Down & Dirty (Bundle) by Moira Rogers Page B

way of knowing if
Oliver had gotten over here yet,” Jack countered. “You’re good,
Ginny, but you’re only one person.”
    “ I could --” She bit her
tongue. Her arguments were naïve and silly, and all they really
boiled down to was that she didn’t want Jack in danger, no matter
what that meant for her. “Just… sit down and let me look at it, all
right?”
    The soft sound of Hazel’s footsteps drifted
down the hallway, and Jack turned his head to follow the noise.
“Check on Hazel first.”
    Ginny headed her off at the end of the
hallway. “Everything’s fine. Jack’s a little scratched up, that’s
all.”
    Hazel still looked flushed and nervous. “I
don’t feel so good, Ginny. I feel -- not right.”
    “ Hazel.” Jack’s low voice
filled the room, vibrating with the power of an alpha. Hazel’s body
went tense as he continued. “Can you get me a couple of towels from
the bathroom while Ginny checks my arm?”
    The rush of magic wasn’t meant for Ginny,
but she felt it brush past her as it found its target. Hazel’s face
relaxed as the energy wrapped around her, an aura of pack and
safety tinged with the protective strength that Jack lived and
breathed. The girl’s eyes fluttered shut and she sighed as the
tight tension bled away. “Okay, Jack.”
    Ginny watched her go and then closed her
eyes. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m -- I’m bad at dealing with things like
this.”
    “ Come here,
Ginny.”
    She couldn’t let him comfort her while he
was bleeding. “Jack.”
    “ Ginny, please. Don’t make
me come over there and drip blood on your floor.”
    She avoided his gaze, keeping hers on his
feet as she made her way back to the table. “I don’t care about the
floor.”
    His uninjured arm curled around her
shoulders and tugged her against his chest. “I just need to know
you’re okay,” he whispered, his breath warm on her neck.
    The rest of the world faded as she touched
him. Her hands moved gingerly at first, and then clutched at his
back. She breathed in his scent, nestled her face against his
shoulder, and tried not to cry. “I’m okay, Jack. I’m not even
hurt.”
    The faintest sound of shoes on the wood
floor heralded Hazel’s arrival. “The towels are on the table,” she
whispered. “Is it okay if I go get some air?”
    Jack answered before Ginny could. “Don’t go
farther than the front porch before Lottie and Thomas get here, and
if anyone else shows up, come back inside.”
    “ Okay.”
    When she was gone Jack’s fingers tightened
on Ginny’s lower back. “You’re not bad at dealing with things like
this.” He laughed, the sound tired enough to make her chest ache.
“I can barely manage Hazel on the best of days, and I doubt that’ll
last much longer in any case.”
    “ Special circumstances.”
She pulled away and picked up a towel. “Will you sit down, already?
Let me look at you.”
    He wrapped the second towel around his hips
and sat without protest. “I promise I’m going to be okay.”
    Ginny bent to look, and only the fact that
he’d already stopped bleeding kept her from dissolving into tears.
“Think I need to stitch it up?” she whispered, prodding gently at
the wound. “It looks deep.”
    Jack glanced at the wound and shook his
head. “No, I heal fast. I just need a bath and some sleep, really.
And some food.” He smiled at her. “And for Thomas to go get me some
clothes, since I don’t think I’m squeezing my shoulders into
anything you own.”
    She kissed him, hard and fast, because she
had to, and rested her forehead against his. “Bath. Do you need
help, or can I go talk to Hazel?”
    “ I’ll be fine. Just… figure
out how bad it is, would you? I know she’s on edge, but I can’t
tell how close.”
    “ I will.” She didn’t tell
him about the scene during the standoff, just straightened and
nodded down the hall. “You know where it is.” The need to help him
nearly overwhelmed her, but she forced herself to walk toward