The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

That didn’t seem to stop Grayson. “I’d rather not be thrown through a wall, but that doesn’t change the fact that you were distracted because of her. What would you have done if I hadn’t been nearby to heal you?” he challenged, and fear coiled deep inside me. “If I hadn’t been able to heal her?”

Wait. What? Grayson healed me? Did someone hold a gun to his head and make him do it?

“And while we’re on the subject of healing her, why in the hell does she not have a trace yet again?” Grayson demanded. “She didn’t have one when you healed her broken arm or after things went down with that Origin. That’s not normal.”

“What it is, is none of your business.”

Grayson laughed, but it was cold. “What the hell is she, Luc? Because she’s not human.”

Tension crept into my muscles. I was human. I just had some alien DNA in me, but Grayson didn’t know that.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s a human or a freaking chupacabra. If I have to repeat myself one more time, you’re not going to like it.” There was a terse pause. “You feel me?”

Grayson was silent for a moment. “Yeah, I feel you, Luc.”

“Good.” Luc sighed. “Now get out of my face.”

“Whatever, boss.”

“Gray?” Luc called after a moment. “Thank you for taking care of us.”

“Of course.” There wasn’t an ounce of sarcasm in his response. “I’ll let you know if Kent figures out what’s up with those bullets.”

“Perfect,” Luc responded, and then I heard the door close. A moment passed. “You can stop pretending you’re asleep now.”

I shot up so fast it was like I had springs under me, and I twisted toward him, my gaze soaking in every detail of him. The tone of his skin had improved. No longer ghastly pale, he stared back at me with heavily hooded eyes. My gaze dipped to his bare shoulders, and then I snatched the blanket, pulling it away and exposing his chest.

My mouth gaped as shock roared through me even though I knew he was obviously healed. I still couldn’t believe what I saw beyond the dusting of brown hair. A bruise above the rosy-pink skin of his left nipple. Another faint bluish mark low in the center of his chest, and one purplish bruise on his right shoulder, near where my head had been resting.

I moved without thinking.

Clasping his cheeks, I brought my mouth to his, and every moment of fear and uncertainty poured into that kiss. There was nothing skilled about the way my lips pressed to his or the desperate way I sought his breath on my tongue. There was a panicked edge to the kiss, one that told me that even though I hadn’t allowed the thought of not being able to kiss him again to enter my head, it had been there.

Luc broke contact, breathing heavily. “You keep kissing me like that and I’m going to end up engaging in activities I’m probably not physically fit for at the moment,” he drawled, his hands a light touch at my waist.

I lifted up. “They’re just bruises. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised, but…” Gently, I placed my fingers near the bruise that was so close to his heart. “You were hurt.”

“I’m okay.” He placed his hand over mine. “Just a little worn out. In a couple of hours, I’ll be as good as new.”

I heard him. I did. And I saw that he was okay. I saw this with my own eyes, but I also kept seeing the blood trickling from his chest and his pale, drawn face. My lip trembled. “You could’ve died.”

“Not that easily.”

“That wasn’t easy.” I looked up at him, shaking my head. “You were bleeding, and you needed help. I’ve never seen you need help before.”

Something flickered over his face. “I’m okay, Peaches. You don’t need to worry.”

“But I am worrying!” I sat back, withdrawing my hand. “You were shot because I sneezed, and then everyone talks like you’ve been shot a dozen times and it’s no big deal.”

“I wouldn’t say a dozen times.”

“Luc!” I wanted to smack him. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I.” He turned his head toward me. “I’ve been shot three times. Twice when we were moving Luxen, and once when I turned my back to the wrong person. Contrary to what the others will say, it’s not something I make a habit of doing.”

I gaped at him. “You do realize that most people go their entire lives without being even shot at, Luc?”

“I’m not most people.” His lips hitched on one side.

“This isn’t funny!” Shaking my head, I tried to swallow the rise of emotion clogging my throat. “Yesterday, it was Heidi. I thought I was going to lose her. Today, it was you, and I thought I was going to lose you. And I can’t do this without you.”