Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,20
pretty obvious which way she and Jim had gone when she’d hauled him from the beach. She’d erased the blood trail, but she wasn’t sure her work was shifter-proof. They could probably smell things on a much deeper level than she could erase magically.
“Helen?” Jim’s voice came to her from the other side of the door. “You all right in there?”
“Fine. I’ll be right out.” Surely, he wasn’t standing up already? Though, his voice had sounded as if he were standing just on the other side of the door.
She’d been told that shifters healed faster than regular folk, but other than the little bear cub they’d rescued from the paper mill, she’d never had occasion to really use her healing gift on a shifter. She’d definitely felt Jim’s innate magic sparking off her own when she’d started working on his wounds. It had resisted her, at first, but there came a point where her energy meshed with his and began to work in tandem.
The effect was kind of amazing and allowed her to do far more healing on him than she would have been able to do on a non-shifter. Something about his metabolism or his wolf or his magical core allowed her to direct almost double the energy at his wounds than she otherwise would have had. It hadn’t all come from her. No, it was clear to her, at least, that a good portion of that magic had come from him. His wolf, his psyche, his soul…she wasn’t sure. But it had definitely come from him. Somehow.
She gathered what was left of her strength and stood up straight as she grasped the door handle and turned. She’d have to face him, and she’d have to convince him that she was all right, except for a little drain. It wouldn’t do to let him know just how much of herself she’d given in order to keep him among the living.
It had been well worth it, of course. She wouldn’t have been able to face it if she hadn’t been able to save him.
She opened the door, and there he was. Standing. Right in front of her.
Chapter Five
He shouldn’t have been able to stand yet, but apparently, his will was greater than any wound he might have received. His muscles rippled as he lifted one hand to touch her cheek.
“You look tired,” he said, his voice holding a note of gentle care that she hadn’t really heard from him before.
“I am tired,” she admitted, “but I’m okay.”
“You need some sleep,” he said, turning to escort her toward the bed, his muscular forearm under her hand. How had he managed to maneuver her into that position?
He was limping, and she immediately grew concerned. “You shouldn’t be walking on that leg,” she scolded gently.
“It’s feeling much better already,” he told her, pausing as they reached the side of the wide double bed. He turned to face her and looked down into her eyes. Her breath caught at the tender look on his face. “Have I thanked you for saving my life yet?”
Mutely, she shook her head. She wasn’t sure what was happening here, but it felt…big. Important. Life-altering.
His head lowered, and he placed a gentle, chaste kiss on her lips. Then, he drew back, meeting her gaze. Her lips tingled where he’d touched them with his. Never had she had such a visceral reaction to a man’s kiss.
“Thank you, Helen. You saved me, and you gave of yourself to do so. I will never forget your courage or strength.” That sounded sort of…final. Like he was planning on leaving again. No way was she going to let that happen. He might be on a mission, but so was she.
Without thinking about the consequences of her action, or why she thought it was a good idea, she reached up and dragged his head down for another kiss. A very different kiss that was far from chaste.
She sucked on his lips, demanding he engage fully with the tempest inside her that yearned to get out. He hesitated maybe half a heartbeat before succumbing and joining his lips to hers in a kiss that was anything but tepid. No, this was full-on heat. Desire. A sparking fury of passion.
His tongue swept into her mouth, spiking her excitement higher. Lost in his kiss, she felt her energy replenishing at an astonishing rate. Was this all it took to rev her engines? A kiss from a shirtless, hot, devastatingly attractive male?
Somehow, she didn’t think just any male