Page 87 of Healer's Call

I know immediately which scene he’s talking about—the one where Tom tells Cameron Diaz, or June in the movie, that she’s wearing all new clothes because he dressed her when she was knocked out, but he didn’t look when he did it. “I believe him.”

“I don’t!” he huffs. “He’s a male.”

“Oh please!” I turn to him. “Would you have looked?”

His eyes run the length of me and then return to mine with heat in his gaze. “Yes.” That one word seems to burn through me, and I feel my body heating everywhere.

“Well...” I have nothing else to say. I kick my feet over the side of the bed and stand up, but he grabs my hand, stopping me.

“Would you have?” he asks, his voice low.

I also know what he’s referring to now. She does the same thing for him at the end of the movie and says she didn’t look. I meet Mav’s dark, intense gaze and swallow.Hard. Somehow, I manage to find my voice. “I’m not answering that question.” I step away from the bed to throw away my trash.

“You just did.” His low voice follows me, and my stomach muscles tighten in response as heat floods over me again. I throw away my trash but keep my back to him, trying to gain some semblance of control. He startles me when he throws his trash away right next to me. I didn’t even hear him move. “Goodto know it goes both ways,” he says in a low, seductive voice. I close my eyes and literally sway a moment before I catch myself.

Chapter 41

Rose

“I need to get to my room. Thank you for tonight,” I say quickly and dash out the door before he can say anything. Am I running? Absolutely! I don’t know what else to do with myself. I stand in my room for just a few minutes until I get hold of myself. “He doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s not going to do anything about it,” I remind myself as I brush my teeth and get ready for bed. It takes me a long time to go to sleep.

I wake up suddenly, my heart pounding in my chest. Something’s wrong; I know it. I search the darkness, wishing about now I had wolf sight. And then I hear it, the sound of a footstep on the tile.Not again!I scream as fear explodes in my chest. A moment later, hands wrap around my throat, and I can’t breathe. I kick my feet and try to get leverage, but the hold is too strong. And then I hear the door to my room slam open, and the weight is moved off me. I roll over and try to catch my breath, even as I hear the sound of a fight. It’s over in seconds. I hear a body fall, and then somebody touches me. I scream and back away. “Rose, it’s me.”

“Maverick?” I whisper in a broken voice.

I launch myself at him, and he picks me up. I bury my head in his neck and suck in air, still trying to catch my breath. “I’ve got you,” he says, but his voice is not gentle. It’s the furthest thing from gentle. He takes me to his room and sets me on the bed. He turns to move away, but I grab his hand.

“Don’t leave me,” I tell him, my voice cracking. Fear, once again, rises up and gets a strangle hold on me.

“I’m just turning the lamp on, so I can check you out.” He’s gone and back before I even realized he was gone. I blink in the light and then look up at him. He’s not looking at my face, though. He’s looking at my neck. He growls low in his chest, and by instinct, I put my hand over his heart. A knock sounds on the door, and I nearly jump out of my skin. “It’s just Cade,” he says in a low, angry voice.

A moment later, the door opens and Cade strides in. His eyes scan me, darkening when they get to my neck. “Are you okay?” he asks in a gruff voice. The door opens again, and Amber comes in wild-eyed.

“Rose!” She comes over to me, but Maverick growls, stopping her. Cade wraps an arm around her and pulls her close. She doesn’t fight it. “Are you okay?” she whispers, her face crestfallen.

Everybody keeps asking me that. I feel like shouting,No! I’m not okay! Somebody tried to kill me.Somehow, I manage to nod. I wring my hands together, trying to stop the shaking. “It’s the adrenaline,” Mav says, his voice gruff as he crouches in front of me. “It will fade; I promise.”

“I’ve got to go next door,” Cade says, and he suddenly sounds a hundred years old. “Mav,” Cade says, tipping his head toward the door.

Fear rises up inside of me, threatening to take me down to a dark place. It’s not rational, I know. But fear isn’t rational. Somehow, this is worse than when they tried to kidnap me. This time, they tried to kill me. I grasp at Mav’s shirt. “They tried to kill me.” My voice breaks on the words.

He takes my chin in his big hand. “And I killed him, just as I will do to anyone or anything that threatens you.” His voice is tight with barely restrained anger. “See me, Rose. I’m right here, and you’re safe. Nobody is going to get to you. They have to go through me to get to you, and that’s not going to happen.” Hiswords are fierce, and I lean forward into his strong chest. His arms come around me and pull me close, and I close my eyes as the tears drip from my eyes. For the first time in my life, I feel truly safe. Right here in this moment, and I know I’ve never felt anything like this before. Mav pulls back and sees my tears and mistakes it for grief at what happened. “I’m going to fix this,” he says fiercely.

“You already have,” I whisper. He reaches behind me and palms my neck, over my hair.

“I will keep you safe, Rose. Get comfortable; you’re sleeping in here from now on. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead, and the breath squeezes from my chest. “Amber’s going to stay with you.” He glances over his shoulder, and Amber nods at him.

“Beth is staying with Paige,” she says quietly.

He pulls back, but my hands tighten involuntarily around his shirt. “Please don’t leave me.” The words are ripped from the deepest part of me. He pauses and looks uncertain for a moment.

Cade comes over and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Stay with her. I’ll keep you up to date.” He puts his arm around Amber and walks her over to the door. Amber gives me one last fierce glance before they leave.

Strong arms suddenly wrap around me and lift me. Maverick cradles me to his chest as he walks over to his side of the bed. I realize for the first time that he must have come straight from bed. He’s not wearing a shirt, and his bed is a tumbled mess. He sits on the bed and stretches his long legs in front of him, all while keeping his arms around me. He pushes my head gently against his chest, and I rest my head there. His steady heartbeat thumps beneath my cheek, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more reassuring sound in all my life.

“This is all I ever wanted when I was...well pretty much my entire life.”

“What?” he asks in a rough voice.

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