CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Simon woke up to the sensation of every one of his muscles straining in pain, and he gritted his teeth to ride out the first wave. When he got through it, he did the exercise he often did when he knew moving too quickly would be the death of him: he took inventory of his limbs one by one, trying to determine which one was safe to move and which one needed help immediately.
To his surprise, all of his limbs were working despite the pain, indicating that he hadn’t broken anything. His mind shifted enough to let the memory of what happened before he became unconscious come through, and they bombarded his brain with horrible images.
Jin.
Robin.
In an instant, he was sitting up and looking around, shocked to find that the area of the cave he’d been lying on was now shattered to pieces. Rocks and debris were scattered everywhere, indicating a force similar to an earthquake had passed here.
Robin was lying beside him, unconscious.
Panic hit him at the sight, along with a fear that coated his throat and had his heart stopping for a full three seconds. Then he was kneeling before her, the fear increasing when he turned her around and found her unmoving at all, her eyes closed and her pallor gray. He moved his hand to her wrist—
Relief flowed through him when he felt her pulse, faint but steady.
He looked around again, trying to find Jin. The demon was gone, and the energy he felt in the air earlier had grown faint. But it was still there. He didn’t know what that meant, but he wasn’t sticking around to find out.
Simon stood up, his muscles protesting at the movement. He ignored it and kept moving, bending down to place his arms below her. He lifted her up, realizing how light and soft she was.
And how cold.
He wasn’t going to dwell on that now. Simon carried her away from the messy cave area and tried to find a safer one for the two of them.
Robin didn’t wake up, and by the time an hour passed, he was beside himself and trying not to scream in frustration. Her pulse and breathing were still steady, but the worry never eased. To distract himself, Simon rounded the cave a few more times, meeting no threat and deducing that his first prediction was right: Robin had killed Jin, then Robin had healed him with whatever strength she had left.
It only made him more frustrated and helpless because he wasn’t able to do anything. But he pushed those emotions down, knowing they weren’t going to help in this situation. When he was certain they were alone, he went back for Robin and used her cloak as makeshift pants for him. Then he used his body to keep her warm when she shivered, wishing he could provide fire or something more substantial.
By the second hour, her breathing steadily got stronger, and her wounds started to close with her magic. There was water dripping down from the ceiling just a few meters away from them, with no particular source. Simon used it to clean the blood off of her until she looked decent, then lay down beside her and pulled her in his warmth. Sleepiness took over, and he closed his eyes, intending to just take a nap.
His eyes snapped open later when he heard movement, and Simon sat up in a flash, still disoriented. He regained his senses soon enough to discover Robin stirring on the ground and rolling around to face him, her eyes still closed. He got some more water and placed it near her mouth. She drank it in tiny sips, then sighed and went back to a deep sleep.
Simon soothed her as best as he could. When she began growing warmer, he folded away some parts of her clothing. Then he just sat there and hoped to hell they’d get help soon.
And he hoped Robin would wake up soon, too.
*****
She woke up after three hours, shaking him awake with worry in her voice. He straightened immediately, taking her in and watching her widened green eyes staring at him as if trying to drink him in. Something in his heart leaped, and Simon savored it before shaking his head and crawling over to her right away. For some reason, the distance between them had grown when they were asleep. He crossed it quickly and placed his palm on her throat, startling her. But she didn’t move.
“You feel okay,” he assessed. “Are you in any pain?”
Robin shook her head, her gaze drifting all over his body. It was a checkup, he knew, but it felt like a caress all the same. Something stirred in his belly, and he tried to ignore it.
“No. How are you?” she asked softly.
Her voice was tired—and raspy. The stirring intensified.
“I’ve never been better. Thanks to you,” he muttered. “Don’t waste your magic on me next time, you hear me?”
Emotion clouded up her usually calm eyes. “I thought you were dead,” she murmured, her hand gripping his wrist and slowly taking it away from her throat. “I can’t have you dead.”
“Why?”
She shook her head, and her stance became stubborn. “I just can’t.”
“Why?” he insisted, his hands going back to her—this time, they rested on her elbows, bringing her closer. He was heavily aware he wasn’t being reasonable here, but for some reason, he couldn’t stop touching her.
It was inappropriate. It was highly uncalled for, especially when she needed a friend to comfort her, not someone who would just…touch her without consent.
“Because I care about you,” she confessed, reluctance and honesty warring in her voice. “I care about you more than I should, and you dying is the most awful thing I can ever think of…the worst thing to ever happen.”
“That’s how I felt when I woke up and saw you lying unconscious on the floor,” he admitted, his hands running down her wrist—feeling her pulse point jump as he brushed his thumb against it. “Don’t scare me like that again.”
“I won’t,” she promised, leaning closer.
He was pretty sure she meant to check on his wounds, but he couldn’t help himself. He leaned closer until their faces where inches way. He watched her pupils dilate, the green darkening as he slid his hand from her wrist up to the side of her neck, touching her jaw and her ear.
Then he pulled her in and kissed her.
It took over him right away—intoxicating, sensual, with an underlying sweetness that was absolutely irresistible. He savored her taste and drank her in, thirsty for her in a way he’d never even been thirsty for water. Need rose up inside him, but he did his best not to press his body against her and keep things at a minimal.
Her breath caught in her throat, and he tasted the sound and reveled in it. He was selfish for doing this, but Simon had rarely been selfish all his life, and he didn’t want to let this moment pass—especially now that they both almost died. Her hands came up near his chest, either to push him away or pull him close. He stopped the movement, knowing any slight touch would snap the threads of his control.
He felt drunk on her, and he wanted more—so much more that he was afraid he was going to break her if he was done. Simon had women before, and he often indulged in sexual escapades that would make one’s eyes widen. He never ever failed to make those women scream out in pleasure before he took his own.
But those women were fleeting, and he’d never been in a long-term relationship before. He slept with shifter women and said goodbye amiably, and somewhere along the years, he forgot about them.
He had a feeling sleeping with Robin would be different. It would be the most intense.
It would also be his downfall.
Simon savored the kiss for a few more seconds, letting her taste sink in his senses. Then he finally, slowly pulled away, resting his forehead on hers and trying to slow down his erratic breathing. Hers wasn’t any better, and he pulled away completely before he could do something else.
He looked her in the eye, inwardly groaning at how shiny and blurry with arousal and shock they were. Then he spoke with difficulty.
“I want you, Robin. More than a friend should want another friend. But I’m never going to push myself on you if you don’t want it. Please trust me on that.”
She didn’t say anything, merely stared at him. She didn’t do anything, either, and for those few seconds of staring at each other, silence filled the cave.
Finally, as if coming to her senses, she pulled back and cleared her throat.
Damn, even the sound turned him on, and he tried his best to hide his erection.
“I trust you,” she said simply.
Simon forced himself to smile. “Good. Now help me find food around here, will you?”
The serious look left her face, and the moment was broken as her eyes twinkled slightly. “Actually…I can make some.”
He stared at her, realizing she wasn’t kidding.
Then he burst out laughing at his fortune of being stuck with a very powerful witch.