Dark Defender by Alexis Morgan Page B

She blushed at the thought of wearing his clothing, but the alternative was unthinkable.
    As much as she would have enjoyed a long soak in the tub to soothe her aches and pains, there wasn’t time. She wasn’t the only one in need of sleep. At least she’d had a decent night’s rest at the hospital; Blake had spent it in a chair. Skewing the water to the hot side of comfortable, she stepped into the shower and let the spray wash away some of the day’s problems.
    The bandages on her arm got soaked in the process, and once she dried off, she carefully pulled them off and checked the stitches underneath. The wounds looked as if they were healing just fine, with no hint of redness.
    All in all, she’d gotten off pretty lightly, considering how close she’d been to the explosion. Her poor father…NO! She was not going to think about him. Not yet. If she allowed even one tear to fall, she might not be able to stop.
    She toweled her hair dry before pulling on Blake’s T-shirt, happy that it came to midthigh on her. Thank goodness he was as tall as he was. Feeling a bit shy, she hesitated before opening the door. When he’d lived in their home, she’d thought nothing of running around in not much more than what she had on.
    But that was then, when he was a teenager and she was in most ways still a little girl. He had always acted older than most of the other boys his age, probably because of the hard times he’d experienced before her father had rescued him. Neither of them had ever told her any details, but she’d done what she’d always done when she had questions—she’d gone to the library to do research. She hadn’t learned much, but it had been enough to give her nightmares for a week.
    But he definitely wasn’t a boy anymore, not with those broad shoulders and powerful muscles. He didn’t have the beefy build of a weight lifter, but more the kind of strength that one often saw in well-trained military or firemen. Somehow, she didn’t think either of those were what he did for a living. He’d hated rules and regulations as a youth, and judging by his actions over the past two days, he still did.
    And he hadn’t wanted to be with her when the police came to interview her in the hospital. Was he afraid of them for some reason? She poked at that idea for a second or two before rejecting it. The idea of Blake being afraid of anyone was absurd. He had good reason to not care for the law in general and she’d already seen him bend more than one rule, but he’d never walk on the wrong side of the law.
    A niggling little voice reminded her that Blake had left twelve years ago; how much could she really know about the man he’d become? Enough to know that he’d keep her safe for the night, and for now, that was enough.
    Stepping out of the bathroom, she braced herself for a fight over which one of them got the bed and which would make do with the chair. But Trahern was already sprawled in the chair, sound asleep. If she tried to move him, it would only start another argument that she’d probably end up losing.
    The cool sheets felt like heaven to her as she snuggled between them, and she turned to better see Blake. The faint light she’d left on softened his features as he slept, making it easier to see the boy she’d known in the hard-edged man he’d become. Clinging to that small familiarity, she let her eyes drift closed and slept.

    Blake frowned. Normally he didn’t mind a raccoon or possum invading his yard, but right now all he wanted to do was sleep. If the creature didn’t quiet down soon, it would find out the hard way what a crack shot Blake was.
    The whimper came again, this time loud enough for him to recognize the sounds of pain and fear. Crap, it was probably an abandoned baby looking for its mother. That was all he needed; another night spent trapping a scared animal and getting it to one of the wildlife rescue shelters.
    After a bit, the noise stopped. Satisfied that mother and child had