Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

“Who do you intend to protect her from?”

“Anyone who threatens her,” Damon replied, keeping his gaze pinned on Elroy. This was certainly a challenge, and he wanted the other man to realize he wouldn’t back down. He might not fully understand this instant need he had for a woman he barely knew, but he refused to ignore the call of magic.

“I think we’re the ones who’ll need protection from her,” Elroy said. “You’re right about one thing, though. You’ve got no choice but to watch over her, now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The reason I’m here is to let you know that Priestess Aleena has assigned you to be the space traveler’s personal guard.”

“I’ve got no problem with the assignment.”

Elroy rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think you would.” He stepped out of the room without another word.

Damon didn’t bother to call him back. The conversation was over. Elroy was infuriating and enjoyed dumping his own opinions and words of foreboding on others, but he refused to listen to reason. The one thing Damon did agree with was keeping a close eye on Alex, but not because of suspicion. If he could stay with her all day and night, he’d be a happy man.

Speaking of which, Aleena would soon be done boring Alex with the prophecy and feast details. If he wanted to squeeze in a quick shower, he’d have to hurry.

“You know. At some point, you could’ve mentioned that everyone and everything on your planet is totally insane. I would’ve appreciated the head’s up.” Alex glared at Damon. She watched him with narrowed eyes. He was attempting to avoid her gaze from across the room.

A smile curved his lips. “I didn’t have enough time,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, what fun would that have been?”

Fun? Is that what he thinks we’re doing here?

She didn’t call almost being eaten by a pack of flying monsters, and then being led to believe she would somehow save a civilization she hadn’t known existed, to be a good time. She was confused, and a headache had crept up on her after the woman who called herself Aleena bored her with details Alex didn’t care about. She’d zoned out after a while, more interested in checking out the immaculate, landscaped gardens than whatever the woman had been raving about.

When she hadn’t been able to get a single word in, she’d figured out Aleena wouldn’t provide any of the many answers she wanted.

More and more, this was starting to feel like some sort of nightmare.

She pressed her fingers to her temples.

“What’s wrong?” Damon asked.

“I have a headache. Do you have some magical way to fix this, too?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Before she could stop him, Damon closed the door and was once again standing within touching distance. He certainly had a problem with personal space-he didn’t know the meaning of it.

Alex made a move to step back, but he put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady. “You don’t have to run away from me. I won’t hurt you.” His green eyes were twinkling but still amused. He removed her hand from her temple, softly replacing it with his. He then rubbed his fingertips over her skin in small, circular motions, until the throbbing completely faded. “Does it feel better?”

She swallowed. He certainly knew how to get her sensual juices flowing. How could innocently massaging away a headache make her gut clench with desire? She managed a nod.

“Good. Now, I need you to sit down so I can fix your arm, as well as take a look at the other wound on your hand.” Damon turned away, leaving her a little breathless. He grabbed a small, wooden cart pressed against the wall and wheeled it toward her.

They were inside a vast room with a bed, a large armchair, and several wooden storage units. The walls were all painted white, and a significant, curved window was placed opposite the bed. Not bad for a guest room.

It looked like the lady of the planet had assigned this hunk as Alex’s keeper, while he’d decided to be her protector. Maybe he can help me in other ways, too. The way he kept holding and touching her, she wouldn’t be able to control herself much longer.

“Damon, you need to be straight with me,” she sighed. “I have no idea what the blonde woman was talking about. Most of the time, I don’t even know what you’re babbling on about, either.”

He chuckled. “I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can, but not until you let me heal you.” The seriousness made him even more appealing. He reached for her arm and helped maneuver her into the armchair.

She sat down. Being forced to spend too much time alone with this man would definitely lead to a lot of trouble. There was something between them, and she couldn’t deny it. It echoed in the way he looked at her-the small smile continually curving the corners of his mouth. She didn’t want to analyze it too closely just yet. I’m certainly not going to admit it out loud, either.

Right now, she wanted her skin repaired and properly bandaged. With a resigned sigh, Alex removed her jacket.

Damon looked at her while he grabbed a short stool. He placed it directly in front of her and sat down. He was positioned very close, with his long legs spread apart for better access to her wounds.

“So, what do you want to know?” He unwound the makeshift bandage he’d made out of a piece of his previous shirt.

While the woman, Aleena, had walked with Alex across the most beautiful gardens she’d ever seen, Damon had disappeared long enough to change his shirt. Now, he wore a cream-colored, sleeveless shirt with a cord keeping the top of it together-definitely not enough to conceal most of his impressive chest. Matching pants covered his legs and fell over his bare feet. She’d noticed most people here walked around barefoot, but Alex decided to keep her boots on…for now.

“I want to know everything.”

“Okay, but where would you like me to start?” he asked, pausing to raise his dark eyebrows at her.

“How did you know where to find me?” To be honest, Alex didn’t know where to start. This situation seemed surreal. He was affecting her so much, she couldn’t think straight.

He dropped the dirty bandage on the cart beside him and met her eyes. The intensity in his stare made it hard to breathe.

“Can you stop looking at me like that?” she blurted. Alex was starting to get annoyed with those bedroom eyes. The smoldering looks he kept giving her were playing havoc with her body. She couldn’t help but fantasize about what his long fingers would feel like all over her naked flesh. Would his eyes hold the same intensity while touching her? Or was this part of his seduction? Maybe he was just a tease.

“How am I looking at you?” He grabbed the small washcloth floating inside a porcelain bowl filled with water.

“Like you’re…like…”

“Yes?”

“Ah, never mind,” she said with a frustrated sigh. What was the point? One way or another, she already knew where this would lead. “Just answer my first question. How did you know where to find me?”

“I didn’t.” Damon dabbed the washcloth against her arm, cleaning it. “You fell onto Eden hours ago, so I think you must have been unconscious for a while.”

“Yeah, I was.” The watch wrapped around her uninjured wrist had confirmed it. She winced.

“Sorry,” he said, dabbing softly. “I spent hours out there and walked past the same spot many times before you fell on me.”

Heat rose up her neck and face. She cleared her throat. “That doesn’t explain why you were looking for anyone .”

“Oh, yes. Priestess told us of the breach.”