“Cas.” She shivered, her gaze heating.
I didn’t stop. It turned me on to see how her body reacted under my touch, but now was not the fucking time. I lowered her arms to her sides. My fingers brushed over the scar tissue forming from the night she broke me free from Max’s captivity. They were healing, butfuck, she was so breakable. And this was only the beginning.
It terrified me.
“Any other pain? Trouble breathing? Tightness?” It was the invisible injuries that often ended us. The ones we didn’t see coming.
“No.”
I nodded.
“See?” Her throat caught on the word; her face turned away from me. “I’m fine.”
I took her chin in between my thumb and forefinger, then tilted her head to all sides as I examined her face,breathedher in. The feel of her skin began to leech the tension from my body.
She searched my face. “Are you?”
No, I was not fine. “You almost died.”
“Not the first time. Won’t be the last.”
“Don’t joke, Leona. Not about this.” My grip on her chin became unyielding. We’d come so far. I remembered when her eyes had lost their luster after her father died. It would kill me if they lost their shine again. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t,” she whispered. “Trust me.”
“It’s not about trusting you,” I replied. It waseveryone elsethat I didn’t trust. It was her stubbornness and her recklessness.
For the last eight years, I thought if she felt the same way I felt for her, it would make my job so much easier. But this was somuch worse. Every scratch on her face was a dagger to my heart. Every choice she made carried so much weight.
“Cas.” My fingers still held her chin as her hands came to my forearm. She pulled me down, lifted herself onto her tiptoes, and pressed a kiss against my lips.
I dropped her chin and cupped her cheeks. “Leona.”
The kiss was gentle. Any more than that, and we’d both be hurting, but desire surged through my body. Ineededto feel that she was okay. She deepened it, pulling me tighter against her. I poured in my devotion, my anger, my fear, and my relief into the kiss. Everything I couldn’t speak, I let hands and lips say on her body instead.
She gasped and then winced, her hand going to her head. The concussion.
“Fuck. Shit. Sorry.” I stepped back from her. What was I thinking? I turned toward the door. “We’ll call Doctor Willow immediately. Wynn!”
The Shadow burst into the room. “Everything all right?”
“I’m fine, Wynn?—”
“Get Willow here as soon as possible,” I demanded, running my hand through my hair. My heartbeat was out of control. I wouldn’t take any chances.
“No.” Leona placed her hand on my chest. “I just need some painkillers for the headache.”
“We’re not arguing about this.” I covered her hand with mine. “You need to get looked at.”
Wynn already had his phone to his ear. Leona pulled away, sulking. Sure, she could be a little brat, but I was not going to budge about this.
The sound of feet rushed down the hallway before Ryuji and Obi ran in the room with concerned expressions. At the sight of Leona in her underwear, they both paused. I moved to blockthe view of her body with my own. Ryuji rolled his eyes, but Obi looked at me and Wynn.
“What’s wrong?” the man asked. He’d schooled his features, but his fingers dug into the doorframe.
“Nothing,” Leona said. She was rifling through the dresser she had claimed.
“She needs to get checked out.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Her head. She’s in pain.”
