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someone from the hotel to help you.”
    He stood but she reached for his arm. “Please don’t. I don’t want anyone to  know.” Calling attention to herself was never a good  idea. And being lupine meant the hotel  doctor couldn’t be called in. Since Conner  was well aware of that fact, she knew he
    wouldn’t offer to fetch  the physician.
    He studied her, then nodded. “Tell me what you need.”
    Grateful he hadn’t tried to treat her like a  helpless woman, she said, “I’ll be fine
    here alone.”
    “No, you’re not going to be alone. I know enough about trauma to realize that’s the last thing you need. You’re injured. How  about we start by cleaning you up and  assessing the damage?”
    She was almost afraid to look, but Conner was right. As it was, she could  barely stand up.
    “Any bones broken?”
    She shook her head.
    “Where does it hurt?”
    Turning her head to look at him, she said, “Everywhere.”
    He grimaced. “Looks like it. Noah’s  right. I should have  killed him.”
    “You made the right choice. My people  will deal with him in their own way.”
    “Can you stand?”
    She nodded. “Might need some help. My legs won’t stop shaking.”

    22

    Mountain Moonlight

    “That’s just  a fight-or-flight reaction. From  the looks of  you, I’d say you put up one hell of a fight.”
    The pride in his voice made her smile. “I tried. Sonofabitch was bigger than me.”
    “Which is why he should have never forced  himself on  you like that. Goddamn it! It pisses me off when men get their  rocks off by overpowering women.”
    He slid his hands under her arms and lifted her to a standing position, then  let her  lean on him as they moved into the bathroom. He seated her on the ample corner of the
    tub.
    “Sit here. I’m going to run a bath for you  and see if we can’t eliminate some of the
    bloodstains.”
    We? What the hell did he mean by “we”?  She watched him turn on the faucets andtest the water temperature, then rummage through the  bath salts on the  edge of the tub.  “This isn’t quite muscle relaxing, but it’ll  do,” he said, pouring some lavender salts under the tap water.
    The smell of lavender shortly filled the room, relaxing her enough that her legs stopped shaking. “I think  I can take it from here.”
    But instead of leaving, he crossed his arms and shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone, and since your cousin’s  not here, you’re stuck with me.”
    “I’m not bathing with you in the room.”
    “Yeah, you  are, because I’m not leaving you  alone.”
    His voice was commanding, yet gentle. Not  at all like Peter’s show of power. The fact he didn’t coddle her or treat  her like  a victim was comforting. He was just…here. And that helped. Much as she’d rather have  crawled into bed and pulled the covers over her head until she healed, Conner was right. She needed to clean up and assess the damage, at least estimate how long before  the lupine part of her healed her body.
    When the bath was full, Conner shut off  the water and turned to her. “Drop theblanket and get in. I’ll hold onto your hands  for support.”
    Oh hell. He’d already seen her naked when  he flew into the room  and pulled Peteroff her. She wasn’t at her most attractive  right now, though. Funny how that annoyed her. She dropped the blanket and  reached for his hands, grateful for his strength as she wobbled a little lifting her leg over the edge  of the tub. Conner squeezed her  hands andstepped behind her, nestling his body against hers for support.
    Nice. Hard, well-muscled body, she thought, then wondered how she could even think of a man’s body after what she’d been  through. It was probably a good sign, though, because it meant she was already beginning to heal.
    Katya kept her gaze focused on the bathwater instead of on Conner, not wanting to see the reaction in his eyes. Would he cringe over the bruises that