Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
He turned on the younger man viciously and grabbed the marker from him, throwing it aside.
“What the fuck, Kyle?” He shoved the man with a force that sent him sprawling, before turning back to Beth who was hunched over and cradling her left arm, which she appeared to have landed on. “Let me look. C’mon, Beth, let me look.”
He was dimly aware of a swearing Cam joining them, and could hear the alarmed voices as the rest of their group ran from the viewing deck. But he had eyes only for Beth, who was staring at him through a bright shimmer of tears. She flinched when he carefully took hold of her wrist and tried to extend her arm gently.
Gideon swore under his breath at her soft, pained cry. His gentle hands skirted up from her swollen wrist to her elbow and prodded gently, but despite his tenderness she still winced and involuntarily jerked her arm back, resulting in fresh tears.
“Okay, okay baby, I think you may have sprained your wrist and possibly wrenched your elbow. I don’t think anything is broken, but you’re going to need x-rays just in case.”
“I duh-duh-don’t luh-luh…” The word stalled on her tongue, and she stared at him miserably before shaking her head and rephrasing. “I hate paintballing.”
“Aye, I don’t blame you, lass.” Her stutter made his heart twist. He knew how hard she tried to hide it from everybody else, and she must feel absolutely, humiliatingly exposed in front of all their friends. Not that any of them would care, not that he cared. But she cared and he hated how vulnerable she must feel right now. So he leaned into his accent, hoping it would distract her, and allow her some time to wrestle control back of her emotions and her tongue.
“Anywhere else hurt?” he asked, aware of the rest of the group surrounding them, but maintaining their distance, letting him take the lead for the moment.
Beth considered the question and nearly laughed in response.
Did anywhere else hurt?
It was more a case of where didn’t it hurt. Beth felt like she had a full body bruise, and her abdomen throbbed dully from where she had taken the pellet, but none of that was as bad as the pain in her arm. Diving into the tub had been foolish enough but diving out of it—without checking the terrain beforehand—had been even more stupid.
“Mostly the arm,” she said, after inhaling deeply. “I hurt it when I jumped from the bath and then landed on it again when he shot me.”
She jerked her head toward Kyle, who—now that the adrenalin was wearing off—was starting to look sheepish.
“It was a cheap shot,” Kylie said, glaring at Kyle. “We all saw it.”
Aah, well, it didn’t look like Kyle was going to be a part of their group for much longer.
“I’m sorry,” the guy muttered. “I was caught up in the game.”
“Gideon called a truce, you jerk,” Kylie pointed out. Kyle said something in response to that, but Gideon blocked them out and returned his attention to Beth, who was starting to look a little shocky.
“We should get you to an emergency room,” he said. “And have that arm checked out.”
Their impartial match referee who’d been observing quietly, stepped forward.
“We have an infirmary, and a medic on site. But you’re right, she’ll probably need an x-ray.”
“This is stupid,” Beth protested. “The day is still young. I’ll go see the medic, you guys continue with the game.”
“The teams are uneven,” Zane said with a shrug.
“They’re not, I’ll be going with her,” Gideon said, and Beth levelled a shocked look at his face. He met her gaze impassively, daring her to protest. His words caused heads to swivel and brows to raise, but he ignored everyone else, keeping his eyes on her face.
Beth flushed but said nothing.
“I’m not feeling too great either,” Cat said. “I’m happy to call it a day.”
“But…” Beth began.
“Do you want me to come to the hospital with you?” Cat asked, her eyes drifting to Gideon who suddenly realized that he was still hovering protectively close to Beth. He knew how odd this behavior must seem to their friends, and honestly, who could blame them? Gideon wasn’t even certain why the hell his knee jerk reaction to Beth being hurt had been an instant, ferocious surge of protectiveness. He forced himself to take a step back. Striving to appear detached while he waited to hear what Beth would say in response to Cat’s question.
“No. You just said you’re not feeling well. You should take care of that, uhm, tummy bug.”
“I’d be more than happy to accompany you,” Adam Reece offered with a warm smile, and Beth returned that smile shyly.
Gideon bristled. What the fuck was this now?
“I couldn’t possibly impose on you in that way,” Beth said with a shy little smile, a pretty blush on her cheeks.