Dai’s jaw tightened. “Ma’am, I’m afraid I really have to insist.”
Behind him, the bastard’s eyes flicked to Ivy’s. It was only for the briefest moment, but she had an uncanny certainty that in that fraction of an instant, he’d seen straight to the center of her soul.
And in return…
She saw him. Not the glittering surface, all sharp-edged beauty and sharper words. In those ice-blue eyes, she saw an aching loneliness, mirroring her own. She saw him.
Just for a split second. He jerked his eyes away from hers, as though whatever he’d seen had burned him.
“No,” he said, and for a moment Ivy wasn’t sure whether he was talking to her or his colleague. “No, Dai. Both these two have gone through quite enough for one night.”
Dai shook his head. “This is a major incident, Hugh. The police will need to carry out a full investigation.“
“Then they can start by chasing down the witnesses who apparently decided to leave an innocent girl dangling in a deathtrap!” The bastard rose to his feet in one lithe, powerful movement, squaring off against his taller colleague. “I’m calling a car to take these two to the hospital, or home, or wherever they damn well want to go. If you want to hand them over to the police, you’ll do it over my dead body!”
His unexpected words took all the breath out of her. No one had ever, ever leaped to her defense like that. Yet there he stood, jaw and fists clenched, ready to fight to protect her.
Mate, her wyvern said softly. Our mate.
“Whoa.” Dai held up his hands, eyes widening in surprise. “Calm down. If it’s your medical judgment that they shouldn’t be questioned tonight—“
“It is,” her mate snarled. “And if the police don’t like it, I shall cordially invite them to kiss my arse.”
Dai gave him an odd look, but backed down. “Well, in that case, let’s get them out of here as quick as we can. Commander Ash would not be amused by you starting a fistfight with the police over jurisdiction. I’ll go make some calls.”
Heart hammering, Ivy waited until the red-headed firefighter had disappeared down the stairs. She fidgeted with the too-big gloves, looking down at her hands. She had no idea what to say.
“Thank you,” she muttered.
Her mate nodded curtly, busy lifting Hope into the now somewhat battered wheelchair. He seemed to be trying to avoid meeting Ivy’s eyes again.
Our mate, her wyvern insisted. Claim him!
Ivy squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath. “I think maybe we should talk.”
“You heard Dai.” He knelt to do up Hope’s straps, gaze fixed on his task. “You need to get out of here before the police arrive.”
“I mean…later. Some other time.” Ivy noticed that Hope was giving her a very strange look, and rushed to add, “Uh, that is, so we can thank you properly. For saving us. Um.”
He straightened, his hands on Hope’s handlebars. He still didn’t quite look at her. “If you want to thank me, then there is something you can do.”
A surge of heat flooded through her at the thought of just how she could thank him properly. Her lips on his, those strong hands twining through her hair, running her hands over his naked skin…
“A-anything,” Ivy stammered.
He met her eyes at last…but this time, there was no crack in them. His pale blue eyes were cold and hard as ice, impenetrable and unfeeling.
“Never come near me again,” he said.
Chapter 4
Hugh sat in his usual shadowed corner of the Full Moon pub, and felt like the biggest asshole on the entire planet.
Because you are, his unicorn informed him.
His beast was utterly disgusted with him. Its light was no brighter than a distant star in the depths of his soul. It had withdrawn so far, he probably wasn’t capable of curing so much as the common cold at the moment.
He’d hurt his mate.