The Awakening: Britton (Entangled Covet) (11 page)

reached out a hand to cup his cheek. “Violet. Beautiful.”

Violet? What the hell was she talking about?

And then it hit him. Holy shit. She saw his beast in his eyes.

She winced.

“What’s the matter?”

“My head…hurts like a mother.”

“You’ve got a pretty big bump on that noggin of yours. We need to have it checked out.”

She tried to shake her head, but grimaced at the attempt. “The High Council will be furious.”

Probably. “I really don’t give a shit. Anything else hurt? Arms? Legs? Spine?”

“I just rolled down a damn hill. What do you think?” she muttered as she pushed up.

“Whoa. Should you be moving? What if—”

“I’m fine, Townsend. Help me the hell up.”

He gently helped ease her up into a sitting position, the snark bringing a smile to his lips. At least she

had the energy to be her usual sarcastic self. “You really think you should stand?”

“I don’t want to stay out here all night, do I?”

Chuckling, his concern faded. He’d still get her checked out by Miles Bradley—his friend who was a

shifter and a doctor—but he was pretty sure she was going to be fine. “Okay. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

After making sure she wasn’t going to flop right back over, he riffled around in his bag and took out

the first aid kit. He ripped open a few antiseptic wipes and gently cleansed the caked-on blood from her

cheek. He kept his attention on the streak of dark red running down her face, but made the mistake of

meeting her eyes. Air whooshed from his lungs as a powerful kick knocked him straight in the chest.

Her eyes were gorgeous. Green with flecks of gold. Expressive, too. And so innocent under her tough-

cop exterior.

Why had he never noticed that before?

“Thank you for finding me, Britton.”

Clearing his throat, he shook his head lightly. “Yeah, well, I thought about letting the mountain lions

have you, but I figured the High Council would frown upon that.”

Keep it light.

Her answering chuckle was exactly what he needed to hear, and the tension inside him finally eased.

After bandaging the cut, he said, “Let’s see if you can stand.”

He rose and gently helped her to her feet. When she swayed and tilted, he wrapped an arm around her

waist and tugged her close to his body. She looked up at him. The air between them changed, became

thicker, as he stared down at her upturned lips.

Holy hell.

He wanted to kiss her. To feel her mouth fused to his, and the soft puff of her breath meld with his

own.

Shaking the crazy notion aside, he moved away from her. Man, her disappearing act had really fucked

with his head. He was thinking all kinds of insane shit, but wanting to kiss Val Calhoun was downright

madness.

“You think you can walk now?” he asked, looking back at her again.

She refused to meet his gaze. “Yeah.”

She had taken no more than a couple of steps before her knees buckled. He lunged forward, grabbing

her before she fell, then swept her up in his arms.

“You can’t carry me all the way down the mountain, Britton,” she protested, wriggling to get down.

“Yesterday I would have agreed with you, but not now.”

It was like carrying nothing more than a feather. He felt no strain or exertion, and he walked easily with

her. His sense of smell
and
his strength had returned. He couldn’t contain his smile.
Dea
, it felt great.

“What are you so happy about?” she asked grumpily.

Glancing down at her, he was surprised by her quick intake of breath. “What?”

The muscle in her jaw worked. “Women swoon over those blue eyes of yours, but if they ever saw the

violet ones they’d keel right over.”

He blinked. What was up with that animal? Normally it wasn’t so keen to blaze its existence through his

eyes. Most likely everything inside him was still off-kilter, making his transition back to full-blown shifter

precarious. When would it all straighten out? How long would it be before he could shift?

“Ah,” she murmured, understanding. “You’re getting all your abilities back. No wonder you’re happy.”

And he was. Happier than he’d thought possible. He’d spent years convincing himself that it wasn’t a

big deal being merely human. But after feeling his beast move within him, he had to acknowledge how

much he’d missed this. It. And now he had it back.

Temporarily.

His smile evaporated.

Her face softened. “I’m sorry, Britton. It’s so unfair.”

He didn’t even have to tell her why his mood had suddenly changed. She just knew.

He lifted a philosophical shoulder. “Might as well enjoy it while I have it. But the serum hasn’t worked

completely yet. I still can’t shift.”

“How do you know?”

“I wanted to heal your injuries from the fall, but I couldn’t shift. Couldn’t do it.”

He
still
wanted to heal her, to keep her safe. He’d do anything to protect her.

He stumbled over his feet and had to catch himself before he face-planted.

Holy crap. Where in the
hell
had that thought come from?

Chapter Six

Dr. Miles Bradley flicked a penlight across Val’s pupils and straightened. “Dilating nicely. You knocked

your head pretty good and that headache you have will probably last a while, but you’re in the clear. I’d

take it easy tomorrow, though.”

Val refrained from rolling her eyes. First, because it hurt like heck, and second, well, as if taking it easy

was going to happen. When Britton had called in about her injury after she’d insisted he put her down to

rest for a minute, Harwood had a conniption, as expected. Britton hadn’t backed down though, saying if the

councilman wouldn’t let them make the ten-mile trip to see Miles Bradley, he was taking her back into

Carnal Ridge to the hospital instead, knowing the council didn’t want Val back in town until this case was

solved. Val was supposed to be out of town,and he was supposed to be home in bed hurt. The bluff

worked. The elder then made arrangements for Miles to meet them at the cabin to check her out.

It seemed the High Council
could
be backed into a corner. Who’d have thought?

The doctor pocketed his penlight. “I know you’re on an assignment, Val, but seriously, take it easy

tomorrow.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” Britton said, straightening from the doorjamb.

Miles glanced over his shoulder. “Good.”

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Val asked. “You did drive all the way out here.”

A muscle tensed in Britton’s jaw, confusing her. What was his issue with Miles? The shifter doctor was

an icon in their community. He ran the Bradley Clinic, a medical facility about an hour outside of Carnal

Ridge. Though he also worked with humans, he had the perfect setup in the center’s basement for whatever

might ail a shifter.

Heck, Britton had gotten along just fine with the doctor when they’d taken Liam’s mate, Ava, there a

couple of months ago. Val had always thought he and Miles were friends.

The doctor sent her a dimpled smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I have to get back to the clinic. Rain

check, maybe?”

Was that a hint of interest in his tone? Most of their previous interaction had been while she was on a

case and she’d been focused on the task at hand, but she stopped now and assessed the man, not the doctor.

He really was good-looking. Datable. Square jaw. Wavy brown hair that made his light blue eyes pop, but

they weren’t that electrifying, bright blue like Britton’s. Shame.

She blinked. Where had
that
thought come from?

Britton cleared his throat and stepped between them. “I don’t think we’ll be here long enough for that.”

The other man’s brows drew together and his gaze bounced between the two of them. Yeah, this had to

be a bit confusing for Miles. The last time the doctor had seen her and Britton together had been just after

they found Liam and had brought Ava into the clinic. Val and Britton had fought like cats and dogs that

day. And every day since, for that matter. Until yesterday.

“If anything changes, call me immediately,” Miles instructed, handing her his card.

Britton snatched it from her fingers and herded the doctor to the door, almost stepping on him in his

eagerness to get rid of the guy. What the heck?

When Miles was gone, Britton turned to her and said, “How about a bath?”

She rubbed one of her sore shoulders. “That sounds nice.”

Nodding, he went into the bedroom. A few seconds later the sound of running water drifted into the

room. Okay, this was just bizarre. Why was he being so sweet?

Even stranger…Britton had wanted to heal her.

That thought had popped up constantly in her mind over the last two hours. Sounding just as

implausible as when it’d come out of his mouth.

Not that a shifter wanting to heal was anything unusual. It was one of the more remarkable abilities their

kind had. But to hear Britton say he
wanted
to heal her injury had been…well, shocking. Other than her

brothers and her daddy, she’d never had a shifter want to heal her. And even though Britton hadn’t been

able to follow through, his desire to do so had warmed her.

Not to mention how she’d wanted more than anything to feel the rough texture of his beast’s tongue

glide over her wound. The mere thought made her shiver.

She was literally a jumble of new feelings she had no idea what to do with. The violet of his beast had

sent her heart racing. The way he’d stared at her mouth as if he’d wanted to kiss her had rendered her

incapable of drawing breath. And now he was doting on her like a devoted boyfriend.

It was truly surreal.

As he came out of the bedroom, she tentatively stood.

“How’s your head?” he asked.

She touched her temple. “The pain reliever Miles gave me is kicking in, so it’s better.”

The moment the other man’s name came out of her mouth, Britton’s lips pinched together.

She brushed aside his odd behavior. No way was it jealousy, even though it sure looked like it. The last

few hours had simply taken its toll on both of them. Most likely he was as exhausted as she was, and just as

irritable.

Shuffling toward him, she winced at the stiffness in her muscles. “I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

His face relaxed. “The bath is ready. Take a long one, it’ll help with the aches.”

The softness in his voice gave her pause, and before she could stop it, she murmured, “Everything has

changed, hasn’t it?”

He had the decency not to pretend he didn’t know what she was asking. “Yeah. It has. I had a huge

lightbulb moment yesterday while I watched you cope with your limitations.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve never been anything but an asshole to you.”

The corner of her lip lifted. “I’ve been a pretty big bitch to you, too.”

“But I provoked it. I didn’t give you a chance, Val. I came at you from day one with my teeth bared,

which was really shitty of me. If one thing has come out of all of this, it’s that realization. I’m really sorry

for the way I’ve treated you. It was unfair, and it won’t happen anymore.”

“You’re not the only one who had an epiphany yesterday, Britton. I’m sorry, too. For everything I ever

said to you. I might have done it out of being provoked, but I could’ve targeted your hair or clothes, or

your womanizing ways. What I focused on was something that was deeply a part of you, and every nasty

remark I made must only have increased those negative feelings you had about yourself.” She bit her lip.

“I-It’s why you always ended up storming off furious, wasn’t it? I made you feel worse.”

He regarded her. “How about we don’t play the blame game? We each take responsibility for our part in

the turbulent past we’ve shared, and promise that as of this moment, that past is behind us.” He held out his

hand. “Friends, Val?”

“Friends,” she agreed with a soft smile.

She slipped her hand into his to shake, and his eyes immediately went violet. Mouth going dry, she

froze.
Dea
, it was breathtaking to see his beast overtake his gaze.

As she tugged at her hand, she was shocked when his hold tightened, refusing to release her. So they

stood there, staring at each other, him gripping her hand in his. Finally, he cleared his throat, jerked his

hand away, and crossed the room.

The tension in the room heightened and she could still feel the pressure of his fingers wrapped around

hers and the heat of his skin against hers, still see the magnificent glow of his preternatural eyes staring

down at her. Flexing her fingers, she let out a slow breath.

“I-I’m going to take that bath now.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll start something for dinner.”

Nodding, she closed herself in the bedroom.

Dea
. When had things become so damn complicated between them?

…

Britton stared at the wood floor. The moment Val’s hand had slipped into his, he’d wanted to tug her

forward, press her curves against his, and kiss the hell out of her.

Maybe he should just do it. Get it over with, and shatter this awkward, unbidden attraction he was