Chapter 20
Grim
I open my eyes and frown when I see blue skies. I’m outside. My attention is diverted by pain in my side. It’s a dull ache, nothing crazy.
My mouth is as dry as desert sand, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. And my cock is hard as fucking steel, jutting up from my body like a damned flagpole.
What the hell?
I blink against the light filtering through…trees? We’re in some kind of forest clearing. I try to piece together what happened, but my brain feels foggy. It’s hard to think with that delicious scent all around me.
There’s something warm pressed against my side. I turn my head and freeze because Wren is curled up against me, her arms wrapped around my torso. She’s in a white cotton bra and her jeans. Nothing else. Her blouse is…gone?
My eyes lock onto what I can see of her chest, and I forget how to breathe. Her bra is straining against her soft breasts, which are mashed up against me. My cock twitches, and I suppress a groan.
This is not happening. This cannot be happening.
She smells like heaven. I try to remember how we got here, but all I get are fragments. Did we fuck? I don’t smell the musky scent of sex.
My balls ache. Nope, they’re full. I feel a pulling in my lower belly with the need to release. I want to wake her up, put her on her knees, and fuck her hard. I want it so badly I ache with the need.
No! Shit! No!
I can’t think like that.
Not after all she’s been through. Not after…
The memories slam back into place. I sit upright on a roar, my side pulling tight with pain that makes my vision blur for a second before it dies back down.
Wren jolts awake with a gasp. She moves away from me; her eyes are wide and confused for a moment before clarity hits.
I’m such an asshole because I can’t help but look at her breasts. At her dark nipples, easy to see through the white cotton.
Fuck!
My dick twitches again, and her gaze drops. Her mouth falls open. Just for a few seconds. Then she snaps it shut, her face going bright red. Her eyes stay firmly on my dick.
I put a hand over myself, and she looks up at me. I do it more for her than for me.
“I see you’re feeling better. At least you look like you are,” she says. “I hope so.”
I nod. “Yes, much… Sorry about…um…”
“It’s fine.” She waves a hand. Her face morphs into a picture of concern, her eyes lifting to meet mine. “You do know that you were shot.”
She points at my side, where her blouse is crumpled up against my wound.
I pull it away, and she gasps.
“Your wound is already closing,” she whispers, staring at the reddened, raised area. “It was a gaping hole a few hours ago. I did find it strange that you weren’t bleeding badly. Just a little.”
“We heal quickly,” I tell her.
“I know that, but it’s always a shock to see it first-hand.”
There isn’t much blood on the blouse. Just a small patch, already dried.
I offer it to her, praying she takes it and puts it on.
My dick won’t go down otherwise. I need it to go down already.
I can’t stop myself from looking at her plump, soft-looking tits, even though this is absolutely not the right time for such things.
Wren takes the shirt, and instead of putting it on, she bursts into tears.
Yep. That will do it.
My erection dies instantly as she sobs louder, her whole body shaking.
I stand there, not sure what to do.
“She’s dead,” Wren says, her voice breaking on each word. “They killed her. They just…they just shot her. Poor Sally. She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t.”
I watch her for a moment, feeling completely useless. Then I go to her and put my arms around her.
Wren falls into me, sobbing against my chest.
“I thought you were going to die too,” she gasps between sobs. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I thought I would put pressure on the wound and use my body to keep you warm. It’s all I could do. I really thought I had lost you both.”
I rub my hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her.
“It would take a lot more than that to kill me.” I sigh. “I’m so sorry about Sally.”
Wren starts crying all over again, holding onto me like I’m the only solid thing in her world.
“She was a really good person,” I say, and I mean it. Sally was always kind to me, even when I was being an asshole.
Wren pulls back, her face wet with tears. “She was the best. We were really good friends.”
“I wish I had let her call her husband,” I mutter.
“No.” Wren shakes her head. “You were right to dissuade her from doing that. They might check my phone log…all of our phone logs.” She pulls away from me completely. “I’m so angry with myself.” Her eyes darken with emotion.
“Why? You couldn’t have done anything. If we had stayed, if I hadn’t shifted, we would be dead too. You can’t blame yourself, Wren.”
“I don’t blame myself for what happened.
” Her eyes blaze. “I blame them. I only wish I knew who ‘them’ were. I’m so damned angry I dropped my cell phone.
I had video footage of everything that happened.
I recorded them killing the anti-vaxxers.
Shooting Sally, even though she clearly wasn’t a threat.
” Her face crumples, and more tears roll down her cheeks.
“But I let my phone go when you grabbed me. It fell.” She makes a noise of utter frustration. “If only I’d held onto it.”
“Hey.” I close the distance between us. “That isn’t your fault either. I had to get us out of there. It had to be quick. You could blame me for being too rough.”
She shakes her head. “No, that would be wrong.”
“Blaming yourself for dropping the phone is wrong, too.”
“I guess so.” She sighs. “It slid under the corner cabinet. I’m sure they’ll find it. It’s probably broken anyway. It fell quite hard. I only wish…” She groans.
“Stop beating yourself up. You never know; they might not find it. Right now, it doesn’t matter. It’s done. We can’t change or undo what has already happened. We need to move forward, Wren.”
She nods, swallowing thickly. “You’re right.” Her lip wobbles, but she bites down on it.
“We have to try to get to shelter and find somewhere to hole up for the night. Somewhere safe. Somewhere they wouldn’t look for us. I figure we still have a few hours of daylight. Once we have some food in our bellies, we can plan our next move.”
“We have to stay alive, Grim.” Wren looks determined again, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t do something to me. Makes something stir inside me, even though it terrifies me. My dragon wants her. He likes her. He tried hard to mind-bond with her…twice.
Thank fuck it didn’t work. It nearly did. So very nearly.
“We have to expose those bastards, whoever they are. We have to go and see Sally’s family and let them know that she was thinking of them. That she loved them.” Another tear tracks down her cheek.
“We will,” I tell her. “We’ll find a way. We should go now. I would prefer not to be out in the jungle at night.”
She nods and then, thank fuck, she puts the blouse on. The one that carries my scent. My dragon approves way too much. The bastard can go to hell.
We start walking. I pick a direction based on the position of the setting sun and the lay of the land.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asks.
“Yes. At least, I think I do.”
“You think so?”
“I’m pretty sure I know where we are.” I look up at the sky.
“Pretty sure.” She chokes out a laugh that sounds like it might turn into a sob at any second.
“I’m sure, Wren.”
I take her hand and squeeze. My dragon likes it so much that I drop it immediately. We’re just friends. I can’t give her more, and I refuse to hurt her. That means keeping things strictly and clearly aboveboard at all times.