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hard muscle. “You’re not really firing them, are you?”

With him breathing hard, I actually felt his heart beating beneath my hand. “They

shouldn’t have allowed you to decorate the tree.” He stopped at the atrium so abruptly that if he weren’t holding on tightly to me, I think I would have flown out of his arms. “And what

business do you have climbing a ladder that tall in your condition?”

“What condition?” I matched him bark for bark. “I’m not sick anymore. My throat isn’t

even sore. I’m fine, Luka. Get it into that thick head of yours.”

Not gratifying my argument with a response, Luka continued his trek to my bedroom. He

kicked the door in and rushed me to my bed. Unceremoniously, he flopped me onto the

mattress, forcing an “
oomph
” out of me. I actually bounced a couple of times before settling.

He shrugged out of his tux jacket and threw it into the living room. Then he proceeded to

pace the foot of my bed.

“Why the hell are you so worked up about this?” I followed him with my gaze, leaning

back with my hands behind me.

“You could have hurt yourself on that ladder.” He did a good job of messing up his slicked

back locks by raking his fingers through them.

“If I remember correctly, you suddenly calling my name is what caused me to lose my

balance.”

He stopped and faced me. “You’re pinning this on me?”

I shrugged, which only caused him to bare his teeth again. Imaginary steam curled out of

his ears from the way he glared at me. “I had it under control. If you didn’t freak out when

you saw me then I would have climbed down the ladder safely. Why the hell do you have a

twenty-foot tree anyway? It seems a little excessive.”

Luka resumed his pacing. “Don’t change the topic.”

My tongue wanted to dart out of my mouth. So he’d caught the topic change, huh? With

the hilarity happening in front of me, I couldn’t find it in myself to stay mad at Luka. He

tortured himself enough without me adding to the spectacle.

“Luka,” I rolled my eye to the ceiling, “you’ve got to quit with this overprotective streak of yours.”

“I’m not overprotective!”

“Oh yeah? What about that time you didn’t want Phoenix to go through with her boudoir

shoot? Yeah, I heard you two arguing out in the hall,” I said when Luka stared at me as if to

counter my words. “And then when I got sick, which is also your fault, if I recall.” He slumped into the chair he used to guard me in my sleep. “And now when I was just enjoying myself

decorating the tree. You ruined that by going off the rails.” Okay, harsh, especially from the guilt blooming in Luka’s features, but why hide the truth to spare his feelings? If he didn’t get a grip, people would needlessly lose their jobs.

“I did freak out, didn’t I?” He sighed long and hard.

“I’d hate to say ‘I told you so.’”

Luka pushed out of the chair and went into the living room. I didn’t know what he was up

to until I heard him speaking.

“Please let the staff know none of them are fired.”

A pause. I assumed he spoke with administrative services. I didn’t move from the bed,

suddenly really comfortable on top of the warm sheets. Maybe Luka was right. Maybe I

wasn’t fully recovered yet. The fatigue in my limbs certainly agreed with him. I let myself fall the rest of the way, folding my hands over my stomach. I blinked slowly at the ceiling.

“Yes.” Luka’s calmer tone reached me. “I made a snap judgment. Please send my apology

to the staff and double their Christmas bonuses. Yes. I’ll sign off on it in the morning.”

I tuned out the rest of Luka’s conversation in an effort to understand what just happened.

Luka freaked out because he thought I wasn’t well enough to be decorating a tree. He thought

I would fall off a ladder. And he actually fired his staff because I’d helped out. What was it about me that put him in protective mode? I was just a photography major who was given an

opportunity to photograph Vicious for her final project. When Luka returned into the

bedroom, I asked him so. I pushed up on my elbows, waiting for his response.

“Dakota, I’m tired. I had a really long evening and you falling off the ladder took ten years

out of my life.” Sinking back into the chair, he yanked at his bow tie and unbuttoned the top

of his dress shirt. “I’m not in any position to explain why I’m protective when it comes to

you.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit response.” I scrunched my nose at him. “It’s like when a

woman says she has a headache to get out of sex. I want to have it all out. Now.” Yeah, why

wait? Ever since I’d met Luka it had been nothing but sexual tension and harassment. I

pushed aside the way he’d made me feel in the tub and the rest of the times his touch set my

skin on fire. That had nothing to do with this. He didn’t think twice about firing innocent

people because of me. This had to stop. “You freaked out when I left the manor for a couple

of hours. You refused to leave my room when I was sick. And now you’re barking at the staff.

What’s that all about?”

Luka watched me from hooded eyes. He stretched his legs out, crossing them at the

ankles, and used three fingers as a stand for the side of his head. “There’s something about

you, Dakota.”

“That’s not an answer. It means nothing.” Well, not really, judging by the hummingbird

heartbeat in my chest.

“What do you want from me?”

“Answers. Clear, understandable answers. If you can’t give them then you might as well

get out.”

Like a snap, Luka was off the chair. He walked out of my room, leaving me slack-jawed. I

heard the terrace doors open then close. The coward. He’d rather leave than confront my

questions head on.

“Unbelievable.” I shook my head before falling back into bed. Rolling to my side, I closed

my eye. I thought I just wanted to think things through. Instead, I fell asleep.

The next time I opened my eye, I lay on the right side of the bed. I breathed in deep. Sweet

and spice met my inhalation. I twisted around to find Luka sleeping beside me. Sighing, I

pushed away the comforter he’d covered us with and swung my legs off the side of the bed.

Once on my feet, I looked down to find myself in my sleep clothes. What was with Luka and

his need to dress me like a doll while I slept? It bordered on creepy at this point. But what

could I do? Arguing with him about it seemed useless. I just had to hang in there for a few

more days.

Shaking my head, I stretched my arms out and felt my way to the bathroom. I didn’t want

to flick any of the lights on for fear of waking him. My foot brushed against something soft. I bent down and picked up Luka’s jacket. In a moment of weakness, I lifted it to my nose and

sniffed. I let the scent of him envelop me. When Demitri told me about Luka being a complex

creature, he left out just how complex. Even a team of the country’s best psychologists

wouldn’t understand the things Luka did.

Returning to my senses, I draped the jacket over the nearest couch and entered the

bathroom. The cold tile made me hop the rest of the way. Sitting on the toilet, I honestly tried to let understanding Luka go. Only then did the idea for his photo shoot crystalize in my

mind. I knew what I wanted to do.

When I shuffled back into my bedroom, Luka still lay on his side of the bed. A quick smile

spread across my lips. I still couldn’t believe he sat with me the whole time I’d been delirious from fever. And everything that had happened tonight with his freak out seemed so funny

now. Sure, the guy had his faults, but when he wanted to, he could be so damn sweet. I didn’t

want to admit it, but he was growing on me. That just might be the most dangerous

realization I’d ever had since coming to Lunar Manor.

Having just recovered, the fatigue of interrupting my sleep caught up with me. I didn’t

have the strength or the patience to figure my feelings out right this instant. In a couple of hours, we would be having breakfast then opening presents. What little sleep I could get I

would take now because the final push for my project was at hand. I stifled a yawn and

padded back to bed. When the mattress dipped at my weight, Luka shifted. I paused for a

second.

“Where’d you go?” he asked sleepily.

“Bathroom,” I whispered, settling back into bed.

Without opening his eyes, he pulled the thick comforter over my body. “You should have

woken me. I would have helped.”

“I can pee by myself, thank you very much.”

He grunted but didn’t say anything else. Soon his breathing returned to the rhythmic

repetition of sleep. I whispered a silent thanks for his continued concern for my health and

quickly sank back into the dark dreamless state I’d found myself in when the fever hit.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Presents

On the cold, hard forest floor, I lie spread-eagled in a pool of my blood. Staring up at the

sky, I count my heartbeats like stars. He left me to die. My breathing grows shallower with

every minute that passes. I shiver, numb inside. I no longer feel the bottom half of my body. I blink but only one eye closes. My tears mix with blood, rolling hot down my face.

I can’t move.

I don’t. Having lost any will to live. My hope slips out of me as the blood pool grows

bigger. A cloud covers the moon, bathing me in darkness. My breaths come in hitches and

hicks now.

As the silver moonlight returns, I hear several voices call my name in the distance. I don’t

move. I know I should call out, but I feel no pain. I’m fine. They don’t need to find me. I’m

comfortable where I am. I blink again, my eyelid getting heavier. I’m so tired. I ran way too

much.

Beams of light pierce into the gloom, overpowering the moon’s light.

I’m fine. Really. I just need some sleep and I’ll be right as rain.

Their calls grow louder, but I’m already slipping away.

My eye closes.

A final breath leaves my body.

“Wake up, wake up, sleepy head!”

Jerking awake, I hissed at the sunlight blinding my good eye. Sleeping on my stomach, I

pushed up slightly and buried my face into the pillow, away from the harsh light. Deidra’s

high-pitched voice said something, but my brain and ears refused to pay attention. I reached

out to my left side where Luka slept only to find empty space. Opening my eye a slit, I

confirmed what my hand told me.

Like a stray I’d made the mistake of feeding, Luka had left my bed without as much as a

cuddle. Jerk. Deidra sashayed into my bedroom and shook my shoulder.

“Alright!” I barked. “I’m up.”

Despite my words, all I did was shift to Luka’s side of the bed. I inhaled the sweet and

spice, further proving I hadn’t dreamt his presence in my bed last night. Huh. Nothing

happened. We slept together and nothing happened. I didn’t know how I should feel about

that. A part of me thanked the heavens he hadn’t tried anything stupid. The idiot in me

partially wished he had.

“I’m giving you one minute to get out of that bed,” Deidra threatened. “Then I’m yanking

off those sheets whether you’re on them or not.”

In a plank position, I pushed up with my hands and toes and rolled onto my back. I stared

up at the ceiling. Then, when I remembered I had company, I reached up and only relaxed

when my fingertip touched velvet.

Patch secured and not wanting to test Deidra’s resolve, I sat up, pulling my legs up and

resting my elbows on my knees. I ran my fingers through my hair and trailed Deidra with my

gaze.

“What are you doing?”

She dropped a garment bag on the bed by my feet. I eyed it suspiciously. She pointed at the

bag and said, “Get up and wear that. You’ll be late for breakfast.”

“What breakfast?” My fuzzy brain refused to cooperate this morning. I needed a

humongous cup of coffee.

Deidra finally stopped moving about and faced me, hands circling her tiny waist. “It’s

Christmas morning. Everyone is to report to the dining room for breakfast before present

opening. Didn’t you get the schedule?”

“I need coffee,” I grumbled, only getting half of what she’d said.

Huffing, Deidra stomped into the living room. She puttered about before coming back with

a heavenly smelling mug. I eagerly reached for it, and without blowing, brought the rim to my

lips. I took a determined gulp. Heat and peppermint rushed over my tongue and down my

throat. The yumminess fought against the scalding. I took another swallow, finally waking

up.

“Merry Christmas to you too,” I said to Deidra.

The knot on her brow eased, replaced by a warm smile on her lips. “Merry Christmas,

Miss.”

“For once will you call me by my name? I mean, it is Christmas after all.” I knew I milked

it, but Deidra relented the second I gave her the puppy dog face.

“Merry Christmas, Dakota.”

“There you go.” Warmth spread all over my body from the scrumptious coffee. The

peppermint did just the trick. Candy cane in a mug.

“Thank you for the wonderful present.” Her smile grew wider. “I will treasure it always.”

“You already opened it?” I dropped my gaze, feeling my embarrassment surface as a hot

blush. I rubbed the bridge of my nose in an effort to hide my discomfort.

“I hope you don’t mind. The staff can’t have presents under the tree. When I noticed my

name on one of the gifts in your bag, I separated it. I also took the liberty of giving Eli his.”

The hopeful anticipation in her eyes broke through my shyness. She waited for me to