Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“I-I-I wanted to help,” Leo stammered, his eyes blown wide. It was the first time he’d ever seen Leo so shaken and out of sorts.
Junjie lifted a hand and wiped the blood from Leo’s cheeks and nose the best he could. “I appreciate that, but you could have been killed.”
“I’m not useless,” Leo snapped, knocking Junjie’s hand aside.
Junjie froze for a breath and stared at Leo. “I’ve never thought that about you.”
“Hey!” Chen snapped. “You don’t want to be useless?” Both of them turned to see Chen and Mei Lian standing over dead elves. “Help him to the car. He’s lost too much blood. We’ll check the dead for clues.”
“Awww! This job sucks!” Meimei whined, but he barely noticed because Leo had jumped back to life.
The cat shifter gripped his arm and pulled it across his shoulder while wrapping his own arm around Junjie’s waist. The other efforts to be this close had been flirty and silly. This time, Leo radiated fear and concern.
“How do you feel? Can you walk?”
“It’s not that bad. I—” Junjie’s words fell off sharply as he gaped at the front of his shirt. Blood soaked it completely. His blood. He peeled it from his skin to find that the arrow wounds had closed but were still in the thin and tender stage. If he wasn’t careful, they would tear open with little effort.
“Let’s get you to the car before someone notices these guys are missing,” Leo prodded.
Junjie released his shirt and pulled his sword from the dead elf who’d tried to kill Leo. “I should be okay to walk on my own.”
Except his legs immediately called him a liar when they buckled on the first step. His head swam, but it cleared as Leo tightened his hold on his waist.
“How about I help you for a bit?”
The walk was painfully slow and awkward. Not because of the two arrow wounds, but rather, thanks to his outburst. He hadn’t expected to look up and see Leo facing an elf. His brain had shut down and panic had swept through him. What right did he have to be shouting at that man? None.
And now he was depending on Leo’s support to get to the SUV, the fiery bite of bloodlust chewing on his stomach and tendons.
“Um…I’m sorry for shouting at you,” Junjie began. The awkward meter shot higher, and he cringed at himself. Could someone stake him now?
“No. It’s okay. Um…thanks for saving my life.”
At least he wasn’t the only one lost in the land of awkward.
“You’re welcome.” The hand he had resting on Leo’s shoulder tightened as he stepped over a fallen log. His limbs felt weighed down, and Leo’s racing heart beat a hypnotic song in his ear. Since his scare with the elf, it was slowing into a nice steady rhythm. The scent of the elf’s blood was masking the shifter’s rich scent, but he knew if he pressed his nose to Leo’s throat it would come in perfectly.
No!
No biting the shifter. It was wrong.
The second Chen and Meimei joined them, he could take a nip off them to stave off the worst of the bloodlust. Later, he’d be able to hunt for a proper meal.
Someone who didn’t know him. A faceless person who wouldn’t remember their encounter.
Just the thought of it soured his stomach.
Why would he want a stranger when sexy Leo had been flirting with him only minutes ago?
No. It was wrong.
His brain couldn’t remember why it was wrong, but it was. He needed to think about something else.
“I thought you left,” Junjie said, snapping the silence that had stretched and twisted between them. “Why did you come back?”
“I didn’t want you to think I was some useless coward.”
Junjie stopped sharply and partially turned so he could better meet Leo’s eyes. “I have never thought you were a coward. It would not have been cowardly to run. The elves we’ve encountered are soldiers, trained in weapons and fighting. All the members of my clan have over two thousand years of experience in combat. That’s why we fight. I would never expect the same of someone who does not have formal training.”
“But I’m useless. I dumped that kid on you without even asking.” Leo ripped his eyes away, yet Junjie caught his chin and turned his face to meet his gaze.
“Leo, that doesn’t make you useless. You were putting the needs of that child first. Yes, you should have asked me prior to taking me to Erik, but I understood your fear that I wouldn’t take him in.”
The cat shifter tossed up his one free hand and gave Junjie a nudge to get them moving. “My life is a mess, and I like it that way. I come and go as I please. I work when I want to work. Nothing tying me down or complicating my life. It’s the way I want it, but I know that’s not the kind of life you put a kid like Erik in. He’s lost his parents. He needs a lot of love, stability, and support so that he can have a chance at growing up into a somewhat functioning human being. There was no way he was going to find any of that in my life.”