Page 101 of Heart of Iron
She felt hot.Most of the time a human’s skin felt cold against his burning heat.Lena always had, her body feeling like cool silk against his.For him to register her skin as hot, she had to be burning up, almost as hot as he himself.
There was only one possible reason for that.
“No,” he whispered, turning her chin to peer at her face.
Faint circles of red shadowed her cheeks.Sweat gleamed on her breasts and stained the sheets beneath her.Will rose up onto his knees, his gaze falling on the bandage around her hand.
He yanked it off, lost to any sense of tenderness.Lena whimpered, her head twisting on the pillow and wet strands of hair sticking to her throat.He almost didn’t want to look, too afraid to know the truth.
Forcing himself, he opened her curled fingers and stared hard at the palm of her hand.
Smooth pale skin.
Not even a hint of a welt.
“No,” he whispered, throwing himself off the bed.Panic churned in his stomach and he raked his hands through his hair, shooting her an incredulous look.
It couldn’t be.He’d been so careful with her.No blood, no sex… And he knew saliva was safe or he’d never have kissed her.
Cold dread spiraled through him.“Lena,” he whispered, crossing to the bed.“Lena?”
She blinked sleepily, wincing as if her head hurt.“Will?”A soft murmur, her head lolling to the side.
Will caught her chin.“You don’t feel well, do you?”
Her pupils looked the size of small marbles.She looked past him, her gaze focusing on nothing.“Just…head aching…”
“How long?”Her eyes started closing again and he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently.“Damn it, Lena.How long have you been feeling poorly?”
Blinking up at him, she caught his hands, her own grip feeble.“Hurts.”
“I know.”He ground his teeth together and let her go.“I’m sorry.How long has it been hurtin’ for?”
“Days?”she whispered, licking at her dry lips.“The morning after you came…to my room.”
Will slumped on the edge of the bed.“Days?”he repeated.What the hell had happened that night?He’d kissed her.Tasted her skin.Her breasts.But nothing else.It had to have been blood, but he couldn’t remember if he’d been bleeding.He was always so careful.“Was I injured?Did you see any blood on me?”
She shook her head, curling back into the pillow as if her body ached.As it no doubt did.“Don’t know.”Cupping her hands over her face, she whimpered.“Hurts.”
He hovered over her uselessly.“I know.”God, how he knew.Joints aching, body burning up, head pounding as if it were fit to split.The insatiable need for water.He stroked her back, light circles to ease the aching he knew she’d be feeling.
“I’ll fetch you some water,” he said, leaning down and kissing her brow.
“Please.”
“Stay here.”His heart hammered in his chest as he fetched her nightgown and laid it over her.Anything more would only chafe her skin.Tugging on the pair of trousers he found strewn over the end of the bed, he eased out of the room and shut the door quietly.
A soft whimper echoed from within, stabbing him hard in the chest.Will leaned back against the door, closing his eyes in despair.
What had he done?
***
The reality of the situation didn’t truly hit him until he’d helped her finish a full jug of water.As Lena collapsed back on the sheets into a feverish sleep, he dragged a clean sheet he’d found over her and stood back, staring at her petite figure.She shivered, her skin clammy to the touch.
Will backed away, swallowing hard.WhathaveIdone?He should never have laid so much as a finger on her.
But years of aching loneliness had their toll.He’d always desired Lena.Too much so.When he first took the letter off her he should have gone straight to Blade.Let him deal with the mess, with Lena’s protection.He’d known how much of a temptation she represented for him.
