Free Nightwalker by Unknown

His voice was husky and strangely
    reassuring as he drew her up beside him.
    "My leg, Justin, I don't think I can stand on it." Her cramped fingers
    continued to ache even though she was no longer using them to support
    her whole body. She couldn't seem to uncurl them. Cassie swallowed
    against the pain.
    Justin muttered something savage and the next moment he had Cassie
    in his arms, cradled against his chest. He started back up the stairs,
    careful to avoid the step that had broken beneath Cassie. When they
    reached the door, the cat was waiting for them. He followed as Justin
    strode down the hall to the library with his burden.
    "What the hell? Cassie, your leg is bleeding. You really did a number on
    it, didn't you?" Justin's face was a grim mask as he set Cassie down on the
    sofa and rolled up the denim fabric of her jeans. "Damn it, woman, what
    were you doing on that staircase? If that cat hadn't been sitting by the
    door…"
    "I just wanted to see what was down in the basement," she said in
    defense of herself, drawing in her breath sharply as he examined her leg. A
    long, shallow-looking slash extended for several inches down her calf. The
    blood still oozed freely from it.
    "Here." Justin took one of her aching palms and placed it over the gash.
    "Press as hard as you can on it while I go get the emergency kit out of my
    car." He rose to his feet, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Just wanted to see
    what was in the basement," he repeated sarcastically. "And you didn't
    even have a flashlight. Of all the idiotic, crazy things to do! Don't you
    realize the wood in an old house like this is often rotted?"
    "I wonder if we could save the lecture until you get my leg bandaged?"
    Cassie glowered up at him, knowing there was undoubtedly pain as well as
    defensiveness in her eyes. She didn't need him to tell her she had been
    foolish.
    Justin hesitated and then walked out of the library without a word,
    returning shortly with a small medical kit. He proceeded to carry Cassie
    into the kitchen, sitting her on the counter and adjusting her so that the
    injured leg extended into the sink. She watched stoically as he thoroughly
    washed her leg under running water and then prepared to dab the gash
    with antiseptic.
    "This is going to hurt," he warned.
    "Here, let me put it on, then. I can control it better that way." Cassie
    tried to remove the bottle from his hand but he refused to let her have it.
    "I'll do it." Deliberately he applied the stuff in a quick, merciless
    fashion.
    "Damn it! That hurts!" Cassie jumped, trying to pull her leg out of the
    way. "Justin, mat's my leg, I'll take care of it!"
    "It's over with," he announced, setting the bottle down on the counter.
    "Believe me, it's easier to get it done in a hurry than to stretch it out. It's
    like pulling off a Band-Aid. One quick yank is easier in the long run than
    pulling it off centimeter by centimeter."
    She gave him a fulminating glance. "You have your medical theories
    and I have mine. I prefer my own methods."
    "Meaning you're the type who pulls off the Band-Aid centimeter by
    centimeter?"
    "Exactly. And I dab my antiseptic on slowly. In future, kindly remember
    that I prefer to do things my way!"
    "We've got a small problem, then, haven't we?" He smiled laconically as
    he bandaged the leg and scooped her up off the counter. "I like to do
    things my way, also."
    Cassie let that one pass, not feeling up to a full-scale argument over
    something as trivial as Band-Aids. She was silent as he carried her back
    down the hall to the sofa. It was only when he had released her that she
    commented blandly, "I noticed you didn't get too upset at the sight of
    blood."
    He stood looking down at her. "I could hardly afford to be squeamish,
    could I? It would interfere with my career."
    Was that a teasing light she saw in the dark gaze? Probably not.
    Dracula was not noted for his sense of humor. She watched as he moved
    over to the fireplace and began to restoke the blaze he'd