“Kitty, we’re here.” I sat next to her on the bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling, hands limp at her sides. I picked one up and cradled it to my chest. I could feel fear pouring off of her, and everything in me ached.
Galen sat next to me and shifted. I gasped in horror. If she was bad now, what was this going to do? Thankfully, nothing changed for the worse.
“I can heal her. The magic will help her, going forward. The first time is always the hardest for a human.” His voice had a strange, resonant quality to it in his half-dragon form. He rested his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. A soft, greenish glow began to radiate from Kitty’s body. She twitched a little, then focus returned to her eyes.
She gazed up at Galen, more curious than afraid. “One of your lads, Sia?” she whispered.
“Kitty, this is Galen.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s a friend.”
She looked at me, then back to him. “A friend, huh? About time you made more of those.”
Tears flooded my eyes as relief washed the tension out of my body. That was my Kitty. Galen rested a taloned hand on mine, then shifted to his human form. It was a strange sensation, feeling the scales shimmer away, replaced by the firm muscular shoulder and soft t-shirt, but I wasn’t paying attention to that. I had Kitty back.
“We trashed the bar again.” My voice was wracked with guilt. The pub was the least of my worries, but it was still a worry.
“No mind. We’ll clean.” Her voice was tired. “Do I need to call Kiernan?”
“No need, ma’am. We’ll take care of this one.” Galen tapped his earpiece. “Aric, did you hear that?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m on it. Relax.” I simultaneously wanted to punch him and hug him. Kiernan Donovan would not get his second favor tonight.
“Cleanup crew is on its way. You should rest.” Galen pulled my blanket over Kitty.
“Rest. Yeah.” Her voice was faint, absent. A moment later, she was asleep.
I looked at Galen in panic. “Is she…?”
“First contact takes a lot out of a human. She would have been catatonic for at least a day if I hadn’t healed her. She’s just very tired now.” His hand caressed mine. “She’ll be fine in the morning.”
With that settled, I was suddenly acutely aware of his hand on mine. His strong fingers traced along the fine bones in my hand. I swallowed hard. Tiny shivers ran up and down my spine, tingling through my core. It was getting very warm in here.
“Uhh…” I managed. First contact takes a lot out of a Sia. I pulled my hand back. He looked regretful. “Thank you. For saving her. For protecting me.”
“It’s what we’re here for.” He smiled at me, warm and inviting. Those lips. Now more than ever, I just wanted to melt into his arms and find out what those lips could do. “We want to do whatever we can to help you.”
“Right.” Just business. I started to look away.
I felt his hand on mine, resting in my lap. “I want to do whatever I can to help you. And those you love.” Our eyes met, and I fell deep into his smoldering dark gaze. “Anything. Just say the word.”
Before I knew I was doing it, I leaned forward and kissed him. My heart hammered in my chest as his arm slipped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. His lips caressed mine, soft and warm, sending heat spreading through my entire body and pooling between my legs. Gently, his lips parted mine, and he deepened the kiss with a softly probing tongue. I squeaked softly at the intrusion, but didn’t resist. His tongue caressed mine. My breath caught as I sank into his arms, letting him cradle me to his powerful chest. I squeezed his hand, and he pulled my arm around his waist. My fingers clutched at him, my fingertips digging into the soft fabric of his shirt and tracing along the firm musculature of his lower back.
My body ached for more. I wanted to crawl into his lap, to wrap my legs around him and dive deeper into this glorious kiss. I pressed myself against him, hungry and full of desire.
A snore brought me back to my senses.
I pulled back with a jolt and looked next to me on the bed. Kitty had rolled onto her side, and was snoring like a chainsaw on idle. I sat there, panting, afraid to look at Galen. What happens now? What do you do after you make out with someone?
“Cleanup crew’s here.” Saved by Aric.
Galen cleared his throat. I looked at him at last. He was studying me with eyes dark with desire. He tapped his earpiece. “I’ll be out in a moment.”
I studied my hands for a moment. “I, um…that was…”
“Yes, it was.” His voice was half-growl, half-purr. It was very hard not to pounce him again.
“Do you need help, um, cleaning up?” My stomach flipped at the thought of handling corpses, but there were a lot of chairs and scorch marks to flip over and buff out. I heard strange voices outside.
“Don’t worry, new kid… we’ve got it covered.” He gave me a gentle punch in the shoulder.
I tensed. “Don’t call me that.”
He froze. “What? New…”
“That. Yes.” I tried to shrug it off, but the tension remained. “Bad associations.”
He rested a hand on mine. “I’m listening.”
I studied his face. Remorse, mingled with concern.
I spilled it before I could rethink it. “My first foster home. I was four. The woman who ran it had a lot of kids running around, and she couldn’t be bothered to learn how to pronounce Arysia. Didn’t think to call me by a nickname or anything. She just called me ‘new kid.’ She called me it so much, I thought it was really my name. When my social worker found out, I got moved to a new home.” I sighed. “The new home was the crazy bitch who beat me.” My eyes locked on a ball of fluff on my blanket. I picked at it idly. “I’ve got some damage. Sorry.”
A finger crooked under my chin and tipped my face back up. “You survived a lot of horrible things, and you came out a strong person. Don’t you dare apologize.” His lips brushed my forehead. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” I felt his lips smile. “I’d rather make better ones.”
I laughed softly. “Mission accomplished.”
“Well, good.” He rested his forehead against mine and brushed back a lock of my hair. “If I could, I would take away all of that pain.”
I shrugged. The contact felt good. Right. Like we were meant to be there, pressed together just like that. “If I didn’t have that pain, I wouldn’t be me.”
“I like you.”
My heart did a flip. “I like you too,” I whispered.
“And I’d like you to come out and help me figure out where the hell these tables are supposed to be.” Aric’s voice was considerably less welcome this time.
Galen gave a start, then looked at my ear. He reached over where he’d tucked my hair back and tapped the earpiece with his middle finger. “Dickhead,” he muttered.
“Why do you guys hang out with him?” I growled.
Galen sighed. “He was assigned to our group as a coordinator and surveillance operative. I’ve been trying to kill him with kindness, but sometimes it feels like throttling him might be the way to go.”
I snorted. Kitty murmured something in her sleep, then returned to snoring.
“Let’s go.” I stood up. “We should let her sleep.”
“You can crash with us tonight,” Galen said. I felt my eyes grow to twice their normal size. My pulse raced. I was still wet from our kiss, but there was no way I was ready for… “There are spare rooms aplenty at the mansion.” Whew.
“That might be for the best.” I grabbed my backpack and stuffed a change of clothes into it. “Let’s go before Aric gets snippier.”