Page 160 of The Wishing Game

But just as I lift the tweezers to my shoulder, the door behind me opens. My eyes flare open with panic, just as the tweezers slip out of my hand, dropping to the ground. Before I can scream or run, a hand covers my mouth, the other circling my waist and bringing me against his chest. A male chest.

Terror suffuses me.

I'm naked from the waist up, with a gaping wound in my shoulder. I'm at my most vulnerable and now at the mercy of a stranger. I know far too well how this will end. After all, I might be shunned by everyone at the hacienda—the cursed one as they call me for my blasphemous marks—but what no one sees, no one knows. Sergio may have decreed that I'm worse than a leper, but that hasn't stopped his men from trying to assault me when no one's watching.

"Don't scream," a voice speaks in my ear. It's an oddly familiar one, and I frown as I try to recall where I heard it before.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. If I take my hand off, promise not to scream? No one knows I'm here and I'd rather keep it that way."

His words are even more confusing, but I slowly nod my assent.

He drops his hand from my mouth, but his arm is still around my waist. Instinctively, I draw back, turning to face him.

"You..." I whisper in awe.

He gives me a lopsided smile.

"I'm a little late, aren't I?"

I blink, wondering if this is a dream—is it?How many times had I conjured him before me just like this? Yet every time, it had only been a mirage that shattered the moment reality intruded on the fantasy.

"What are you doing here?"

"I promised you I'd come," he replies effortlessly.

God, he's even more handsome than I remember. His hair is shorter, his body leaner. But there's no way I would never not recognize those dark eyes—the eyes that still haunt my dreams. For years, his face has been the only thing I could fall asleep to, his presence the most comforting thing I've ever known in my life.

And now, to see him here, in the flesh? How is this possible?

"Are you real?" I ask in disbelief. "Is it really you, Nikki?"

"I'm here. I'm just so fucking sorry it took me so long, Luce. But I promise you, there's a good reason for it."

I nod numbly. How can I care about anything when he'shere? In front of me. So close...

A smile trembles on my lips as I reach out with my non-injured arm to touch him, trailing one finger over the back of his hand. My eyes close and a shiver goes down my back at the contact. Not even the pain in my shoulder could detract from the utter delight of the moment.

"You're really here," I mumble incoherently, touching him some more—just to make sure he's real. Maybe on any other occasion, I wouldn't have been as bold. But as it happens, I've lost too much in the last years not to grasp onto this chance.

He catches my hand in his, giving it a tight squeeze. He slowly brings it to his lips, laying a chaste kiss on the inside of my wrist that has me blushing to the roots of my hair. Yet what's most striking is the look on his face. He's staring at me intently, his eyes caressing my face. There's a dangerous hunger radiating from him. One I don't remember seeing before—or, maybe I hadn't noticed? His body tenses, his nostrils flaring as he continues to drink me in.

My eyes flutter in confusion.

"Nikki?" I ask tentatively.

He snaps out of his trance and gives me a wide smile—as if he hasn't been looking at me like a starved man. I'm about to return the smile with a timid one of my own when I note the dip of his gaze, his eyes zeroing in on my chest. That's when I recall my state of undress. And it's not just my naked body that I don't want him seeing but also the marks that cover most of my torso.

I quickly wrap my arms around my body to cover myself, but the movement is so brusque that I end up bending over in pain.

"Who the hell did this to you, Luce?" He's next to me in two steps, his big hands splayed over my shoulder as he peruses my wound.

"Sergio." I give him a tight smile. One word that encompasses both of our experiences in this goddamn forsaken place.

His features darken, cold anger emanating from him.

"He needs tosufferfor hurting you," he grits out, and my heart speeds up in my chest at the fact that he'd so readily avenge me.

"Thank you for saying that," I murmur. "But right now, I need to take care of my arm. Will you..." I wet my lips, surprised at myself for putting my trust in him so readily. "Will you help me?"

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