be that easy.
“In the meantime, how about I give you a quick examination to make sure there’s nothing more serious to contend with than your memory loss?” Boone’s focus skipped down the blanket. Taking the hint, she dropped the covering to the ground and returned her gaze to Max, mutely conveying her gratefulness for the shirt he’d loaned her.
Boone gestured for her to take a seat next to his bag. While she did as suggested, he rifled through his things and pulled out a small penlight and a stethoscope. She was relieved to note he left the thermometer alone. Given the fact he was a vet, she was more than a little worried where the device might have last been. He tipped her chin and flashed the light into her eyes. She blinked, something that seemed to satisfy him because he hummed his approval. Next, he slid the stethoscope beneath the shirt and pressed the cold chest piece over her heart.
“Other than beating a little faster than should be typical, everything seems to be fine in this department.” He gave her a wink. “Most likely, the culprit is a little adrenaline overload. Nothing to be overly worried about.”
Or maybe it has something to do with the fact your hand is practically cupping my boob, and it’s been forever since I’ve seen even that much action. Silently moaning at the inner slut who’d apparently taken over her body, she offered a weak smile.
Boone removed the stethoscope and returned it to the bag. Max crowded closer, his frown deepening. “Aren’t you going to check the bite on her…” a quick look slid in her direction, “…backside?”
“Yeah, if you’ll give me a chance.” Boone’s expression turned wry. “And some space.”
Max dutifully inched sideways a few paces, and Boone gave her an encouraging squeeze on the arm. “How about you lay on your stomach?”
After granting both men a hesitant stare, she complied with the request and hiked the shirt around her waist, trying not to feel weird and self-conscious about giving them a bird’s-eye view of her butt. Sure, not like she didn’t have bikini bottoms on, but she also didn’t make a regular habit of flashing even that much at strangers. A soft whistle came from one of the guys. Embarrassment burned her cheeks, but then she realized the noise had been prompted by the marks on her skin, not the sight of her ass.
“You weren’t kidding. That’s one hell of a nasty bite.”
Max uttered a low curse. “Damn. So it is a bite? I was hoping I was wrong. It doesn’t completely match up with the marks on my legs.”
“Wait, you got bit too? Why the hell didn’t you mention that sooner?” Boone’s voice held a healthy dose of admonishment.
“It’s no big deal. Willa is the one I’m worried about.”
“Don’t be a stubborn jackass. Let me see these bites.”
Willa turned her head just as Max hiked up the legs of his sweats and revealed some nasty-looking gouges in his flesh. Holy crap. It looked like something had tried to shred him alive.
Boone swore beneath his breath. “Yeah, it’s safe to say you were both attacked by the same son of a bitch. The bites might not completely line up, but the placement of the puncture marks on both of you are in keeping with the guesstimated teeth alignment on a leviathan. How big did you say the thing was?”
Leviathan? The rest of Boone and Max’s conversation faded to an indistinct blur as Willa’s head spun with the news she’d just overheard. A dull whoosh thrummed through her eardrums, keeping pace with her accelerated pulse. Her thoughts immediately tracked to the last encounter she’d had with one of the beasts, when she’d helped save her friend Clarissa from its evil imprisonment. They’d killed that monster. Or at least sent it back to the dark hellhole that’d spawned it. Regardless, that chapter of her life had been permanently closed.
Or so she’d thought. The fact that she’d apparently become the prized snack choice of leviathans certainly threw a wrench in her assumption.
The mattress dipped beside her, snapping her back to the present. Peering over her shoulder, she spotted Boone digging through his bag again. He hauled out a small metal case and clicked it open, revealing a syringe and several marked vials filled with clear liquid. Tension seized her. Sure, she’d known this part was coming, but it didn’t ease her instinctual dislike of needles.
Boone gave her another of his soothing smiles. He was amazingly