Had he died? Was he breathing? Sudden panic swelled inside her as her mind conjured all manner of bad scenarios.
Please don’t be dead. Don’t have bled out. Not while she’d been worried about them when she should have been tending him…
She inched forward to place her hand under his nose so that his breath could tickle her skin.
Thank the gods, he was still alive. That was almost as big a relief as the Andarions leaving the building. And as he lay there sleeping, she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he really was in the faint blue light. How boyish and relaxed.
How completely out of commission he was and how dependent they were on her for their survival…
Yeah, that was a scary prospect.
Caillen, you’re so screwed. She’d never taken care of anyone before. Not even a pet. Honestly, she was afraid she might kill the poor man out of ignorance. She knew some field medicine, but not much and all of it was in theory. She’d never had to actually use it. It just hadn’t been taught as part of their lessons.
Come on, Desideria, you can do this. Her people prided themselves on their survival abilities. But then survival to them was synonymous with fighting—being able to protect yourself.
Her gaze went to the ragged backpack…
A pack that carried everything a person would ever need to live through just about anything. Curious about its contents, she pulled it to her and opened the worn leather. She paused as she caught an unexpected whiff of Caillen’s scent. Warm and all masculine, it made her heartbeat speed up. She didn’t know why she adored the smell of his skin, but she did. In truth, she’d love nothing better than to bury her face in his neck and just inhale him.
Pushing that disturbing thought aside, she started sorting through the contents of his pack to take inventory in case she needed something before he woke back up. He really did have the most bizarre combination in it. Socks, sunglasses, medicines, dehydrated food and water. Her height="0em">
Prophylactics…
She didn’t even want to think about that one. Well, not entirely true. For some reason, she did have a strange curiosity about what he’d look like naked. What it would feel like to hold him in her arms and have him kiss her like a hungry lover. To have his hair fall forward in his face as he lay on top of her, looking down with that devilish grin of his…
He probably was great in bed.
Oh, what is wrong with me?
Then again, Narcissa would say there was something wrong with her if she didn’t want to have sex with him. That made her feel a little better.
Still…
She was in the middle of a chase. Her enemies could find her any second and if that wasn’t enough reason to keep her thoughts off his body, there was the small matter of him being a prowling rogue who carried prophylactics in his bag, scamming for an easy lay. Definitely not her type of male at all. Not even a little bit. She wanted someone who could be loyal and sweet. Someone dependable to be there when she needed him who could support but never overshadow her.
Someone like her father.
That thought solidified her conviction as she continued to make her way through the pack’s contents which included an obscene amount of small condiment packages.
What in the world? Did one human really need this much sauce or crackers? Really?
All of a sudden, she paused. In the bottom of the pack she found the most amazing thing of all. Something she would have never suspected a man like Caillen to carry.
A small vidframe.
How very strange.
Sitting back on her heels, she turned it on and waited for the photos to load. In the darkness, she flipped through the images that spoke volumes about the man next to her. There was one of a beautiful redheaded woman and a tall dark-haired man standing beside her. They looked so happy and sweet. The love they had for each other as they embraced was more than evident and it was breathtaking.
Both of them were dressed in white for some kind of ceremony she didn’t recognize. The man’s shoulder-length hair framed his handsome, clean-shaven face. His skin was a much darker tone than Caillen’s, more like hers, and his eyes were so black she couldn’t tell where the iris ended and his pupil began. He had two small gold hoops in his left earlobe. The woman’s dress was strapless and as stunning as she was. It fell in light layers around her skinny body and she had white flowers braided into her long hair.
Desideria pressed the play button.
They immediately kissed.