Chapter 49
It hurt like hell but Cyrus wasn’t about to let on. He’d turned down the offer of anaesthetic in case it took the edge off his instincts but now he was having second thoughts as the needle poked like a Thirster fang through the flesh.
The Scorpio tail had cut almost to the bone. He could tell by Evie’s queasy expression that it wasn’t a pretty sight, so he kept his eyes on her instead because she was. She noticed and gave him what he guessed was aiming to be a reassuring smile.
‘How’d you do this to yourself?’ the nurse asked.
‘Accident with a hedge strimmer,’ he said through a clenched jaw.
‘Well, next time you need to be more careful,’ the nurse giggled.
Evie rolled her eyes. Hmm, was she jealous? Cyrus smiled at the nurse, who got flustered and jabbed the needle into the open wound, skewering what felt like a nerve.
He suppressed the scream just barely.
‘It looks like you and your girlfriend have been in the wars,’ the nurse said, nodding at Evie whose bruised neck was clearly on display, despite her attempts to camouflage it with her hair.
‘Like you wouldn’t believe,’ Cyrus answered, exchanging a glance with Evie as the nurse placed a gauze bandage over his arm.
When she was done, she picked up her tray of bloodied cotton and implements and walked to the door. ‘If you pop your shirt back on and come to the desk we’ll deal with the paperwork.’
Cyrus jumped down off the bed and crossed towards Evie, leaning past her for his T-shirt, which was slung over the back of the chair and taking care to brush against her. He felt the way she jumped and smiled to himself. Even covered in blood, with a bandaged arm, he still had it. And they still had a spark. There was definitely something between them. He just needed her to focus on the present and the future and take her eyes off the past.
He pulled the stupid Klimt T-shirt on awkwardly, trying not to move his arm. He didn’t want Evie to guess how much it was hurting nor see how worried he was about what this might mean for the odds. He wasn’t going to be up to strength by tonight. Hell, he wouldn’t be up to strength for at least a fortnight. But there was no point worrying the others about it.
When he glanced at Evie he saw her eyes were fixed on his other arm. He turned it around and stared at the tattoo on the inside of his wrist. ‘An owl,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Yet another mystery. Of all the scary badass creatures out there to choose from, I chose an owl. What was that all about?’
Evie smiled. ‘It’s a night hunter. It portends death. You told me that once.’
Cyrus looked up at her, his eyes dancing. ‘I did? Huh, well there you go. That’s pretty badass I guess.’
They walked to the door. Evie moved to open it but, before she could, Cyrus put his hand over hers, holding it in place on the door handle. They were pressed chest to chest and her lips were dangerously, tantalisingly, close.
She wasn’t trying to pull away, he thought with relief. Her breathing had hitched a fraction and her gaze had slipped to his lips.
‘I know you loved him,’ he said. ‘But I think you have feelings for me too.’
She opened her mouth ready to protest. ‘I …’ she stammered.
‘Shhh’, he put a finger against her lips, cutting off whatever she was about to say.
‘I just want you to know that I’ll wait until you’re ready.’
He paused, watching as his words hit home.
‘You’ll wait?’ she asked, frowning at him.
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you’re worth waiting for.’
She swallowed, her gaze falling once again to his lips. She was thinking about it. He knew she was and he held himself back. He wasn’t going to kiss her, not until he knew she was his. Completely his.
Finally, after what felt like minutes, she spoke, the words almost incoherent, mumbled to the floor. ‘I’m not promising anything, Cyrus.’
He let go of her hand and gently stroked back a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.
‘That’s OK,’ he said. ‘I’m not asking you to, yet.’