Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

and wincing at the pressure on her feet. She felt like some ridiculous

fairytale hag and she started laughing silently at the thought

of chasing kids off her gingerbread lawn.

?You shouldn?t have come on your own. You?ve worn yourself

out,? Lucas admonished her gently.

?I was fine a second ago, but it was farther than I thought. Your

house is huge,? Helen whispered, aiming her creaky body at the

chair next to his bed.

?You won?t be able to sit up long. Here,? he said as he pulled back

his covers. ?You?d better lie down.?

Helen looked uncertainly at his bed. She had spent all of last

night melded to him, but now it was different somehow. If she lay

down with him it would be a choice. She saw him smirking up at

her, and realized he thought she was being silly. Which she was,

because her knees were shaking with the effort to hold her up. She

tried to sit down as carefully as she could so as not to disturb him,

but at the last moment her legs gave out and she pretty much

flopped into bed with him.

?Sorry,? she whispered as she gathered the covers over them.

?It?s okay. Careful of your toes?my legs are splinted,? he warned

her. Helen peeked under the covers and saw that his lower body

was wrapped in soft casts. ?See? You?re completely safe with me.?

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He grinned at her in the dark and she grinned back, until the reason

for her draining trek came back to her. Her smile faded.

?How bad is it? Can you even tell right now?? she asked him seriously.

She propped herself up on an elbow so she could look directly

into his face and scan him for any well-intentioned lies. Even

in the low moonlight dribbling through the casement she could see

the intense jewel blue of his eyes.