Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Still struggling with his anger, Bear let his wife be for a little while. He hadn’t felt this protective of a woman in years. He told himself he had to regain control and tried to turn his mind to other things as the hovercoach took them home.
He took the opportunity to call and let the Karpsian officials know that he would have to resume the negotiations tomorrow, since he’d had a family emergency. He hoped they wouldn’t be too offended, but right now, his wife came first for him—he had to be sure she was all right before he could even think of going back to the bargaining table.
It didn’t occur to him that he was thinking of her so possessively and putting her above his mission—he only knew that he wanted to help and heal her and keep her safe.
It never crossed his mind that he might be falling in love.
28
ALEENA
Aleena was silent all the way home—there was nothing she could say to mitigate the situation and she was certain talking would only make it worse. She sent her mother a message apologizing and telling her she couldn’t get the money today but maybe they could do the treatment tomorrow. That was, if she was allowed to keep the twenty-five thousand credits she’d gotten from the Lucky Leaf, which she still had—by some miracle—in a pocket of her skirt.
More than likely, though, her husband would take the credits and turn her out with nothing. He would be well within his rights—she had broken so many rules it seemed impossible that he would do anything else.
For his part, Bear was silent as well. He had attempted to reassure her earlier, but Aleena was certain once he knew the whole story he would be angry and probably want to disavow her on the spot. By the time the hovercoach pulled up to the front door of their stylish new house, neither of them had said a word to each other.
Aleena started to get down but Bear came around to her side and lifted her into his arms.
“Please, my Lord Husband—I can walk,” she protested in a low voice. “I…do not deserve to be carried in your arms.”
“That’s bullshit,” he growled, tightening his grip on her. “You’re my wife—I’ll carry you if I want to.”
“Yes, my Lord Husband,” she murmured and looked down at her hands, not daring to protest any further.
Bear carried her inside and straight up the stairs. Aleena was surprised when he took her into the huge master bathroom and started running a bath in the marble tub. Then he turned to her and started to undress her.
“What…what are you doing, my Lord Husband?” she asked faintly, as he withdrew her breast shield and started working on the fastenings of her skirt.
“I’m going to examine you and then I’m going to bathe you, baby,” he rumbled.
At least his eyes were no longer that scary red color and he seemed much calmer than he had when he’d killed her attacker, she thought. But still—how much angrier would he get when he found out what she’d been doing?
Once she was naked, Bear made her spread her arms and legs. He looked her over carefully, to be sure she wasn’t wounded anywhere.
“Did he hurt you, baby?” he asked softly, looking into her eyes. “Tell me the truth—I’m a doctor too, you know. Not just a diplomat. If he hurt you, I need to know.”
“He didn’t…didn’t change the color of my eyes,” Aleena told him again. “Though he said…” A sob caught in her throat. “Said he was going to right before you…you pulled him off me. But please, my Lord Husband—I didn’t want him to do that to me! I swear I didn’t!”
“Of course, you didn’t—nobody wants to get raped!” Bear shook his head. “But you’re sure he didn’t hurt you?”
Aleena shook her head.
“Other than pulling out some of my hair when he was chasing me, no.” She touched the top of her head and winced—her scalp was still tender.
“All right.” Bear nodded. “Then let’s get you in the bath so you can relax and calm down while you tell me what happened and why you were in that part of town to start with.”
Aleena started shivering again—she couldn’t help it! She was cold and naked and filled with fear.
“Please, my Lord Husband, I don’t…don’t think I can be calm while I tell you,” she said in a shaky voice. “I’m afraid you’ll be angry again.”
Bear took a deep breath and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair.
“Look baby—I know what you saw in the alley was pretty frightening. But you have to understand, it’s just part of my Kindred nature. When we see that the woman we care for is in danger, we go into this state called ‘Rage.’ It’s a physiological response—our bodies become flooded with adrenaline and we just want to kill the person who’s hurting the woman we love.”