Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) by Tina Folsom

payment of any kind was ever expected.
    “Okay, I think I can walk that far,” Leila finally conceded.
    “Walk?” He shook his head. Not as long as he was here to lend a hand. “I don’t think you should walk.”
    Ignoring her protest, he lifted her into this arms and strode toward the pub.
    “But …”
    When he looked into her ocean blue eyes, her eyelids suddenly fluttered, and she lowered them quickly. Color flushed her cheeks.
    With every step, her body rubbed against his, and despite the clothing that separated them, he felt a rush of excitement course through him. The contact was intense and real, the payoff torturing, as the bulge in his jeans could attest.
    He noticed how she studied his neck and the muscles that flexed underneath his tight tee. It seemed she didn’t want to lift her eyes to peruse his face so openly. Not that he would mind being studied by her. Hell, there wasn’t anything he could think of right now that he would mind her doing.
    With his foot, Aiden pushed the door to the pub open and was glad to see that it was half empty. Ignoring the inquisitive stares of the few patrons, he lowered Leila to a bench next to the window and lifted her leg onto it.
    “Stay here, I’ll get some ice,” he instructed and went to the bar.
    The bartender looked first at Aiden, then past him. “Something wrong?”
    “My friend twisted her ankle. Could you spare some crushed ice and a clean dish towel?” he asked and put a twenty on the counter. “And two Jamesons, neat.”
    “Yep, women and their heels,” he responded and took a towel from behind him, filling it with ice.
    “Her heels weren’t to blame. A car ran a red light and nearly killed her.” He shuddered as the words left his lips.
    “Fuckin’ drunk drivers,” the bartender hissed. “Tell ya one thing, when I see one of my regulars having too much, I confiscate their car keys. Don’t care how much they curse me for it.” He handed him the towel. “Here. I’ll bring the Jamesons to your table.”
    “Thanks.”
    Aiden took the ice-filled towel and walked back to his charge who was sitting up straight, leaning against the wood-paneled wall, her leg stretched out over the bench. He sat down at her feet.
    “This should make you feel much better soon.”
    He rolled the towel into a long tube and snaked it around her ankle, tying it at the ends so it held in place. When he looked up, he collided with her gaze.
    “You’ve done this before,” she approved.
    He winked at her. “I used to get into a lot of scraps when I was younger.”
    Stealth Guardian children didn’t heal automatically like adult Stealth Guardians did. They needed to be tended in the same way human children did. They were, however, immune to human diseases such as measles and mumps, but broken bones, cuts and bruises would leave their mark the same way they did on mortal children.
    “Here are your two Jamesons, neat,” the bartender announced and set two glasses with amber liquid on the small table next to them. “Cheers.”
    Aiden nodded to him then looked back at Leila, motioning toward the whiskey. “To wash away the shock.”
     

SIX
     
    Leila took the glass her rescuer handed her and hesitated. Was this a wise decision? She was a lightweight when it came to liquor, and this man was a complete stranger. A very handsome stranger , she corrected. One who had saved her life by the looks of it. Had he not pushed her out of the way so quickly, the car would have hit her full on and she would have been tomorrow’s headline. Promising Researcher Killed in Hit-And-Run Accident . She shuddered inwardly.
    Maybe she did need a drink now that reality hit home.
    “My name is Aiden,” the hottie said. A name that suited him.
    “Leila.”
    He clinked his glass to hers. “Shall we drink to good luck, Leila?”
    “To good luck.” She sipped from the whiskey. As it made its way down her throat, her skin began to burn, but it wasn’t unpleasant enough for her to regret