Page 22 of The Predator
I fall against the pillow and breathe.
"A little nausea?" the man asks, but he's already adding something to a fluid bag hanging over my head. A bag hanging off the banister of a big, cushy bed.
It takes a second, but more filters in. This is Sebastian's bed. The place I walked away from, and now nothing will be the same again.
Why couldn't I have stayed in bed? None of this...
More comes back to me, Sebastian shooting his grandfather… Was that a dream?... No, a memory. Yanov and his hands on my skin, then his blood. I cover my mouth to stifle a sob.Yanov. I killed him.How? How could I have killed him?Me.I'm not Sebastian. I'm not a killer.
The man comes around and tugs on my hand, and I spot the IV sticking out the top of it. "Just keep this down please, so we can continue to give you the fluids you need."
His voice hits something inside me and I remember. The man who helped me after I was shot, the doctor who came to check on me multiple times while I was recovering.
"Dr. Brooks, right?"
He gives me a soft smile and then tucks it away again like a secret. "You've got it. I knew you were just a little disoriented. You did bump your head, which is something we need to keep an eye on with your other amnesia episodes."
I gulp.Shit. Is he going to ask?Should I tell him I remember more about that night? What will Sebastian do to me when he knows I know his secret? Instead of telling him, I stay quiet and stare down at my body. Nothing hurts, but everything feels...achy. I'm clean, though, which is altogether more disconcerting.
"Did…did you bathe me?"
He shakes his head, focusing his attention on the tablet in his hands. "Oh no, your...Sebastian, he's the one who bathed and dressed you. He’d much rather rip another man’s eyes out then let them see you naked. He’s a bit territorial.”
Speak of the devil.
I flinch as Sebastian enters the room almost silently, like a predator waiting to collect its next meal. He stops at the end of the bed, and I avert my gaze, trying to look anywhere but at him. Even so, there is no denying the pull he has on me. I’m not immune to his charm or good looks. He’s attractive, always has been. Even now, dressed in neatly-pressed black slacks, his sandy blonde hair still damp from a recent shower—all I see is the man who saved me, a man who stirs life back into me every time his lips touch mine.
Stupid. So stupid.The only flaw in his beautiful exterior is the red, rough patches marring his knuckles. I know I shouldn’t look at him, that it’s stupid, but I guess I’m a glutton for punishment, because it's exactly what I do.
The devil stands before me. How was I ever dumb enough to fall in love with him? He stalks to the opposite side of the bed to stand next to the doctor.He’s too close.I scoot back against the pillows, but there’s nowhere for me to escape. My movements are slow, my muscles achey and tense. Every twitch takes a million years.
The feeling is all too familiar and I turn my attention to the doctor. "Did you give me a sedative?"
He nods sharply, not even looking at me. "Of course; you need your rest."
I look away, and my gaze catches on Sebastian’s. Narrowing my eyes, I cast an icy glare at him. This makes the corner of his full sensual mouth twist up. "There's my little prey. How are you feeling?"
I want to tell him to take a hike off a cliff, but I can’t make the words come out. Instead I flinch away from his touch and try to keep as much distance between us as I can.
"Not in the mood to talk, that's okay." He perches himself on the edge of the bed and then grabs the blanket covering my lower body. With the flick of his wrists, he tugs it away. A blast of cool air caresses my bare thighs, knees, and feet.
Stupidly, I let my gaze wander, and it’s then I notice all the bruises, and cuts across every inch of my bare skin.Shit.An onslaught of memories slams into me.
Yanov and his fists, his anger.The night in the woods with Sebastian, that felt like, for once in my life, I was exactly where I was supposed to be. A vision of Tanya straddling Sebastian, whispering something in his ear.
Something about a baby.
My stomach rolls, and I turn my head to the side, sucking a few breaths in through my nose. I think I might throw up. The nausea slowly eases, and when I turn my attention back to the doctor I find Sebastian handing him a syringe.
I glance between them, waiting for someone to let me in on the secret. The secret involving me, apparently, and whatever is in that damn shot.
"What is that?"
Sebastian tilts my chin up gently, oh so gently, forcing me to face him. "Nothing for you to worry about, Ely. Just another precaution to ensure I keep you safe.”
His response makes no sense to me. What could possibly be in that shot that would make it so he can ensure my safety better? I look back at the doctor to see if he can give any insight, but he’s too busy glaring at Sebastian to notice.
“Don’t look at me like that. If you don’t want to do it, then move out of the way and I’ll do it myself.” Sebastian growls, and I shiver at the sound of his deep baritone voice.