” she said in a sincere tone.
Odd how it was strangely comforting.
When he next woke, it was to blinding sunshine streaming through the new set of bars on his windows, accompanied by the smell of bacon. Roark rolled to see Casey sitting cross-legged on the bed, munching from a tray someone had brought up. She’d removed all the domes and nibbled at the various treats. But mostly the plate with bacon.
“Save me a piece,” he grumbled, trying to rise without flopping on his face.
“If I must.” She sighed and grabbed a waffle. A recent addition to the menu that tasted amazing with jelly.
“What happened? Where’s Charlie?”
Casey jerked a thumb to the ceiling. “Princess is in her room having some lessons. Got a pair of guards outside the room and Anita inside keeping an eye out.”
“You should be with her.” Roark felt a sudden sharp guilt he wasn’t. What if someone went after Charlie with a bomb? What if he wasn’t there to shield her?
Not that he was much use at the moment. The mental fog slowed his thoughts and movements.
“Charlie’s fine. You’re not.”
The remark caused him to grumble, “I don’t need you watching me.”
“Says the man who slept so hard he never noticed me drawing a mustache on his face.”
His fingers went to his upper lip, only to freeze as she