Page 16 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
I tucked away for later the fact that she’d rolled her eyes when I’d mentioned her looks. There would be time to discuss that when she wasn’t hurt. First I needed to address the threat to my mate. “Can you tell me what happened?” Her smile vanished as I knew it would, and it was like the sun had gone behind a cloud.
Chapter 18
Calypso
I was half asleep when someone took my hand in theirs. No,not someone.My skin sparked at the contact. It was Luc. The pad of his thumb rubbed my knuckles, sending ghosts of sensation up my arm, the hairs lifting. The air was thick, like the promise of a storm.
You have it bad, girl, I told myself.You’re in hospital, mooning over him like a lovestruck cow. I wanted to move my hand from his, but the slow circles of his thumb on my skin just felt too good. Too right. Then he lifted my hand. I felt hot breath and a brush of his skin against mine. Had he kissed my knuckles?
My lashes flew open, and I drank in the sight of him; hair tousled, stubble on his chin. He was still in the suit he’d been wearing earlier, but he’d taken the jacket off and at some time he’d rolled up the sleeves to show muscled forearms. His eyes were intense, for a moment flaring to cobalt blue before they returned to chocolate brown. My pulse quickened. In my dream he’d looked like this, right before he’d promised to punish me.
My dream. My brain stuttered to a halt. I’d had the most erotic dream of my life about the man sitting in front of me. My cheeks flamed. His eyes narrowed.
He couldn’t know. Could he?
Pull it together. Act normal.
‘Hi.” Ohmygods, how unbelievably lame. Why couldn’t that wall have knocked me out a little longer? I could have stayed unconscious and avoided this. Then he said my scar added to my allure. Who said that sort of thing? It hurt when I rolled my eyes, but despite the pain, something in my chest warmed a little. But soon enough, reality intruded.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
His question reminded me why I was here. And I remembered Sam’s cry of pain as he fought someone in my apartment. My heart lurched. Sam got hurt and it was my fault.
Whathadhappened? It was a confused blur in my mind.
“We were heading for the front door. Elie had called and told me to run. Then there was a man blocking our exit. He made a grab for me, but Sam pushed me down and out of the way. But I landed awkwardly. That’s when I hit my head. Things got a bit fuzzy after that.”
Luc made a half sound, then stopped himself, before he asked, “Then what happened?”
I shuddered. “I heard a snap, something breaking.” The sound had been sickening. More of a crunch than a snap, it told of a bad injury. “Sam cried out and collapsed beside me. I could see his arm.” My voice trembled and I began to shake as I remembered the scene.Gods, his arm.The bones of his arm had been poking out through the skin. And it was my fault.
I couldn’t talk about this anymore. I had to stop, to get my body under control before I puked. At some point while I was talking, Luc had captured my other hand too. His grip was firm but gentle and he squeezed encouragement. He didn’t rush me. He didn’t say anything. He just waited, patient, his touch providing a ridiculous amount of comfort given that I’d just met him. Gradually the fine shakes that had seized my body slowed.
“Could I please have some water?” I asked, through lips gone dry.
He released one of my hands, waited till I’d sipped the cool liquid, then captured it again after he returned the cup to the tray beside my bed. I couldn’t read his expression. Did he feel pity for me? Guilt? Could he tell how his touch on mine made me feel? I had to pull myself together. I shut my eyes, trying to reconstruct the scene in my mind. It was hard. I’d been shocked by the suddenness of the attack, and the pain at my temple made it hard to concentrate.
“After Sam collapsed beside me, a man leaned over me. He seemed impossibly large, all in black, a balaclava obscuring his face. He was going to grab me, but he didn’t count on Pompy. She barrelled in from behind him and bit him on the ankle. He was so surprised. He spun around, he was going to kick her, but he slipped in the blood. I don’t know what happened after that. I think I passed out for a bit. Next thing I remember Pompy was licking my face and the police were at the door.”
“Would you recognise the intruder if you saw him again?” My hands were still held in Luc’s much bigger ones. It felt nice. Unbelievably nice. I had to remember that it wasn’t real. He was Sam’s boss and he was helping me get through my statement. The fact that I’d dreamed about him meant nothing, except that it was too long since I’d had sex and he ticked all my boxes. That was all.
“Not a hope.” I shook my head. “He was tall and heavyset, but I couldn’t see his face or his hair.”
Luc swore. That about summed it up. “Was Pompy okay?”
“No sign of any injury on her.” I’d been frantic for about five minutes, feeling her over for any broken bones. She’d settled in my lap until the EMTs had tried to work on me. Then she had growled and snapped. “I had to hand her over to Mrs Singh, myneighbour. She kept trying to bite the poor paramedic who was assessing my injuries.”
Luc lifted an eyebrow. “Pompy didn’t strike me as an aggressive dog.”
“She’s not,” I said. “I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“Sounds like her protective instincts were triggered. She was probably freaked out by all the blood.”
He squeezed my hands, then released them as he stood to his full height. Ridiculously, I missed his touch as soon as my hands dropped back to the bed. Clasping them together, I tried to hide my trembling fingers. This infatuation had to stop.
“I need to make some calls and talk to Sam. I’ll be back soon, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”
Sweetheart? The endearment sent a jolt of … something… pain? regret?... through me. I didn’t want to analyse it too closely. I wasn’t his “sweetheart”. I wouldn’t think anything of it. I couldn’t. This dark sexy man wasn’t any part of my life; my safe, predictable, non-magical life.
