Page 48 of Sinner's Sacrifice

Mind you, he’d never been right there to see it happen before. Still...

“Yes, sir.”

She’d get to the bottom of his over-the-top protective behavior when they were somewhere no one else could overhear them.

He stared at her for another moment, then went for the door.

She slid out behind him, moving slowly to avoid any abrupt use of her sore muscles. She stood upright just as slowly, taking a careful step up onto the curb next to the car.

Yvgeny waited for her and walked next to her as they slowly entered the hotel’s staff entrance. He didn’t seem to mind the slower pace. Probably thought she was being cautious for once.

They passed a few people, but the security guards had separated, one in front of them, one behind, and they appeared to be clearing the way.

He guided her with his hand behind her back toward his private elevator, and she went without complaint. They’d have to talk about her living situation. Staying in his spare bedroom was okay for a brief time, but any longer and people would talk.

Chapter Seven

Yvgeny vibrated with the need to pick Samantha up and carry her up to his apartment. Every slow step she made told him she was in pain, and despite her promise, she hadn’t told him. He had to learn of it from her careful breathing, the odd hitch in her step, and the paleness of her skin.

He was also angry. Angry that she did something so dangerous and ill-thought out as going into a hotel room with a stranger alone.

He was angrier at himself for not keeping a closer eye on her. He’d almost lost her. That animal had come close, so close to harming her worse than he already had. Only her fear had stopped Yvgeny from ripping the cockroach apart right there.

She’d stared at Yvgeny, her eyes wide, her gaze stark, as if she’d never seen him before, as if he was the monster.

They reached his private elevator. He used his key card to open the door and they went inside, leaving his security detail in the hallway.

The car rose to his floor and let them out there. He locked the elevator closed and in place. Then caught up to her as she kept walking.

“What did the doctor say?” Sam asked as she slowed down even more.

“No broken ribs,” Yvgeny said in a normal tone. “But you are to wrap them. He said you’d know what that meant.”

“I do.” She didn’t look at him. “I’ll need help though. I can’t put it on by myself.”

“I will help you.”

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh as she came to the bedroom she was using. “About that.” She turned and gave that look she had when she was both irritated and curious. “What the hell kind of medical clinic was that?”

He frowned. “I don’t understand. We received care instantly, the highest quality.”

“No,” she said. “That’s not what I mean.” She took in a deep breath and winced. “They treated me like I was some kind of mannequin.”

“What?”

“Like I was some kind of non-person or lesser human being. They didn’t even ask me for my name. You called me your paramedic, and that was it.” She poked his chest with an index finger.

He glanced down at it in surprise. It was like a kitten attacking a full-grown lion.

She poked him again, then stepped even closer. “It was surreal. So, what gives?”

He couldn’t possibly explain that the clinic wasn’t a clinic at all, but a biomedical research company owned and run by three vampire families in concert.

He absolutely couldn’t divulge to her that the doctor who’d looked at her had been a vampire for hundreds of years and likely hadn’t seen a regular human in at least five decades.

He most especially couldn’t tell her that all the staff she’d met tonight had been vampires themselves and were in a state of panic because Yvgeny Breznik had made it clear that Samantha was his. In. Every. Way.

“Yvgeny?” she asked patiently.