Page 54 of Lost and Stolen Gods
He reached for my arm.
“Don’t touch it. It hurts!”
“I know,” he said. “But I can make it better. Will you let me?”
I choked back a sob and nodded, breathing fast and shallow. “Do it.”
He grasped my shoulder and my arm, looked me straight in the eye and said, “Feel free to scream.”
He did some twist-push motion. My vision whitedout, a scream vibrating in my throat, then the pain was gone. I sagged, sobbing in sweet relief and hating the whole wimpy vibe I was giving off.
“You’ll be fine,” he said. “Dislocated shoulder. Fixed now.”
He glanced over my head before reaching for me again.
I tensed and reared back. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to pick you up,” he bit out.
“Why?”
“Because you’re hurt, and I’m your drohi.”
He scooped me into his arms before I could protest and carried me away. We passed my friends, and I noted the nods that the drohi gave Araz and how he held me tighter in response. It felt…nice. It felt right.
We passed Guru Mihir, who watched us with a hooded expression but didn’t stop us. Across the platform, the main arena, then into the compound we went before I found my voice past the lump of inexplicable emotion in my throat.
“I’m fine you know.”
“Oh, I know that,” he said. “A dislocated shoulder is nothing. The way you screamed, however…best to let them believe you’re more hurt than you are. And that I give a damn.”
My belly filled with ice. “What?”
He dropped me, and I staggered forward, catching myself on the wall.
“What the fuck?”
He looked down his nose at me, the corner of his mouth lifting in a cruel smile. “Oh dear, did you think I cared? Maybe you thought last night meant more than it did.” He took a step forward, and I locked my knees to hold my ground, but it meant tipping my head back to look at him. It meant giving him the high ground and allowing him to make me feel small, not just emotionally but physically, because for a moment I’d actually allowed myself to hope…Fuck…
When I spoke, I was grateful that my voice didn’t tremble. “Last night was a fluke. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“You’re correct. It shouldn’t have. Because you shouldn’t have been in my bed. I told you that I’d punish you if you touched my things.”
“Yeah, that kiss was particularly bad.”
“We both know that’s not true. You enjoyed it, and you will remember it as something you will never, ever, get to experience again.”
“Ditto, big guy.”
He looked at me blankly.
“It means,same to you. Like,you’ll remember it tooand…and never get to…Fuck off.” I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my arm and shoved me against the wall, caging me with his body. He cupped my cheek, his gaze one of deep concern.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked.
I stared at him dumbfounded.
“Leela.” His tone softened. “Does your arm still hurt?”
