Evan Arden 03 Otherwise Unharmed by Shay Savage Read Free Book Online Page A

the wall. It felt wrong, but I wasn't sure why. I started to lie down beside her, but it still didn't feel right, so I sat back up and shook my head a bit.  I didn’t know what was wrong, and I couldn’t even find any words that would have made any sense.  I didn’t need to, though—Lia knew without me saying a word.
    "Do you want to be against the wall?" Lia asked.
    I let out a breath that had been burning in my chest. She moved forward, and I half crawled, half fell into the area between her and the wall.  Lia stretched out beside me as soon as I was in position, and I wrapped my arm around her waist to bring her closer to me.
    She was here against my body again after so long.   The thought increased the dizziness in my head but also sent the most incredible sense of relief through my mind.  The nausea of fatigue continued to assault me, but at least she was here.
    It was too bright in the small room, and the setting wasn’t at all comfortable.  Still, I was far too mentally and physically exhausted to care very much.  Despite the tiredness, my entire body lay tensed between the cement wall and the woman in front of me.
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    I could only shake my head as my fingers gripped the fabric of her shirt.  Her fingers moved up my cheek and over the side of my head, stroking slowly until my fingers against her back began to match the same rhythm.  I sighed, and my hand moved down the fabric of her shirt until it found the hem.
    With two fingers, I pushed the shirt up a bit and found her bare skin below.  Another long breath and none of the discomfort of the rough blanket, the cold floor, or the situation itself mattered any longer.  I placed my head against her shoulder as that fuzzy feeling crept over me.  I closed my eyes and tried to let go.
    Despite the blanket, the floor was cold, and the buttons on Lia’s coat were pressing uncomfortably against my arm as she covered me with it.  I shifted up, tucked my face into the space between her neck and shoulder, and shivered.
    “It’s all right,” she whispered.  “You’re going to be okay.”
    I took another long, shuddering breath and seemed to melt further against her.
    “Now I am.”
    My eyes closed.
    It didn’t take long.
    At least, it didn’t feel like a very long time.  I woke sweating with the taste of sand in my mouth and dryness in my throat that kept me from screaming out loud.  My heart raced, but before I could move, I felt Lia’s warm hand against the side of my face and heard her voice.
    “ I’m right here,” she whispered.  “I promise—I’m not going anywhere.”
    My grip on her tightened a bit, as did hers on me, and my fingers found their way against the skin of her back again.  With my eyes closed and my forehead pressed against her shirt, I slipped back into slumber.
    This time, whatever dreams I had weren’t enough to wake me.  As I regained consciousness, I could immediately feel the difference even before opening my eyes.  The fog was gone and so was the dizziness. My head still throbbed, but the beat was slower and the intensity less.
    I could think again.
    More importantly, I could feel Lia all around me.
    Her scent covered me —relaxed me.  I could hear her slow breaths, which further calmed me.  Her fingers tugged gently through the strands of hair just behind my right ear, and it was as if each stroke over my scalp was removing pieces of the pain, the guilt, and the damage inside my brain.
    I could have stayed right there —cold floor be damned—for the rest of my life.  The scent of her electrified me.  The touch of her fingers soothed me.  The length of her body pressed against mine excited me.
    I moved my hand a little farther up her back and caressed her skin with my fingers before I turned my head and looked up at her.  Her dark eyes met mine, and I pulled air into my lungs to speak.
    “Hey.”  It wasn’t much, but it was probably better than I had managed before