Page 42 of Lost Girl

He doesn’t question what that means, but I can tell he wants to. Probably will if and when we finally make it out.

Definitelynotlooking forward to that.

Rising to his feet, his sculpted frame towers high above me as he holds out a hand for me. I probably shouldn’t be noticing what a nice hand it is—I have a thing for hands and arms—but it’s hard not to, especially when my eyes trail further upwards and I see the ink covering one of his forearms.

Or the swell of his shoulders beneath a plain black t-shirt.

Or the hard lines of his jaw flexing with another soft smile.

“It’ll all be over soon, I promise.” The deep baritone of his voice bobs my throat through a swallow. “Don’t let go.”

No hesitation whatsoever. I take it, and join him on my feet, both eager and anxious to get the hell out of here. My palm burns in his grip, but I welcome it, use it to stand tall and put on a brave face.

I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

That I’m about to make an escape with a man I barely know.

It’s happening, though. It’s really happening.All that screaming, a sound I know many found disturbing, and only one person wanted to help. Onlyoneperson was so perturbed by it that he put himself at risk in an attempt to stop it.

And now here we are, him keeping good on his word to get me out.

It’s overwhelming on so many levels.

“Ready?” he asks again, his thumb gently rubbing my own.

As I’ll ever be.

?Heroes - Zayde Wolf?

Wendy hasn’t said a word since we made it out of the dungeon and I’m hating every minute of it. The only tell that she’s still with me is the semi-erratic sound of her breathing and the fact that she’s holding onto my hand for dear life.

SomethingI’mhaving to breathe through.

Her skin against mine just feels right.

And it can’t feel right because she’s hightailing it out of here as soon as she can.

Without conversation, that’s all I can think about. That and the state in which I found her. My mind’s running what feels like a million miles per hour. Everything is stuck on replay, starting and ending at the same points.

Her whimpers.

Those unintelligible cries for help.

The way her body shook, too, struggling against some invisible hold.

The way she lunged for me when she finally came to, how she clung to me like a vine.

Howgoodshe felt pressed up against me.

“T-Tavi?” she whispers suddenly, falling into step beside me. “Are we almost there?”

Finally, a reprieve.“Just about.” I give a small squeeze to her hand for reassurance. “I’d say maybe half a mile more and we should start seeing some light from the moon filtering in.”

“And where will we go from there?” she presses anxiously.

“To the Woodlands, where my home is.”

“Is it safe for me to roam around out there?”