Time To Heal [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER NINE: THE QUEST CONTINUES

A shoot of pain darted through Ana as she heard his savvy answer, a mere monosyllable with no flowery explanations, no pacification. There was not even an iota of remorse on his face or demeanor to indicate that he'd regretted his vile act, or that he was at least a tiny little bit sorry for having ditched her so heartlessly.

She found herself imagining how the alternative would have resulted in, trapped in a loveless marriage with someone who hated her with all his might. While she was doomed to love only one man, there would never have been the merest hope that he would one day reciprocate her feelings. How pathetic was that?

It seemed that she'd been spared a worse fate, even if it sounded weird. Hooked to a self-destructive man, one who was ready to trade his life in exchange for retribution, would have been the perfect recipe for total disaster.

Except that the situation had not changed, only the victim. Instead of going after her, Dev was going to ruin her sister's life with his pigheadedness. She became even more resolute to stop his madness. Involuntarily, her eyes flew to the tickets on the mantelpiece just above Devin's head, cursing herself for not having been more cautious when his eyes automatically followed hers. Frowning, his attention strayed on the tickets, and Ana knew she was doomed when his eyes flew open in shock.

"You little liar. You are going to Florida alone, aren't you?"

Vehemently, she shook her head in negation, and tried to grab the tickets but Dev was quicker anticipating her move like a lion, lurching forward before she even reached the coupons. It was inevitable, the collision made them lose their momentum and they titillated.

Unable to do anything else, Ana closed her eyes bracing herself for the impact when Dev grabbed her in his fall, his body acting like a shield. He let out a loud grunt as he fell on the carpet, absorbing the full impact as he landed with a loud thud with her atop him.

After taking a second of recovering from the shock, Ana finally consented to the luxury of his closeness to seep in, decadently indulging herself in his musky scent, and the assuaging feelings engulfing her.

Risking a peek at him to confirm whether he was having the same reactions, she was disappointed to note that his eyes were closed. Then, a thought struck her. Was he hurt?

"Devin," she whispered, nuzzling his face gently, and trying not let panic overwhelm her when he groaned softly. Was it possible that he'd broken something? She tried again, nudging her nose against his face, not wanting to move in case she aggravated the situation. Nothing. He was lifeless under her, his hands slouched and eyes firmly closed.

Stealthily, she removed her hand to caress his face in order to spawn a reaction from him, but all she managed to extract was another soulful moan behind tightly shut eyelids.

It got her worried. Devin had never been one to fuss; he'd always shove aside her worry when he'd been hurt, not having the patience to withstand the fuss she made around him. Alarmed, she tried to disentangle her body from him, but was instantly brought back in his arms by a strong pull around her waist, and her body tumbled back against him.

"Devin," she re-iterated, this time her tone had a reproachful intonation.

"Why were you going to Florida behind my back," he queried his eyes remaining adamantly closed, hands still pressing gently but firmly around her waist to keep her position intact. Flustered, she fidgeted to free herself, all she managed to achieve was put herself in an even more awkward posture. Then, she froze when she felt the hard bulge under her, unmistakable in its length. He was feeling horny over a fight? What the hell?