Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Thanks to the heavy use of poultice and magick over the past two days, the claw marks were rapidly healing. But since the chafing of any clothing would for sure aggravate them, she applied gauze to both injuries each morning.
It had taken her by surprise when Ripper had asked to tend to her shoulder Saturday night. She’d sensed that his protective instincts were on fire, of course, but still. She didn’t think his reaction was so much about her as that she was his ally – a person he’d sworn to keep safe. It would have offended his nature that someone under his protection was harmed.
When he’d braced a hand on her back, his fingers curling over her shoulder and resting on her nape, she’d startled. Because the move had been firm, deliberate and held a bold familiarity.
It had also made her nerve-endings sing, and she’d been unable to stop little bumps from sweeping over her flesh.
She’d expected his movements to be swift and all business when he applied the poultice. But his touch had been careful, slow and precise – not at all clinical. And when he’d finished, his hands had briefly lingered. Not in a sexual way. It had seemed more of a protective gesture.
It had still excited her hormones.
Shoving him out of her mind for now, she fastened the buttons of her blouse and stepped into her black pants. They had a slight flare, which meant the lines of her leg bandage wouldn’t show through the material. People knew about the attack, yes, but she didn’t want to remind them of it – it only prompted the kind of questions and comments she’d been peppered with since the attack . . .
Are you okay?
What exactly happened?
Why was Logan there?
Do you know who the Rabid might have been?
I’ll bet you were all shaken up, you poor thing.
She’d meant what she’d told Ripper and Logan – she hadn’t been unnerved by the attack. More saddened, in actual fact. Because she’d been forced to hurt a creature who was really a person stuck in that form.
Once dressed, she downed coffee and breakfast in the kitchen before heading out. Arriving at her destination, she parked her car in a space across the street from the lawyer’s office. Climbing out, she hooked her purse strap over her shoulder and crossed the road, cursing in her head as she noticed her ex-in laws, the Reeds, stepping out of the nearby dentist’s practice.
Both did a double-take as Emberlyn reached the sidewalk, their lips weakly curving.
‘We heard about the attack,’ said Claris, giving her a head-to-toe scan. ‘We’d planned to pop into the hub and see how you were doing.’
Feeling awkward as ever around the couple, Emberlyn gave her a soft smile. ‘I’m fine, thanks.’
Colton frowned at that. ‘Rumor has it that you were wounded.’
‘I was, but not badly. And the injuries are healing well.’ She rocked forward slightly. ‘Well. Thanks for checking on me.’
‘The Rabid . . . it wasn’t Michael?’ asked Claris.
‘No, it definitely wasn’t Michael.’ Emberlyn knew that for certain, because the Rabid had lacked the three claw scars on his cheek that her ex-mate sported. ‘You two take care.’
Bypassing them, she pushed open the lawyer’s office door and stepped into the waiting room. Her gaze immediately slid to the male sitting on a plush chair near the reception desk.
Ripper.
She halted in surprise. Her feminine parts responded in a very predictable fashion – waving and smiling seductively.
Would she ever be able to truly prepare herself for the impact of him? Doubtful. One piercing look from those eyes and her thoughts got scrambled.
At the mahogany desk, one of her favorite customers lifted her head and smiled brightly. ‘Emberlyn, good morning. Mr Robbins said you’d be stopping by.’ Laine stood upright. ‘I’ll let him know you’re here. Take a seat.’
‘Thanks, Laine,’ said Emberlyn.
As the female werewolf disappeared down a hallway to the left of her desk, Emberlyn returned her attention to Ripper. Her heels clicked along the glossy wooden floor as she made her way to the chair beside his.
‘Figured the lawyer probably called you as well,’ he said in that gravelly voice that grazed her nerve-endings in the best way.
She sat down. ‘He asked to speak with you, too?’
‘Makes sense. Your family wants my land, not just your home. How’s your shoulder and leg?’
‘Healing well.’
‘No side effects from the antivenom?’
‘None,’ she replied, glancing around. The waiting room was all crème paint and mahogany wood. A few framed generic pictures hung on the walls. A water cooler was positioned in the corner while a plant stood in the one opposite.
‘You ever had to use it before?’ He hooked his arm over the back of her chair.
Her pulse jumped, because it wasn’t only a protective display; he was essentially eating into her personal space like it was nothing. Ballsy bastard. ‘Only once.’