Page 15 of Venomous Lust
The amount of violence Hazel had suffered churned his guts, made his mouth fill with the taste of bile.
“You understand now why I can’t go back to Aveyn, not even for a day.” Her chin lifted and her eyes gleamed, but her countenance didn’t break.
“Who did this to you?” There was death in his voice, death on his mind, death in his vision as he stared at her battered body. Whoever had done this to her had been careful to avoid her face and her neck, concentrating his blows lower on her body to conceal his abuse.
Only a coward could do this to a defenseless female.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not going back to Aveyn. He’s never going to touch me again.”
“It does.” Khal’s anger was a living thing inside him, scratching beneath his skin, struggling to break free. “Because I will make sure he never lays a finger on another female ever again.”
Her green eyes filled with a vengeful streak, fierce and savage. His fingers itched with a sudden desire to touch her. To grab her. To pull her close. To taste the sweetness of her lips, lick her skin as she trembled under him. He knew, he just knew she would be a fierce lover, full of passion and unleashed lust.
Stop. It.
“Fat chance.” Hazel swallowed and her eyes lost their fierce glint. “Bobbie is in charge of the allocation of food and other basic supplies for all of Aveyn. He’s basically Jonah’s right hand. No one will touch him over a few bruised girls. He’s too important.”
“No one is above the law.” Khal shook his head, trying to push the invasive darkness of his anger away. “He’s just lucky I’m not on Aveyn to dispense justice myself. I will instruct my second in command to take care of him and put someone trustworthy in his place.”
Hazel’s expression changed, her emotions easily readable as she went from skepticism to hope, then to what looked like gratitude.
“Thank you.” Her voice trembled and her beautiful, large green eyes filled with water. She quickly turned her head away to hide her tears, but he had seen them.
No one has taken real care of her for a long time.
Khal watched her straight, stiff back, her pale, silken hair brushing her nape, all prickly grace and female pride. He turned to the medical equipment stored in the concealed drawers, giving her time to collect herself. His instinct was to comfort the female, but somehow, he knew she wouldn’t take kindly to it if he pointed out her temporary weakness. She was too proud for that.
Even if she needed it, she didn’t want his comfort or his protection. But she hadn’t pushed away his offer for medical care. His fingers closed around a short, thick wand and he easily found the button to activate the device, then turned back to see Hazel watching him carefully, her face devoid of the torment from a few seconds ago. She was strong, much stronger that he had first thought.
“Are you qualified to use those?” Her eyes were wary as she eyed the scanning wand in his hand. “I’ve never heard anyone saying you were a doctor.”
“I’m not,” Khal agreed with her, approaching slowly so as not to startle her. “But all Eoks receive basic medical training. It is a necessity to care for the wounded in or immediately after a battle. I’ll scan you for broken bones and I’ll be able to alleviate your pain, but you won’t be cured as fast as if I had a doctor on board.”
“That’s okay.” Hazel shrugged, then her face contorted with pain. It showed only for a second, then her expression remained cautious as Khal lifted the wand and ran it just over her skin, starting with her injured arm. The short wave radiation fed information to the wand and an image appeared on the flat white surface of the back wall, displaying the shapes her bones and tissues, organs and the blood moving in her body.
“No broken bones.” Khal put the wand away, grateful for the few seconds where he was putting distance between him and Hazel. Being near her was like a drug and as he turned back to her with the tube of cream that would alleviate the worst of her bruising, he felt the tug.
The tug was deep in his belly, foreign yet completely familiar. That pull that made her irresistible like no other female he had ever seen.
Khal moved closer, then squeezed a generous quantity of the white cream into his palm. He hesitated only for a second before lifting her injured arm with his bare hand. The contact with her warm, silky skin was like an electric shock moving through his body—an electric shock that went straight to his seed stem.
Hazel’s mouth pursed with pain as he ran his fingers over the ugly bruise on her arm, but soon, it relaxed.
“What did you do? The pain is gone.” Her tone was full of skeptic amazement as she looked down at her still bruised arm, then back up at him. Her stare was direct, but without the rebellious defiance of before. It was true and honest, revealing a strength of character he hadn’t fully recognized before. Khal found himself mesmerized by her, by the combination of softness and strength, by the prickly beauty of her features, by all the contradictions he sensed just below the surface.
Her face was so close, he could just lean in. Lean in to taste those perfect, full lips, to drink in that sweet, female smell.
As her green eyes locked with his, they became darker. Her breathing quickened and Khal watched as her pupils dilated. Her heartbeat accelerated under his fingertips, becoming erratic.
Midnight God, help me. She wants it, too.
The fight raged on in Khal as he felt his head lower toward Hazel. Then, she pulled her arm free of his hold. Her brows lifted and she blinked fast and furiously.
“Thanks. I’m okay now.” Her expression changed, clouding with a veneer of snark and insolence. But there was something lingering just under the surface. Something sweeter and softer.
Something much, much more dangerous.
I should stop. I should step away from her now, while I still can.
