Page 49 of The Healer

“Broken bones healing within days? Legends spoke of such occurrences high up in these mountains and remote towns. Coedwig has been an eye-opener, and now I hope to find the cure to sicknesses plaguing the human world.”

“How so?”

“There has to be healing properties in your blood. If I could isolate and replicate it without ‘harvesting’ shifters, we can eradicate most human diseases, and hopefully, brain damage too.” While agony swept across her delicate features, she closed her eyes. Like her false humor could hide her suffering, she offered Aiden a stiff smile before winking at him. “I’ve had this death-defying crush on Aiden since I met him. He’s so talented with his first aid knowledge and piercing blue eyes.” She wiggled her eyebrows at his brother, and her genuine smile hinted at a dimple in her cheek. “And the way he polishes a glass…” With the coaster, she fanned herself.

Her teasing made Rhys shift on his stool, trying to ease the restless energy rushing through him. After dropping bills onto the counter, he forced himself to leave before his instincts kicked in. His bear wanted to drag her with him, but he knew better. He had to first gather his control and a plan of approach. Intruding into her bedroom had been foolhardy. She had looked so soft, appealing, and disheveled like she had spent a passionate night—

Almost ripping his jacket off the coat hook, he shrugged it on while heading outside to his SUV. His emotions were in turmoil, more so than with Callie. Ilona…invoked something potent, intimate.

“Rhys!”

Ilona’s husky voice forced him to stop with his bear refusing to take another step. She hurried after him, her footfalls growing louder, crunching snow to reach him. As she neared, he spun, grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her to the side of his SUV.

“It’s not wise to follow me, Ilona,” he said.

Snow flurries peppered her skin and dissolved. His sharp eyes watched each one in his line of vision. The urge to kiss her gripped him, the puffs of heated air escaping her gaping mouth called to him, begging him to lower his lips to hers.

She shivered beneath his hands, goosebumps forming on the exposed skin her yawning jacket revealed. He fumbled with the zipper and dragged it up, closing it. With seeking fingers, he hooked her hoodie and tugged it over her head, releasing a shuddering breath at not succumbing to her appeal.

“You’ve been asking around town about my Devereaux lineage, Rhys. Why not ask me outright?” She arched a brow, challenging him. “I might not have the answers, but we could find out together.”

He clenched his jaw. Fuck, everything about her set his senses ablaze. He inched closer, eager to feel her skin against his.

“Can I treat you to a coffee?”

He jerked back at her invitation, not certain whether he should spend more time with her with his control non-existent. “Now?”

“Sure. I can meet you at Mo’s Diner.” She hitched a thumb up the road.

He lessened the gap between them, shielding her with his bulk, sharing the warmth of his bear. She shivered, leaned toward him then stepped away, shoving her hands deep into her jacket pockets.

“Sure.”

With a nod, she sidled from under him and headed to her blue rental. After yanking his door open and sliding onto the seat, he gripped the steering wheel, needing it to keep him in the moment.

Claim her.

He ignored his bear and started the engine.

Before we lose another one.

The tires spun before they found traction in the snow-covered gravel. The SUV lurched forward, and he drove out of the parking lot, heading for the diner. Shining like a beacon, the diner’s orange glow, between intermittent swipes of his windscreen wipers, guided him.

He parked the SUV, switched it off, and waited. If she didn’t pitch, he would go for a run. At his immobility, his bear roared his anger, flushing heat through Rhys’s body.

“You’d take her now, bear,” Rhys said, his voice guttural. “Doing so without her permission would wound her. Can you accept the consequences?”

His bear grumbled but said no more.

Rhys released a shuddering breath, grateful for the silence.

Ilona stopped beside him and hopped out of her SUV, shutting the door. Shooting him a raised eyebrow, she rushed inside, greeting the staff on duty with a wave. She slid into the booth, placed her order, and waited…for him.

Her solitary figure compelled him to open his door.

“It’s been slow tonight, what with the science crew on the hills,” Mo said from the kitchen before scurrying out, her waitress outfit snug but crisp.

“Do you think the tower will hold in this storm?” Ilona frowned, peering at the increasing winds revealed by the sweeping flurries of snow in the streetlamp’s pale glow.

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