Page 40 of Magic Forsaken

But Callum turned back to me, his gaze filled with questions.

What happened?

Are you all right?

Did he hurt you?

That last one was probably no more than wishful thinking. And in light of the uncomfortable realization that I wanted him to ask it, there was only one thing I could do. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the terrifying king of the shifters with every bit of the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

I’m fine, you idiot. But we are going to have a very long talk about why you lied about needing a bodyguard.

TEN

He couldn’t hear me,of course.

But he did stride back in my direction until he was looming in the window frame, scanning every inch of me as if checking to be sure I was okay.

“I’m fine,” I murmured, carefully squashing the tiny little surge of glee that proclaimed hedidactually care whether or not I was hurt. “No injuries here.” My ankle chose that moment to remind me that I was a liar, but I ignored it in favor of frowning at Callum’s rather extensive collection of damages.

He was currently bleeding from both feet and sporting a set of scratches that stretched all the way across the front of his chest. His knuckles were scraped and bruised, his clothes were soaking wet, and bits of plaster and drywall were stuck to his skin.

In comparison, I probably looked as if I’d just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine.

“What?” he asked quizzically, as if he hadn’t quite registered yet that he was hurt.

Suddenly I was grinning up at him, drunk on the realization that we’d survived. We’d been attacked without warning, when we were at a decided disadvantage, and we’d routed the enemy.

“You have something in your hair,” I told him, smirking a little at his shocked expression. “Also, could you try that roar again? I think there may have been one or two people in Oklahoma who didn’t hear you the first time.”

That’s right, Your Majesty. I made a joke. Deal with it.

But in that moment of euphoria, I’d somehow forgotten who I was dealing with.

He moved so fast. Without warning, Callum’s face was suddenly only a few inches from mine—glowering eyes, stern, stubbled jaw, and filthy, disordered auburn hair—so close I was tempted to reach out and…

Oh, no no no.

Absolutely not.

What was I thinking? This was theking of the shapeshifters.

The man with the best chance of figuring out exactly what I was. The man I was only choosing to help for the sake of the kids. A paranoid grouch with control issues and a wicked right hook.

Which meant I needed to throttle this absurd and inconvenient attraction and stuff it back under a rock where it belonged.

Callum-ro-Deverin was forever off limits.

No touchy.

Just… no.

I managed to take a step back, putting space between us just as my adrenaline crashed and I realized that my clothes were soaked and I wascold.

The sprinklers, at least, seemed to have shut off.

I wrapped my arms around my chest as Kira came racing up behind Callum, eyes huge in her pale face.

“What happened?”

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