Part 71 (1/2)
”Stop it. Both of you.” s.h.i.+rtless, Dean had pretty much lived up to Claire's expectations. Eyes locked on the wounds instead of the rippling expanse of bare chest, she dabbed antibiotic cream on the punctures and fought to keep her mind on the job. ”None of these are deep. You were lucky. He could've ripped your whole arm off. Both arms.” She was babbling. She knew it, but she couldn't seem to stop. ”Ripped both your stupid arms off and thrown them on the ground.” He not only looked great, he smelled terrific. Which had nothing to do with the matter at hand. Nothing at all. ”You'd have bled to death before I could get to you. You could have been killed.”
Jacques snickered. ”Such a magnifique manner beside the bed, cherie.”
”I'm just saying,” she began, and stopped. ”I'm just saying,” she repeated, ”that I need him to run this hotel and...” If she hadn't looked up and seen Dean watching her, his expression teetering halfway between hope and disappointment, she could've left it at that. ”... I've gotten used to having him around and I don't...” The end of one finger covered in cream, she poked at the last three punctures. ”... want him dead.”
”Ow.”
”Sorry.”
”About what?” Austin asked, jumping up onto the table beside Dean. ”And what happened to your arms? And, just out of curiosity, why don't you have any chest hair?”
While a blus.h.i.+ng Dean shrugged into his s.h.i.+rt, Claire answered the first two questions.
”And the chest hair?” the cat prodded when she finished.
She picked him up and dropped him on the floor.
”You're just mad because I was right,” he muttered as he jumped back up again. ”I can see the sign now. This elevator holds a maximum of... How many dimensions?”
”That's not important.”
”It will be to the elevator certification guys.”
”I'll get some dry wall and reseal the doors tomorrow,” Dean offered.
”No.” When three pairs of eyes locked on her, she shrugged. ”I'd like to study it for a while, maybe I can fix it. It's perfectly safe if you all stay off it.”
”And if you stay off it, cherie.”
”I know enough to stay in it.”
”Penny for your thoughts?” Austin asked from the other pillow.
Claire rolled onto her side and stroked his head. ”That only works if you hand me the penny,” she reminded him.
”If I had hands...”
She smiled. ”I was thinking about...” How Jacques and I make a good team. How I felt when I saw Dean lying on the rocks. How one of them's too young and the other's too dead. How a Keeper should be able to keep her mind on the job even if it has been six months which is a bit of personal information relevant to absolutely nothing. ”... the elevator.”
”Really?”
Why doesn't Dean have any chest hair? ”Uh-huh.”
”Liar.”
ISN'T THAT OUR LINE?.
CHAPTER TEN.