“Did I do something wrong?” I asked, my voice squeaking with my fear.
Savo jerked his head from side to side in a no. “I’m the one who did something wrong. You have a pack, Alphas who have claimed you in every way but placing their mark on you. Forgive me, I shouldn't have been so careless with my touch.”
His words slapped me in the face as I realized he was right. The men I loved, my pack, the people who rescued me from myself would have been furious with how I was acting with Savo. Yes, he was my bodyguard and we would be together often, but that moment had crossed a line and Savo had been right to shut it down. When I got back to my pack I wanted to be able to run into their arms with no reason for them to ever turn me away.
“There,” Savo announced, rising to his feet. “All wrapped up for the night. If you’re alright with it I’ll carry you to your room, you really shouldn’t be walking for the rest of the night.”
“Okay,” I said meekly.
When he lifted me, I refrained from burying my face in his neck and sat upright. When he set me on my bed, I found a nightgown laid out for me to change into. It was simple and white with no frills or decoration, the fabric wasn’t all that soft either. Nothing about it seemed appealing. Part of me wondered if it would be better to just sleep naked. Then I remembered that Savo could enter this room whenever he wanted.
“I’ll leave you to change,” Savo murmured as he headed back to his room and shut the door between us.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I just sat there for a moment unsure what to do with myself. All day I’d just been following orders, doing as I was told, and where had that gotten me? Sitting alone in this room cut up, exhausted physically and emotionally, with a man I was starting to crave but couldn’t have on the other side of the door. Pulling the hair tie off my wrist, I gathered my hair up in a ponytail and out of my way.
Gingerly, I set my feet on the floor and stood grimacing at the ache from my knees. Quickly as I could, I got out of my dress and into the nightgown. I was glad to see, even if it wasn’t the nicest fabric, it wasn’t see through. Savo had said I shouldn’t walk much but I needed to use the bathroom and I wasn’t going to call him to carry me to the toilet. A woman had to keep some of her pride intact and I didn’t have much left tonight.
I moved slowly, but once I realized the ache stayed the same and the pain wasn’t all that bad, I moved at a more normal speed. Tending to my needs, I then brushed my teeth and headed back to bed. Seeing the dress still lying across the bed where I’d put it had me wondering what they wanted me to do with it. There was a closet, but it was empty when I had last looked. Curiosity had me checking behind the door again to see if that had changed. Peering in, I found it had indeed been filled with a few changes of clothes. There was also a hamper with the outfit I’d worn earlier, which is where I placed the dress.
Feeling better that I had clothes and didn’t need to wait for the mysterious person who supplied them, I pulled back the covers. When I looked down I screamed, stumbling back and falling on my butt. Savo burst from his room, gun drawn, scanning the space before he strode over to me.
“Cambrie, what's wrong?” he demanded, crouching beside me.
I pointed to the bed with a shaky hand. “There’s a snake under the blankets.”
Savo frowned and moved to the bed where he slowly pulled back the sheets. I heard him swear under his breath then he returned to my side. Without warning, he hauled me into his arms and headed for his room.
“You're going to stay in here until I get that thing out of there. It’s a good thing you saw it because it’s incredibly poisonous, one bite and you would have been dead before I heard you scream,” Savo informed me.
I stared up at him wide eyed. “How did it get in my bed?”
“My guess would be someone put it there,” he answered. “Someone, it seems, who doesn't like you being here.”
When he turned to leave I grabbed his hand, causing him to look back at me. “Please be careful,” I implored.
His eyes softened as he looked at me. “I’ll be just fineKeksík, you just curl up under the covers and rest, okay?”
I nodded but I wasn’t sure that was going to be possible until I knew the snake was dead and gone. When he closed the door behind him, I got off the bed and pulled back the sheets all the way to the end of the bed. Seeing there was nothing under the blankets, I then pulled back the sheet leaving the comforter off checking the next layer. No sign of snakes or any other kind of trap, so I placed the comforter back over the bed. I eyed the pillows wondering if there might be anything hiding under them. It would be more dangerous to snatch those off the bed but maybe I could find something else to move them.
Glancing around the room, I spotted a fire poker that looked like it had never been used. Taking it in hand, I batted away the first decorative pillow. One by one I cleared them all and just to be sure I slammed the fire poker across them. When nothing slithered out or made a sound, I felt they were safe enough to be put back on the bed. Just as I placed the last one in its spot Savo returned, pausing to stare at me questioningly.
“I had to make sure the bed was safe,” I explained.
By the twitch of his lips, I could tell he was trying not to smile. “And is it?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, it is,” I quipped, feeling slightly embarrassed about the whole thing.
“Good, does that mean you’ll get in and lie down now?”
I looked at the bed then at him. “Only if you let me stay here tonight. I don’t think I could go back and sleep in that bed knowing I almost died.”
Savo tilted his head and rubbed a hand along his beard-covered jaw like he was considering my proposal. “You drive a hard bargain,Keksíkbut I accept your terms.”
Even though I still felt panicked about the whole thing, I smiled at him. “Let me guess, you were going to tell me I had to sleep in here tonight regardless.”
The smile he gave me was bright and full of teeth. “Seems you caught me, now into bed with you. Unless you need me to check under it to make sure they didn’t hide something while I wasn’t in the room.”
My eyes went wide and I gulped, stepping back before I realized what he was doing. Whipping my head around I glared at him. “That’s not funny, Savo.”