Lover Reborn

She was spinning and antsy. Inside her head. Outside of it. “I am so… confused.”

“What about?”

The bullet wounds in his flesh had her shaking her head. This was not the time to talk. “Let me get the healers. You need to be attended to.”

“You’re more important than that. Are you all right?”

Given the stubborn line of his jaw, it was clear he wasn’t budging. And no doubt if she left to get the surgeon, he would follow her and leave a trail of blood he did not have to spare.

She shrugged. “I just never expected to…”

As she went no further, the realities of their situation returned to her. That arousal, that satisfaction that he’d found… it had been about his shellan, hadn’t it. She had told him that Wellesandra was welcome between them, and he’d made it amply clear that he wanted no one but that female: Whilst he had appeared to be focusing on her, in all likelihood he had merely projected the image of someone else.

It had had nothing to do with her.

Which really shouldn’t have bothered her. It was, after all, exactly what she had told him she wanted.

So why did she feel so curiously deflated?

“I am fine.” She met him in the eye. “I swear to it. Now, may I please get the healers? I will take no true full breath until they care for you.”

His eyes narrowed. But then he nodded. “Okay.”

She smiled stiffly and turned away.

Just as she got to the door, he said, “No’One.”

“Yes?”

“I want to return the favor to you.”

Well, didn’t that stop the female in her tracks.

Kind of made Tohr’s heart freeze, as well.

As No’One stood at the door with her back to him, he couldn’t believe what had come out of his mouth—but it was the goddamned truth, and he was determined to follow through on it.

“I know you go to the Sanctuary to take care of your blood needs,” he said, “but that can’t be enough. Not tonight. I’ve taken so much from you in the last twenty-four hours.”

When she didn’t reply, he caught her scent and had to tamp down an answering growl in his throat. He wasn’t sure she knew it in her mind, but her body was clear: It wanted what he could provide to her.

Badly.

Except… God, what was he getting into? He was going to feed someone other than his Wellsie?

God help you if she ever wanted you back.…

No, no, noooooo, this wasn’t about sex. It was about him taking care of her after she had allowed him at her vein. It was just blood—which was unsettling enough, fuck him very much.

You sure about that, the small voice shot back.

Just as he was about to fuck-off himself again, Lassiter’s fakakta lecture came back to him: You are alive. She is not. And your hanging on to the past is putting you both in an In Between.

Tohr cleared his throat. “I mean it. I want to be there for you now. It’s simple biology—”

Oh, really? that voice demanded.

Fuck off—

“Excuse me?” she said, shooting a stare over her shoulder, her brows to the ceiling.

Great, so he wasn’t just talking to himself.

“Look,” he said, “come to me after they’re done patching me up. I’ll be in my room right afterward.”

“You may be more injured than you know.”

“Nah, I’ve been here before. Lots of times.”

She lifted the hood into place. “You need your strength to recover.”

“You’ve given me more than enough for the two of us. Come with me—I mean—” Shit. Fuck. “Come to me.”

There was a long pause. “I’ll get the healer.”

As No’One left, he let his head fall back—and as it slammed into the gurney’s hard pillow, the thud reverberated through his skull. The sting felt good. So he did it again.

Manello strode into the exam room. “You two finished in here?”

The guy’s tone was snark-free, something Tohr would have appreciated more if it didn’t just dawn on him that he’d come all over the sheet.

“Okay, let’s do this, big man.” The surgeon snapped on a pair of latex specials. “I took X-rays while you were out cold, and I’m happy to report you only have two slugs in you. Chest and shoulder. So I’m going to go in, perform a lead-ectomy, and then stitch up the other sets of entrance and exit wounds. Piece of cake.”

“I need to clean up first.”

“That’s my job, and trust me, I got enough distilled water to hose all that dried blood off and still wash a car afterward.”

“Yeah… um… I’m not talking about that kind of mess.”

Cue the screeching tires. As Manello’s expression went from relaxed to resolutely professional, it was obvious that the message had been received.

“Sounds good. How about I get you another sheet?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Fucking hell. He was blushing. Either that or he’d been shot in the face, too, and was only just now noticing.

As a clean sheet awkwardly changed hands, neither one looked at the other—and then Manello got studiously busy over at a stainless-steel rolling table, checking the needles and thread and scissors and sterile packs that had been laid out.

Amazing how sex could turn two fully grown adult males into teenagers.

Tohr tidied himself up and told his hard-on to can it. Unfortunately, his cock seemed to be speaking another language, because the thing stayed hard as a crowbar. Maybe it was deaf?

He was kind of done throwing fists at it.

Dumping the dirty cloth on the floor, he covered himself with the fresh one. “I’m, ah, ready.”

The good news was that at least he hadn’t been hit in the thigh, so Manello was going to stay above the waist.

“Good,” the doc said as he came back over. “Now, I think we can handle this all locally, and the fewer drugs the better. So I’d like to take a shot at not putting you out cold, okay?”

“I don’t care, Doc. You just do you.”

“I like your attitude. And we’re going to start with this one on your upper chest. This may sting as I numb you up—”

“Fuuuuck.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Nothing you can do.” Well, other than taking a spike and nailing him to the table.

As Manello settled into his work, Tohr closed his eyes and thought of No’One. “I don’t have to stay down here after this, do I?”

“If you were a human? Absolutely. But this shit’s already healing up. Goddamn, you guys are amazing.”

“So I can go right back to the mansion.”

“Well, yeah… eventually.” There was a resounding bonk!—as if the guy had dropped one of the lead slugs on the tray. “I think Mary wanted to check in with you first.”

“Why?”

“She just wants to, you know, check in.”

Tohr focused a glare on the guy. “Why.”

“Do you realize how lucky you are that you didn’t end up—”

“I don’t need to ‘talk’ to her, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Look, I’m not going to get in the middle of this.”