Closing his eyes, he focused on the softness of Desideria’s hands as she bandaged him and let that soothe him as much as it could. He still couldn’t believe that she’d come back for him. Most people lacked that honor and decency.
Hell, most of the “friends” he’d had in his life would have tied him up while he was wounded and stolen his wallet before they left him for the Enforcers to find.
But she’d come back…
Like an angel.
She took the water from him long enough to wet a cloth that she then used to clean his face. Her hand was so cool and soft against his skin that before he realized what he was doing, he captured it and kissed her knuckles.
Desideria froze at the sensation of his lips on her flesh. No one had ever been so tender with her. The feathery touch made her stomach contract sharply. Her gaze locked with his and for a moment she forgot everything except for the beauty of his real eyes, the sensation of her hand in his. Without thinking, she touched his soft lips with her fingertip. They were the only part of him that wasn’t rock hard. And before she realized what she was doing, she dipped her head down to taste them.
Caillen sucked his breath in sharply at the unexpected kiss. Damn, if he didn’t hurt so badly, he’d take advantage of this fire. But right now, he could barely breathe. Still the heat of that kiss seared him. What she lacked in experience, she more than made up for in enthusiasm and it sent a wave of pleasure through him that eased the pain.
At least for a few heartbeats.
Desideria pulled back as she came to her senses and realized what she was doing.
I’m kissing a man. And she wasn’t allowed to do that. Not yet…
Her mother would kill her if she learned of this. Worse, she’d have to wait an additional year before she could take a consort. Qillaq beliefs were that if a woman couldn’t control her lust, then she wasn’t mature enough to handle a lover. What she’d just done would shame her mother and herself.
Heat flooded her face. “Sorry.”
His cocky grin was adorable for once. “Don’t be,” he whispered. “It’s the best thing that’s happened to me all month. Feel free to fall against my lips anytime you get the urge.”
She shook her head at him. “You’re awful.”
Caillen cupped her cheek in his hand. “Rotten to my core.”
He was also charming in a most devastating way. “Just how many women have you seduced anyway?”
He shrugged, then grimaced sharply. “I don’t count because it doesn’t matter.”
Now that offended her. What a callous pig! “How can you say it doesn’t matter?”
“Because it was never the right one.”
Those words gave her pause. Could he be less piggish than she thought? Was it possible there really was a gentleman hiding under those layers of heartless rogue? “What do you mean?”
“Mmm,” he breathed. “Pain meds are kicking in with a vengeance. Yeah, I almost feel semi human again.”
She turned his head until he was looking at her. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Simple.” His words were slurred now. “If there’s a selfish bitch to be had, I gravitate straight for her. Women only want to use me, own me or kill me. Not once has a woman ever wanted to keep me.” Then he closed his eyes and passed out again.
Those words and the heartfelt emotion she’d heard behind them touched something deep inside her. It made her wonder what the women in his life had done to him to make him feel that way. Of course, her experience with women was similar. The women around her had been petty, judgmental, cutting and jealous. They thought by tearing others down that it elevated them. They were wrong, but it didn’t stop them from it.
She had no real experience with men. Except her dad and she’d loved him like no one else. He’d been the only person in her life who’d ever accepted her as she was. He’d never judged her or even criticized her.
Caillen was nothing like her father, but in some ways he did remind her of her dad. The way he was dependable and caring—willing to sacrifice himself for others.
She frowned at the bloody rag lying beside him. “You are such a mess.”
What if he died?
Desideria refused to think about that and the foreign ache it caused. She couldn’t afford to. As she began putting things back into the pack, she found a small laptop.
What the…? Why hadn’t he used it? Or at least mentioned that he had one?
She opened it to turn it on, then thought better of it. If the Andarions were electronically sweeping the area they’d hone in on the signal. That was probably why Caillen hadn’t used it before now. He was too much of a survivalist to allow something like this to go unused unless there was a good reason for it.
You’re completely cut off.