Free The Stone Warriors: Damian by D. B. Reynolds Page A

There was a reason she rarely drank. But the discomfort quickly faded in importance compared to the rest of her body, which felt as if someone had been pounding on her with a mallet. Every bone in her body hurt, every muscle ached. She catalogued her symptoms as the previous day’s events came rushing back. Infection was a real possibility from the shoulder wound. That could be why she felt so awful. She remembered taking antibiotics, but the oral meds might not have been enough.
    She forced herself to sit up. It wasn’t unusual to be stiff and sore after an escape like she’d been through. No matter the shape one was in—and she was in great shape—all that running and crawling and crouching took a toll, especially when the adrenaline got pumping. Sometimes, you didn’t know how badly you’d been hurt until the adrenaline wore off. Of course, she’d never been shot before!
    She swung her legs over the side of the bed, reflexively grabbing the towel that fell away from her naked breasts. And that made her remember Damian. Her head came up, her gaze quickly falling on the opposite bed where he slept, seemingly unaware of her movements. Not quite trusting his innocent pose, she kept the towel over her breasts as she stood and walked the short distance to the bathroom. The light was on, the door cracked open to admit just a sliver of illumination into the dark room. She didn’t know why Damian had left it like that, but she appreciated it. Blackout curtains could leave hotel rooms so dark that you couldn’t even walk to the bathroom without stubbing your toe.
    Closing the bathroom door behind her, she let the towel drop and stepped over to the full-length mirror on the wall, leaning in to check out her shoulder and anything else she might have missed. Between the gunfight and the long drive, and then the stress of having her shoulder cleaned up and bandaged, she’d been pretty foggy last night. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found only the usual cuts and scrapes and, of course, the big honking bandage on her shoulder.
    She moved her arm carefully, testing her range of motion and the limits of her pain. She had to admit, it felt a lot better than it had before Damian worked on it. Getting that piece of marble out had probably made a huge difference. She saw her first-aid kit sitting on the counter and took another two antibiotic pills, along with some acetaminophen for the pain. She had stronger pain meds in there, but she needed her head clear. Today was the beginning of a new campaign to recover the Talisman.
    The wordless rumble of a deep voice reminded her of her roommate. Pulling on one of the hotel robes, she cracked the door open, and found Damian sitting on the side of the bed, looking confused.
    He looked up and saw her. “Leave the door open please.” His voice was rough with emotion, and she realized it wasn’t confusion on his face, it was dread, and more than a little horror. She gave herself a mental slap upside the head. Of course! That was why he’d left the light on in the dark room. He’d been buried in a cave for centuries. The pitch-black hotel room had probably brought back those nightmare years.
    “Sorry,” she said and opened the door wider. The light fell on his sitting form, and she saw that he was completely, perfectly, naked. Fuck.
    No! No fuck! Her first order of business had to be a trip to the store to get him some clothes. “Are you hungry?” she asked, mostly to get her mind off the fact that he was naked and ripped. Damn! But then she told herself to stop ogling and get back to business. Was he hungry? Of course he was hungry. Forget the millennia trapped in stone, he hadn’t even eaten anything since he’d been freed yesterday. And that was her fault. They’d been so busy getting away, and then dealing with her wound that they hadn’t ordered any food. And since she’d passed out, he probably hadn’t known how to pick up the phone and call room service. He’d