Page 40 of The Healer

She shrugged. “I won’t lie. I was super pissed at him. The worst is that his crazy antics worked.” Tugging on her collar, she revealed the red streaks.

Rhys kneeled beside her bed and ran his fingertips along the scars. She didn’t dare breathe, expecting herself to wheeze. Not that she could recall when last a man had touched her with such ease. And how much she liked his fingers on her would be suppressed until she could analyze it on lonely nights.

Flipping the blankets aside, she swung her legs off the bed, expecting him to step back. He didn’t. Instead, he caught her fingers and helped her up. An inch separated them, but he didn’t release her. He toyed with her hands, gliding and sliding his over hers. His breathing shuddered, and he raised trembling fingers to brush away a curl covering her eye.

“What are your plans for the day?” His voice thrummed through her like the soft roar of a steep waterfall, promising a cool swim but with devastating consequences.

“Mend broken arms, clean the clinic, move into my gran’s old home, and drive to Lover’s Point a few times.” Peaceful by trauma standards. The weight on her chest eased. She could do this.

“Need help?”

She stilled and met his gaze, drowning in the blue depths while the intensity in them promised sweaty nights and ecstasy. “No, but thanks.” Placing her palms on his chest, she tried to slip past, brushing a hip across something incredibly hard.

He hissed and gripped her elbows for a second.

“Rhys?” She smiled. “I have to get ready.”

“I know.” Closing his eyes, he sucked in a sharp breath then crossed to the door. “If you need anything—?”

“Thank you.” She followed him, but his gaze dipped to her bare legs.

He groaned, stepped backward through the door and shut it with a decided snap.

Blinking at the door, she took a few moments to slow her breathing before dressing. She tugged on jeans, clipped on a bra, slipped on a forest-green T-shirt, then a jacket, before dropping onto the edge of the bed to don socks and boots. A quick brush of her hair and teeth, and with a minute to spare, she threw her things into her bag. She didn’t want to overburden Harriet.

Rhys’s deep voice rumbled a greeting from the passage. Harriet laughed at something he said. When Ilona left her room, Harriet had her hand on the doorknob to the room across the passage. If that was Rhys’s room, Ilona was wise to move out—temptation and all that.

“Morning, did you sleep well?” Harriet’s parchment cheeks were bright pink, and her gray eyes sparkled.

“Of course.” Ilona wrapped an arm around Harriet’s fragile shoulders for a gentle hug.

Dane appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Will you two quit gossiping? I have two cubs—”

“I’m coming.” Ilona hurried down the stairs, leaped the last two steps, and nudged him out of the way. That wasn’t easy to do with his great bulk, but she managed to budge him an inch.

“How’s the shoulder?” He narrowed his mischievous eyes, a dimple appearing in his cheek.

“Good, like you need to ask, Mayor Ass.”

“Hey, am I still not forgiven?” He grumbled under his breath as he trailed her to his SUV.

“Forgiven, not forgotten.” She climbed into the passenger side, hoping he didn’t demand she drive.

A few minutes later, he steered into a parking spot in front of the brick building she didn’t have fond memories of. They could have walked to it, but the wind had teeth this morning, nipping at any exposed part.

“Morning, Doc. How ya feeling?” Jake fell into step beside her.

“Good. Dane and I need to talk about the impact of shifter blood on human diseases and whether someone’s researching this. Is it common knowledge?” She spun on her heel and walked backward, meeting Dane’s gaze.

He shrugged. “Over the last few decades, scientists showed interest in certain townsfolk and their healing abilities. They chalked it up to the fresh air and healthy food sparking many diet fads.”

She nodded. “Mediterranean?”

He grinned. “As a polar bear, I see nothing wrong with living off fish.”

“No, thanks, give me beef, elk, or bison, and I’m happy.” Jake held the door open for her.

Dane leaned in to whisper, though why he bothered when Jake could hear him, she didn’t know. “Lion.”

---