Page 59 of Lawless
"I got you, boy," he murmured, placing kisses on the dog's forehead. Hades' tongue darted out to lick his master in response.
With my patient distracted, I reached into the open wound with my bare hand, grabbed the edge of shrapnel that I felt earlier, and pulled.
A stream of blood and Hades' panicked kicking and howling followed. I placed Reaper's shirt over the would and pressed down.
"Shh, shh," Reaper closed his muzzle again, resting his forehead on Hades. "I'm sorry, boy. I'm so sorry."
The bleeding thankfully slowed after a few minutes. I tore Reaper's shirt in half then wrapped it tightly over Hades’ thigh and tied it off.
"He's stable for now," I sighed exhaustedly. "But he needs actual medical treatment within a few hours. The sooner the better."
"He's not crying anymore." Reaper almost seemed to forget I was there. His eyes were glued to his dog's face in his lap.
"He's in shock," I explained. "The body does that for pain management sometimes, but he might not respond to you."
When Reaper looked up, it felt like he was seeing me for the first time since we met in this ravine.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." I began washing the blood off my hands in the water.
"I mean it." He gently slid Hades' head off his lap and joined me in the water. "Not everyone understands it but he's my best friend. If I lost him, I—“
My fingers drifted to the dried blood at his temple. "Will you let me check your head now?"
He smirked and splashed his face with water. "I suppose."
While checking his head and neck for any bumps or swelling, I ran my fingers through his rich brown hair more than I cared to admit. He washed his face and hands in the water and I felt like a pervert watching it stream down his naked chest and back.
"You're cold," he murmured, running a hand up my arm.
"Hmm?"
"You're covered in gooseflesh." He looked up. The sun was no longer directly over us and the sliver of bright light had all but faded. "The temperature's dropping fast."
He was right, and the freezing cold water didn't help. Except for where his hand still rested on the back of my arm, I was shivering. I wanted to lean into that touch, to lean intohimlike a cozy blanket.
"Your head seems okay," I mumbled distractedly. "Just a few bumps."
"Great," he scoffed. "So I have the same winning personality for you to deal with."
"W-why..." My teeth chattered as I hugged myself, shaking like a leaf. "Why is it suddenly so cold down here?"
"You're barely wearing any clothes, for one thing," his eyes flickered over my bikini. "And the sun never fully touches everything inside these little canyons like it does the surface. So when night falls and it cools down, it gets way colder down here."
"Is it night already?"
"Getting there. Probably close to dusk now." His hand slid from my arm down to my fingers. "Come here."
"What?"
"Just come here." One tug on my hand sent me careening into his chest. Hisnakedchest. Pressing against mynearlynaked chest.
My heart pounded like crazy and I hated that he most likely felt it. I felt his own heartbeat, calm and steady as he wrapped both arms around my back, rubbing warmth into me from his rough palms.
"I can't be having you save Hades and then let you go by freezing to death," he mumbled into my hair. "Just relax. We'll all make it out of here."
I relented, letting my head drop to his shoulder. He was a warm, solid wall as my body slumped against him. His arms felt like a blanket around me—not only warm but secure. Solid. As if nothing in the world could reach me in this protected space.
