Protector Panther (Protection, Inc 3)

“Not you in particular,” Catalina said indignantly, as if defending her friend’s honor. “She said all the bodyguards were hot, except for the girls— I mean, probably the girls are hot too, she never said they weren’t, but since she was telling me and I’m only into guys, she didn’t mention whether they were hot or not.”

“The girls are hot,” Shane said. It wasn’t something he thought about much—Destiny and Fiona were like sisters to him. But Catalina was adorable when she got wound up, so he couldn’t resist winding her up a little more.

Catalina’s cheeks darkened in an intense blush. “Good to know. Now please pretend we didn’t just have this conversation. Tell me where it hurts.”

She felt all over his belly and sides, while he shook his head. Then she prodded him in the ribcage, right where the worst pain was.

Shane winced. “There.”

Now she was back to business. The blush faded. “Does it hurt when you take a deep breath?”

“Yes.”

“Can you take a deep breath, even though it hurts?”

Shane demonstrated. “Yes.”

“Can you taste blood in your mouth?”

“No.”

She prodded his chest some more. “I don’t have a stethoscope, so this’ll have to be old school. Breathe deeply.”

Catalina pressed her ear to his chest. Shane forgot to breathe. There she was, with her head against his bare chest and her silky hair touching his skin. If they’d been lying down together, after making love or about to fall asleep, she might rest her head on his chest like that...

She cleared her throat. “Breathe. Hot bodyguard.”

He was startled into a laugh. “Ow.”

“Did that hurt?”

“Yeah.” He breathed until she lifted her head, satisfied.

“Your lungs sound fine,” she announced. “Your heart rate’s good. You’ve got three cracked ribs. That is, I think they’re just cracked, not broken. I couldn’t say for sure without x-rays.”

“I think so too. Though they might’ve been broken when you found me.” Once the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. H

e hadn’t meant to hint around like that, but there was something about her that made him reluctant to hide things from her. That made him blurt out the truth whether he’d planned to or not.

He couldn’t tell whether it was because she was his mate or because she was so forthright herself. Either way, it made him uncomfortable. He had a lot that he needed to hide. Especially from his mate.

“What?” She shook her head. “No, they can’t have been. Broken ribs take weeks to heal. You haven’t been here that long, Sleeping Beauty.”

“I liked Hot Bodyguard better.”

She poked him again, thankfully in the shoulder this time.

“That didn’t hurt,” Shane said helpfully.

“Stop being evasive,” she said. “We’re locked up in a tiny room, there’s nowhere to hide. What did you mean, they might have been broken when I found you?”

“Aren’t you going to examine my head? I could have a skull fracture.”

“Nah, I think your skull’s too thick to break.” More seriously, she said, “Sure, I’ll take a look. But your pupils are equal, you’re not disoriented, and you’re not throwing up or passing out. The cut looked shallow, and it’s not bleeding any more. I’d be surprised if you had a fracture. Also, you’re still dodging my question.”

“No. I’m answering it.” He turned his head, presenting her with the bloody side. “Look at the cut on my head. Really look at it. You might have to clean off the blood.”

Their eyes met. He could see that she knew she was on the brink of learning something important and dangerous.