Page 46 of Loving Graystoke's Heir

Donal.

Oh God, where was he? “Donal?”

“Hey, hey… I’m here.”

Something shifted under her and she realized it was a mattress.

She was in bed.

And Donal was beside her, his hands smoothing over her arms, taking hold of her hands. “It took you awhile to wake up.”

As the words processed in her head, she saw a flickering succession of images. It seemed like everything was backwards. Donal carrying her into the bedroom.

Lifting her from a vehicle.

The early dawn sky arcing over her head.

The trees.

Gorillas.

The members of the Bandile Patrol looking down at her.

And then Donal.

Donal with his features etched in concern.

Wresting her hand from his, Tamsin reached across her chest and touched the sensitive spot at the base of her neck where it met her shoulder. There was an echo of pain in her mind, but when her fingers traveled over the skin, she could only feel a ridge of flesh where it had been torn and was healing.

Fast.

Too fast.

“H-how long have I been sleeping?”

His smile was a relief.

To both of them.

Bracing a hand on the other side of her body, Donal let out a long pent-up sigh. “Long enough that I was starting to worry.”

She felt her brow furrow and reached out to him. “What happened?”

“What happened,” he shook his head, “was that you put yourself in danger.”

The memories flashed into her thoughts. “You didn’t see him. You didn’t see the knife. I couldn’t just let him kill you.”

“I’m a shapeshifter, Tam. His knife would have hurt me, but I would have ripped him apart long before he could have done any real damage. But if you had…” His eyes closed and a shudder ran through his body. “If you had died, Tam. That would have killed me.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Do you know why?”

She saw the uncertainty in his face, and it was a complete shock. This was a man who could shed his human form and become a…

“Just how big do you get?”

“What?”

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