“You will need to read this to me. First one for our book club,” he said.
She snatched it out of his hands, her cheeks on fire.
He only smiled and walked away, whistling, leaving her flustered, clutching the book like a shield.
The next day when he took her to the hospital to get her slab off, he didn’t just hover.
He loomed over the poor sweating resident.
Then, he paced like some silent, restless storm system when she lost her temper and exiled him to the waiting room. When nurses looked up, they gave him wide berths and pretended to be busy. No one asked questions.
Her arm was thinner and paler. The bruises were fading, the swelling around her ribs better. The pulmonologist was pleased with her progress.
But she still felt fragile. A little…translucent.
Back in the car, she flexed her fingers, watching the faint ghost of where the cast had sat. “At least it’s still in one piece,” she muttered.
“Barely,” Thane said beside her. He seemed disturbed. He didn’t like to be reminded of how he had almost lost her. Hisfingers reached up to brush her hair back from her face. The touch was soft. She didn’t pull away.
Later that day, she had her first solo bath.
She’d insisted.
He’d hesitated but reluctantly nodded.
She’d locked the door behind her, shutting out the noise, the attention, the relentless orbit of his concern.
The water was warm and comforting.
She soaked until her skin wrinkled, until the stress of the day at the hospital faded away. But when she finally stood, bare and dripping, she heard the soft creak of the door.
She didn’t need to turn around.
She slowly reached for a towel, heart pounding with something that had nothing to do with fear.
And when she opened the cubicle door…
There he was.
Leaning in the doorway, watching her.
His eyes flicked down, then returned to hers.
And he wrapped her in the towel, then dried her hair with the one in her hands.
“Too soon.” he said.
Chapter 39
The chime of the bell announced their arrival.
Though they had never met, Faolan remembered their faces like it was yesterday. Over the years, there had been times when curiosity got the better of her. They were not on social media, but as a police officer, she had ways to keep track of their lives.
But looking on from a distance and looking into their eyes were two very different things.
Faolan was curled into the corner of the oversized armchair, her bare feet tucked under her, her hand absently stroking the edge of a throw blanket. The book lay open across her lap, her thumb holding the pages in place as she reread the same paragraph for the third time. Thane, who had been lounging against the doorframe leading to the hall, stood taller the moment the door opened, as though guarding his territory. Six-foot-three of silent threat, broad and coiled, with that now-familiar stillness he wore like a second skin. They were his brothers, but Faolan was…more.
Zel prowled in first. He was as tall as Thane with his blonde hair tamed, not a hair out of place. Thane had mentioned he was the strategist of the team…liked everything just so. He was built like a boxer, with broad shoulders made for impact and eyes such a pale shade of brown, they were almost yellow. Eagle-eyes swept over Faolan, softened and stayed. He didn’t say much, just nodded once jerkily before making himself comfortable on the sofa. Faolan knew that when he spoke, people listened. And he rarely spoke.
