Page 209 of Kingdoms of Night

And accept his offer for safety.

My arms shook as I forced myself up off the ground. A slight groan left my mouth when I finally found my footing, my shins and knees screaming at me for scraping them up so badly.

And that groan turned into a sharp gasp when I found Jonas leaning against a tree, watching me.

Naked.

Of course he was naked. He’d been naked on top of me, like, five minutes ago. I was still naked, too.

But he didn’t seem to be interested in my nudity. His gaze was on my legs, taking in my battle wounds from the stream.

He was still aroused—as was I—however, he made no move to walk toward me.

“Have you decided to stay here or go back to the cabin?” he asked, his tone giving nothing away.

“C-cabin,” I stammered.

He nodded. “Good choice.”

He pushed off the tree, but rather than come toward me, he started in the direction of the cabin.

I frowned at his back. He’d definitely been gone when I’d looked up before. Had he returned when he’d heard me fall? Why hadn’t he helped me out of the stream?

Probably because he thought I’d deserved that trip over my own feet.

Which, yeah, after the way I’d spoken to him, I probably had.

Actually, I probably deserved a lot worse for the way I’d treated him thus far. I’d never been particularly kind to him. But it wasn’t because I disliked him. I just… I didn’t want him to know about me being an Omega because I knew he’d take away my choice and claim me.

Although, he’d proved me wrong when he’d walked away without a backward glance.

Except then he’d returned… just to leave me again.

This time, I started after him, his name on my tongue.

Only for my fucking toe to get snagged on a tree root.

My palms immediately moved to protect my upper body, but they didn’t reach the ground. They landed against Jonas’s hips instead as he caught me.

With my face nearly meeting his groin.

I jumped backward, only to hit the same damn root.

Jonas grabbed my waist and pulled me against him, his eyebrows flying upward. “Have you forgotten how to properly move on two feet, Doctor?”

I huffed out a breath. “Apparently.”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “Then maybe you should shift.”

“I can’t,” I mumbled. “It’ll use up the rest of my energy and probably send me into an immediate heat.”

He stared down at me for a long minute. “Do you need me to carry you?” His tone suggested it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Which, of course, had me wanting to agree just to piss him off.

However, I swallowed the urge and shook my head. “I can walk. Just… slowly.”

He studied me for another beat, then released me.

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