Page 49 of A Bond Beyond Blood

“She keeps it—”

“Above the fridge,” Eli finished for Vinny.“Right.”

When I opened my eyes sometime later, Vinny was exactly where he’d been the last time I looked, in the center of my living room, arms crossed as he remained positioned between me and Eli, who was perched beside the Christmas tree, watching me, one elbow propped on the mantle.In his free hand, he swirled whiskey in a rocks glass.

I hadn’t seen him leave the kitchen.I was losing time, which meant I was probably passing out.Great.

Two skilled killers in my house, and I’m over here taking catnaps.

I shifted, trying to take pressure off my right side, but as soon as I moved, I regretted it.Pain lanced through my torso and I hissed in a breath.

“Make yourself useful and get her something for the pain, will you?”Eli’s blue eyes flicked from me to Vinny.“I assume you know where she keeps her medicine.”

Vinny was in front of me in a flash, crouching down between the couch and the coffee table to look into my eyes.“Jacqueline.”His fingertips trailed delicately over the bruising on my cheek and I closed my eyes as I sucked in a breath.Even that feather-soft brush of his fingers resulted in a fresh wave of discomfort.

“Get her something for the pain,”Eli commanded, his voice taking on an edge of authority that snapped my eyes open and jerked Vinny’s shoulders back.

Vinny stood quickly, then strode toward the bedrooms.“Where can I find it?”he called over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hallway.

Frowning, I explained, “There’s ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet in the back bathroom,” then grit my teeth because even that was too much effort.

“You’ll need something stronger,” Eli said.

Forgive me for not having a supply of pharmaceuticals lying around.

Eli's lips twitched.“You’re a delightful little thing, aren’t you?”

When he smirked, heat bloomed low in my belly.Outwardly, however, I rolled my eyes, then squeezed them shut and began repeating the alphabet in my head to keep my thoughts from wandering to anything he might find interesting.

Like the fact that I foundhima bit interesting.

“Too late for that, love.”

I jerked in surprise from his sudden proximity, then whimpered as my body retaliated against that slight movement.Upon opening my eyes, I was met with the intense icy blue of Eli’s irises just inches away from my own.He’d perched on the coffee table directly in front of me.Close.

Tooclose.

Close enough to—

I swallowed hard and chased away my wayward thoughts.

The man’s face was chiseled from stone, each plane beautifully defined.Masculine and sharp, save for those full, dusty rose lips, stark against the pale skin of his face.

“You forgotfeminine,” he teased, taking me back to the moments before our fight when I first realized he could hear my thoughts.Licking those full lips now, he held my gaze, canting his head to the side when my traitorous heart began to race.

Eli winked, then whispered, “If it helps at all,petit colibri, I find you equally fascinating.”

I swallowed hard, hating the way his words and that look in his eyes sent heat racing through my veins, as if I should be attracted to this monster—or worse, preening for his praise.

With a soft chuckle, Eli tapped my chin.“Drink this.”I lifted my head enough not to choke on the alcohol as he brought the tumbler of whiskey to my mouth, then I drank the amber liquid slowly.

“Dreadful stuff, that, but it may help to ease the pain a little.”

I narrowed my eyes but didn’t argue.It’s not like I spent much on booze, so I wasn’t all that offended that what I had on hand didn’t live up to Eli’s standards, the posh asshole.

His eyebrows rose and a smile teased at the edges of his lips.

When I finished the whiskey, he pulled the glass away, then dragged the cool pad of his thumb across my lower lip.My breath caught in my throat, his intimate touch sending an unexpected thrill through my veins, then my eyes widened as he brought his thumb to his mouth and sucked the remnants of alcohol from his skin.A responding pull tightened my groin and Eli smirked, clearly following my thoughts—orworse, scenting the way his actions had stirred my body even while I suffered greatly from the beating he’d delivered only a short while ago.

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