Page 105 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“I must anticipate everything,” Mikel said, his voice vibrating with intensity.

“You are not God. You cannot control the entire world,” Luis said with the authority of a king. “Catch the man who did this, and you have done all that could be expected from any human being.”

“He has already been located in Spain. My people are on their way to take him into custody.” Mikel’s face held a grim satisfaction.

“Muy bien,” Luis said. “Congratulations on a job well done. I mean that.” He sighed. “I will not summon Bruno and Francisco. Instead, I will call them to explain what has happened and where I am.”

“I will do that, Pater,” Raul said. “Once you start talking to them, you won’t stop.”

Amusement glinted in Luis’s eyes. “You know me too well, hijo mío. All right, you speak with them. I will remain a useless lump in this bed for the rest of the day.”

Relief rolled through Eve. She didn’t have to contribute her two cents to the discussion.

“Eve, I would like to speak with you privately,” Luis said, ruining her reprieve. “The rest of you need to go get some real sleep. The doctors will alert you if I show signs of expiring.”

Raul and Grace looked cheered by their father’s sardonic humor, even though they both cast inquiring looks at Eve.

As they bid Luis good night, Eve twisted her hands into a knot of tension. What did Luis want to talk with her about in the middle of the night in his hospital room? She was so wrung out that she could barely think straight…but maybe he was counting on that.

When the door closed behind the others, Luis held out the hand that was free of IV lines. “Eve!” His voice held such a combination of longing and exhaustion that her heart clenched.

She came to his bedside and took his hand, savoring the feel of his warm, strong fingers closing around hers. How was she going to leave this man when just the barest touch made her want to throw herself on the bed to curl up against his poor, abused body?

“How do you really feel?” she asked, searching his beloved face to find dark circles under his eyes and his skin still drawn harshly over his bones.

His grip tightened. “Like death warmed over, which is perhaps accurate.” He brought her hand to his lips, pressing them against her palm in a kiss that reverberated down to her toes. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“I didn’t save your life.” She couldn’t stop herself from brushing the fingers of her free hand over the silk of his hair. “I don’t know why people keep saying that.”

He turned his head into her touch with a tiny moan of pleasure, and she stroked down his cheek.

“Dr. Ibarra is a highly qualified physician who is not prone to giving credit to others,” Luis said. “Yet she says that your suggestion about thallium allowed them to begin treating the poison much faster than they otherwise would have done. If you did not save my life, you prevented any lasting aftereffects.”

The thought of his beautiful, sculpted body damaged in any way made her flinch.

“I’m glad I guessed right,” she said, waving her free hand in dismissal. “Please don’t keep thanking me.”

“I will not mention it again, but know that my profound gratitude to you remains in my heart.” He frowned and brought their clasped hands up to rest on his chest. “We must talk, querida, but not here while I am weak and confined to this bed.”

Thank God! She wouldn’t be able to hold on to her resolution when he looked so in need of comfort, and especially not when he called her darling in Spanish in that deep velvet voice of his.

“Promise me that you won’t leave Caleva until we’ve spoken alone,” he said, his ice-blue eyes burning with the intensity of his request.

Her intention to sneak away to Iowa the moment the announcement about Grace was over went up in smoke. She had planned to put thousands of miles between them so she could reclaim her practical Midwestern good sense.

“I think we said all that was necessary last night,” she evaded.

“I have so much more to say to you, mi corazón,” he disagreed. “But this is not the place or the time. Please give me the chance.”

Now he was calling her his heart. Hope swelled, but she smacked it down. He was just feeling overblown gratitude for her part in diagnosing the poison.

“I’ll wait until we’ve talked,” she said in a rush.

“Muy bien.” His voice held relief as he squeezed her hand lightly. “I have another favor to ask of you.”

Nothing could be worse than knowing she would have to say no to him yet again. “Of course,” she said. “What can I do to help?”

“Would you stay with me until I fall asleep?” he asked. “With you, I do not have to be strong. I can just be a man who feels like shit.”

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