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  He sighed heavily. “Neither of which I can do anything about. Come. We have a long way to go before we can safely rest.” Turning, he led the way, not waiting to see if she would follow.

  * * * * *

  Sylvan heard her stumbling along behind him as they made their way down the side of the mountain and every instinct he possessed shouted that he needed to go back and help her. Needed to hold her in his arms and carry her to safety. But he forced himself to go on. She doesn’t want me, doesn’t want my help or my touch.

  It was true and he knew it. The rejection he could handle. But the fear in her eyes…

  Sylvan clenched his jaw. Goddess, that she could ever think I would hurt her. The very idea was like a fist in his gut. He would rather be hurt himself, would rather be wounded a thousand times over than allow her to get a single scratch.

  Should have left her alone. Shouldn’t have healed her. That was what scared her the most, waking up and seeing me bending over her with my fangs out.

  But he had been so worried. And besides, it was impossible for him to see her hurt and not want to heal her. He had told her once, the second time they met, that as a doctor he had no emotional attachment to his patients. But it was different with her—so very different. And those few moments before she’d woken up completely, before she’d started fearing him, had been beyond compare.

  He closed his eyes briefly, his cock and fangs throbbing as he remembered the way she’d moaned and arched her back, responding to his touch. It was almost as though she was offering herself, opening herself in the way a female would when she was willing to be bonded. Truly his intent hadn’t been sexual, but he couldn’t help becoming aroused by her reaction. The way her nipple had tightened under his tongue as he healed her and the warm secret scent of her sex getting wet and ready for him was enough to make him ache with desire.

  And then she saw me and realized who it was that was touching her, giving her pleasure, he thought sadly. After that all she wanted was to get away from me. From my fangs. She wouldn’t even let me finish healing her.

  Even now he could smell her blood on the wind. She must have scraped her hands and knees when she was scrambling to get away from him. He wanted in the worst way to examine them—to take away her pain. But he knew he would only add to it and increase her fear and panic if he tried. Sophia, I’m so sorry…Your pain is my pain. Your wounds, mine to heal. I give you the blood of my body, the heart from my chest. The—

  Sylvan stopped himself. Why had the words from the Blood Kindred bonding ceremony come to his mind? Words he was destined never to speak?

  Stupid, he told himself angrily, kicking a large rock out of the way. Stupid to let yourself have any kind of feelings for her. Even if your vow wasn’t in the way she’d never want you. Never stop fearing you long enough to let you in. Just forget about her—be cold as a Tranq should be.

  But he couldn’t. Sophia’s soft little hands had warmed his cold heart, even if she hadn’t meant to. And it seemed there was no freezing it again.

  * * * * *

  Sophia tried to keep up but it was hard to see in the darkness and her feet hurt. Her shoes were long gone—not that the low kitten heels would have been much good for hiking in the mountains but still, anything would have been better than nothing. The only thing that saved her was the fact that she had been walking barefoot outside on the hot Florida concrete since she was a little girl. Without that experience to toughen the soles of her feet, they would have been cut to ribbons within a matter of minutes.

  But it wasn’t just her feet that worried her—she was wondering where in the world they were. Because it sure as hell wasn’t Florida. Where are we and how are we ever going to get home? Does Sylvan know where he’s going, or are we just trying to get away from the shuttle?

  They were scrambling down the side of a mountain, that much was clear she thought, eyeing Sylvan’s muscular bare back as she went. The same mountain he had crashed them into, she was pretty sure. She still wasn’t sure why the big warrior had had to aim for a mountain in the first place, but at least they’d survived it.

  Now that she had a moment to think about it, she remembered the crash in horrible detail. The way the craggy rock face had gotten bigger and bigger in the viewscreen and the moment of impact when she felt something hard and sharp pierce her flesh, slicing across her breast like a line of fire. Then she’d been drowning in some kind of blue gel. It had dissipated but she could still feel the sticky remains of it on her skin…

  Once she started thinking about the crash she couldn’t stop—the details kept playing over and over again in her head like a horror movie. Just stop it, stop thinking about it. You survived, didn’t you? So what are you getting so upset about?

  But no matter how sternly she talked to herself, she kept seeing the side of the mountain rushing toward her again and again. Kept feeling the horrible impact and the sensation of suffocating in thick blue gel over and over. The endless loop got stuck in her head and made her feel shaky.

  Too much had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Too much trauma and drama and pain and fear crammed into too little time. The stress of it was like a ticking time-bomb in her chest, ready to explode. But somehow she had to contain it. The last thing she wanted was to have a meltdown in front of Sylvan. Strong, I have to be stro—

  A loose rock shifted treacherously under her bare foot and she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. With a low cry, she fell to one side, hitting the side of her head.

  Sylvan was beside her at once. “Don’t try to get up,” he ordered when she scrambled to rise. “Lie still for a minute and let me see how badly you’re hurt.”

  “I’m not hurt,” Sophie objected, though her ankle was throbbing and something warm and wet was trickling down the side of her cheek.

  He frowned. “Don’t lie—to me or to yourself, Sophia. That was a bad fall.” Lifting her chin, he stared intently into her face. “Look up and open your eyes wide, I need to see your pupils and there isn’t much light.”

  Sophia stared up into the night sky, trying not to tremble under his touch. She could feel the tears welling up inside her until she felt like a cup that was about to overflow. The sharp stinging in her head and the dull throb in her ankle were the last straw. The physical pain in her body combined with her emotional turmoil, pushing her over the edge. Though she didn’t want to in the worst way, Sophie began to cry.

  “Sophia?” Sylvan’s voice was a harsh whisper in the darkness. “Please don’t cry. I know you don’t want me touching you, but I have to make sure you’re all right.”

  The pain in his voice made things worse somehow. “I…I’m sorry,” she gasped, trying to slow her tears and failing. “I just…I can’t…it’s too much.”

  “It won’t take much longer.” He was feeling her ankle now. Sophia hissed and jerked away from his gently probing fingers. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I don’t think it’s broken but you have a bad sprain. It’s already swelling—you’re not going to be able to walk on it.”

  Fresh tears came to her eyes and she armed them away angrily. Why did she have to be so weak? “That’s it then. You’ll have to go on without me.” She tried to sound brave, but her voice betrayed her by trembling.

  “Go on without you?” Sylvan looked at her incredulously. “What kind of male do you think I am?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she insisted, knowing it wasn’t true. “You can go for help and come back for me.”

  “Do you really think I’d leave you here alone, helpless in the dark with the Scourge hunting you?” His voice had dropped to a low growl. “Never.”

  “Sylvan!” she protested but he was already gathering her up into his arms. “Sylvan, put me down. Be reasonable,” she pleaded. “I know you’re a big strong guy but I’m not exactly tiny. You can’t carry me all the way down the side of the mountain.”

  “Watch me.” He was already walking, holding her cradled in his arms as though she was a baby. He looked down at her briefl