Page 23 of An Empress of Air & Chaos

Gideon pulled a breath in through his teeth and she opened her eyes; his gaze moved from her face quickly. He looked directly ahead, focusing on the corridor once again. She noticed his eyes strain before he let out a barely audible sigh.

“Am I too heavy? You can put me down. I am sure I can walk...” Her voice didn’t sound like hers. It sounded lower, huskier.

“I have wielded swords heavier than you. I don’t think it will be a problem to carry you through a corridor or two.” He allowed for a polite smile to form on his face.

They entered the infirmary room where she had been before. Gideon laid her down on the bed and gestured to the clothing that was neatly displayed there. “These are for you. Rhea picked them out,” he said.

She looked down at herself in nothing but a towel. If she hadn’t been so calm, her cheeks would have been flushing red by now.

Gideon turned slowly on his heels and faced the wall. “I have to stay put until you are in decent clothing,” he teased. “Healer’s orders.”

“I am glad my outfit choices amuse you,” she replied, keeping her eyes on the back of his head. His back muscles flexed as he crossed his arms over his chest. Waiting. Her mouth parted, hypnotized by the leanness of his frame.

Get dressed, the sensible voice in her head fought back. She reached for the clothes that were pre-laid on her bed. A baggy shirt and a pair of tight training trousers. Easy enough garments to get on her jelly like limbs. Right?

Feeling a little drunk, she tried to place one leg into the material—no, not even drunk. High. She was high! But she was determined to get this new attire on.

She gasped out loud.

“What? What is it? Are you okay? Can I turn around?”

“If I had any other choice, I would say no…but, um, I am kind of stuck.” She giggled, almost snorting.

Gideon whirled around in panic to see her laughing, half in half out of her shirt. Her injured arm, still not willing to cooperate. Well, at least she had managed her trousers on.

It could have been worse.

“I’ve got you,” he said as he slowly brought her shirt over her arm. She didn’t care that he could see her bare midriff—Gods, he had seen most of her by now. Parts of her that Taymir hadn’t seen, despite their relationship. What was a bare stomach in comparison?

For a second their eyes flickered to each other’s, connecting. His gaze dropped to her lips and he drank them in. He was beautifully dangerous but oddly caring—a unique combination. His hair dangled over his brows, messy and wild, and her stomach flickered like a candle in the breeze as his scent circulated the air between them.

Lemon and musk.

His large hand brushed away a stray hair that had started to dry and fall into place over her face. A tingle danced on her cheek where his fingertips brushed her skin.

She had no idea why, but she felt herself gravitate towards his lips like a magnetic pull. Unexpectedly, she felt her heartbeat again, thudding against her ribs.

A siren sent shock waves through her and blasted into her ears.

Gideon jumped. “I have to go,” he announced obediently.

She couldn’t help but feel a sting of disappointment. Searching his eyes with her own to see if she could read why his face had changed, she asked, “Where are you going?”

While the burn of lust had been in his eyes before the alarm sounded, it was now gone.

A hardness had taken its place—a focus.

“Hunting,” he confirmed.

He turned without a goodbye and was sprinting out of the room. She watched the doorway for a couple of moments after he was gone, as if he would return. But he didn’t. Her head was still light and cloudy. She replayed his words over and over in her mind.

Hunting.

She felt a tightening in her chest, and a second later her buzz died along with the alarm that rang through the tower.

Gideon raced from the infirmary room, his heart slamming against his chest.

Not from the sound of the alarm that resounded through the tower which meant there had been a demon spotting, but from her. Emara Clearwater. Everything about her. Her smile, her hair, her eyes. The way she had smiled at him had made his heart pound. Her full, red lips that pouted when they rested. The way her eyes had changed as she explored his body. The curves of her figure as she lay in his arms, her hand on his chest…

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