Dragon's Fake Wedding Date - Riley Storm Page 0,63

closer this time.

Rann shook his head. “Nope.”

“Come on, get in here,” she said, taking his other hand and hauling on it hurriedly, ignoring the feeling of cuts under her fingers.

She had to be hurting him, but anything was worse than being stuck out there with whatever made such a horrific noise. If it was a vampire, like Rann said, then she didn’t see how he could possibly fight one of them off. Not in this state.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rann was inside on her tiled entry floor. Gayle got up and all but bodily hurled the door closed, sliding the deadbolt. She didn’t know if it would do anything against a determined intruder, but she didn’t see how it would hurt.

“Oh, Rann,” she said, falling to her knees beside his head as he flipped over onto his back, revealing a welter of deep cuts across his face and upper body. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“No hospital,” he said, shaking his head. “Not safe there. Too many innocents. Safe here. They can’t cross the threshold.”

Gayle looked over her shoulder at the door. “That’s a real thing then? Vampires can’t come in somewhere uninvited?”

He nodded, and she already could see him regaining some of his vigor now that he was safe.

“What happened out there?” she asked cautiously. “Where was the rest of your team? I thought you guys hunted them together?”

Rann shook his head. “Wasn’t with them.”

“What were you doing?”

He closed his eyes and looked away. Was that shame she saw on his features? It was tough to tell through the blood, but Gayle thought she was on the right track.

“Keeping watch on you,” he said quietly. “I…I couldn’t stay away. So I was guarding your house. Just in case.”

Gayle’s heart nearly melted. Even after what she’d said to him, the callous, cold treatment she’d given him for no reason, and still he couldn’t get her out of his head. What had she done to deserve someone like this?

“I’m sorry for bothering you,” he added. “I just…didn’t have anywhere else to go. I drove them off, but they’ll be back. Bastards snuck up on me, pulled a fast one. Anyway, I’ll go in a minute. Just need to recover some strength. Once I can change, they can’t fly, so I’ll be okay.”

“Absolutely not,” Gayle said with utter authority. “You’re not going anywhere until you’re in much better shape and not looking like you lost a fight with a woodchipper. The only place you’re going right now is the tub.”

She thanked her lucky stars she lived in a bungalow and didn’t have to help him up the stairs. That probably would not have been possible.

Rann eyed her for a handful of seconds, likely wondering just how much he could fight that command. She knew his type. They had to run off and be the brave hero. Well, not tonight.

Gayle put her hands on her hips and glared right back, letting him know she meant business.

“Yes, ma’am,” he eventually said, his lips twitching in what was probably an attempt to restrain a smile.

“Good.”

It was an effort, but together they managed to get Rann stripped of the tattered remnants of his clothing and into the tub. He didn’t exactly fit very well, but she didn’t care.

Then Gayle stood up, and she stripped, removing everything before she got to work. Rann eyed her, but he didn’t say anything. Just watched, his face still from weariness.

She reached out across his legs and turned on the water, letting it run warm, but not too hot.

“That good?” she asked softly, the sound of spoken words sounding odd after so much silence.

Rann just nodded.

She rummaged around under the sink until she found a sponge. Holding it out under the faucet, she let it soak up the water, and then, very gently, she began to clean Rann. She started at his head, sponging water through his long hair. The tub immediately ran red as blood sluiced off his body and down the drain. Gayle ignored it, ignored the wincing from Rann as she worked around the worst of his cuts.

Bit by bit, dab by bad, she cleaned him. There was nothing sexual about it, despite their shared nudity, yet there was an intimacy to the moment that she suspected neither of them had been ready for. They didn’t speak, and the only motions were from her as she moved around him, lifting his arms, and ensuring that he was clean.

Every nook and crevice received her treatment,