Claiming Ana Read Online Free PDF

think so. So hot,” he slurred. With a groan, he struggled to sit upright.
    Ana fit her shoulder under his uninjured arm and eased him to his feet, grunting when his full weight bore down on her slight frame. “Here now. Lean on me.” His last words worried her. If he was hot in these temperatures, he might have a fever, meaning infection. It became more important than ever to get him inside. She could call the air, but it was better not to use her magic for things she could manage on her own. After a powerful spell, she could sometimes take days to get rid of the flu-like aches and weakness that followed. It would have to be the old fashioned way.
    “Fell for a witch. It figures.”
    She didn’t take offense at his comment, used to the stigma that had followed her around since a child. “Don’t worry. I’m a good one. Try not to hold it against me. That’s it. One foot in front of the other. Come on. You can do it.” Ana cheered him on.
    Howl leaned against her, but gave little help.
    Somehow she managed to get them both to the house. “Back, Taffy,” she commanded before opening the kitchen door and staggering inside with the injured man. She kicked it shut with her heel.
    Now what?
    She tightened her arm around his waist when his knees began to buckle, uncomfortably aware of the hard, smooth muscles under her hand. She leaned both their weights against the heavy, old-fashioned kitchen table. This close, she was excruciatingly conscious of his scent under the smell of blood, a combination of night air and something wild, almost feral. Down low, her stomach tightened.
    Ana cleared her throat. “I’ll try to get you to a hospital, but first I need to stop the bleeding. Can you climb up on the table?”
    No answer. Not even a grunt.
    “Howl? Come on.”
    Still no response.
    Damn. She began to reconsider her decision to forgo her magic.
    Ana struggled with the burden of his increasingly dead weight. There was no way she’d be able to manhandle him into her exam room. Besides, she wasn’t set up for human patients. So what now?
    Her hand slipped in the fresh blood slicking his side before she found an answer. She let go of his wrist with her other hand and braced it against his stomach. Her palm slid on the fever-induced sweat, and the thin line of hair that ran from his navel to his groin rasped against her sensitive skin. She looked down.
    She bit back the urge to vomit as she saw the blood on her hands and arms, coating them in a bright, deadly red. Warm, human blood. Howl’s blood. God, it ran like water. She was a vet, dammit, not a general practitioner. Only hours ago this man had been kissing her senseless in this room. Even though she didn’t indulge in one-night stands, she had been ready to meet the demands of her desire. Now he lay here on her floor, bleeding to death. She shook her head. “I can’t do this. A flesh wound shouldn’t bleed this much.”
    He must be more seriously wounded than she’d first believed. An uncharacteristic feeling of hopelessness washed over her. He might have nicked an artery. No, his blood would be spurting with the pump of his heart. Maybe a vein then. She wished she knew more about human medicine. Veterinary medicine was a world apart from human anatomy. Magic it would have to be, just a bit. She called the air and cooled his hot body with her power. His blood loss slowed a little as the fever lessened.
    A wave of exhaustion made her sway on her feet. Tired. So tired. And this was so outside her realm of expertise. Add to that, her arms ached from supporting him and her feet were killing her after being on them for eighteen hours straight.
    Howl reached his bloody hand for hers. “You can do this, Ana. I trust you.”
    The moment of self-doubt fled as quickly as it came. Just because I’m not a medical doctor doesn’t mean I can’t get the job done. I’m the best help available. She couldn’t wimp out now; Howl’s life was at stake. As his weight became too