Page 75 of Ravishing His Wicked Lady (The Shadows 4)

Chapter 21

I’ll grant your every wish.

Wasn’t that something every lady dreamed of hearing at one point or another in her life? To hear those words from a handsome man, desirable by many, and the one who made her pulse race, was something out of a fairy tale. She had to blink a few times to make certain this was real. She wasn’t dreaming, was she?

To be wicked for one night before going back home and confronting the nightmare that was her life was more than just enticing.

She wanted it. She wanted all of it. And she wanted it with this man.

Lavinia stepped toward him, only to roll her ankle on something.

A rock?

She heard a hiss, and something bumped into her leg as she reeled. Lavinia screamed and jumped, the borrowed slipper flying into the air.

“Ow!” Something sharp jammed itself in her foot. She cried out in pain while hopping on one foot and cursing the entire world.

What was happening? One moment everything was perfect, and now she had embarrassed herself again.

Now,thissituation felt entirely too real.

Thiswas her life. Not handsome men telling her they’d grant her every wish, but tripping on air, and making a fool of herself.

“Do not move,” Sebastian said, holding his arms out as if trying to calm a spooked horse.

Lavinia lowered her leg and watched Sebastian as she tried to regulate her breathing.

“It was just a grass snake. Not venomous. Do not worry at all.”

Lavinia’s eyes rounded.A snake?“I stepped on something sharp,” she said on a pathetic whimper. “It hurts.”

Sebastian’s features immediately changed, his brows furrowed, and his lips sat in a thin line. “Let me look at it.”

He lowered to his haunches and raised her leg, forcing her to lean against his shoulders. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, and there was a ringing in her ears. The entire world felt off-kilter, but his solid presence and sturdy shoulders kept her steady.

“You split your foot with a sharp rock,” he said. “It’s bleeding, but it doesn’t seem too bad. However, I won’t know for certain until I examine it better.” Sebastian straightened and dusted his knees.

“There are candles in the room we woke up in this morning,” Lavinia said. “You’ll be able to see better there.”

She’d turned the entire house upside down looking for clean clothing that day and found some interesting things. They were lucky the house was actually lived in, or they’d be forced to starve and sleep on dusty sheets. Lavinia was about to take a step, but Sebastian stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“It is better if you don’t walk.”

Lavinia frowned. “How am I to get inside the house?”

Sebastian raised his eyes heavenward. “I’ll carry you.”

He said that as if it was the obvious answer. Well, it wasn’t. She was heavy and—

Sebastian bent down, and Lavinia hopped away.

“No!”

“I said not to move,” he gritted between his teeth.

“I-It doesn’t hurt that much. I do not think it is anything serious. I mean, it stings a little, but I can walk.”

“Let me carry you.” It wasn’t a request, it was a statement.

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