Page 37 of Lion’s Den

She rested her hand over his heart. “It’s fine. I’m not in a panic. I won’t run.”

“I haven’t touched you yet.”

“Do it. You’ll see.” Would Cam take her word or assume she couldn’t handle it and come up with another solution?

After a moment spent looking into her eyes, Cam nodded slightly and slowly moved his left hand toward Sedona’s face until his hand settled on the left side of her neck. “Shine the light here,” he said to David.

The next several minutes were nerve-racking for Sedona, but not in the way Cam had expected. Her problem was not that she didn’t want a man to touch her. Nope, her problem was she wanted just one man to touch her, Cam Sims. She ought to tell him that soon. Talk about putting yourself out there. Worth it, though.

Cam’s hold on her neck was gentle. No pressure, just warmth and comfort, and a light bright enough to illuminate an entire city. She squinted against the brightness.

“Close your eyes,” Cam said, although he didn’t take his attention from his task.

“Why is it so bright?”

“We use it on patrol. Lights up dark spaces, and in a pinch serves as a weapon.”

“A multiuse tool, huh?”

“Everything we carry can be a weapon if you know what to do with it.”

His thumb stroked her skin, causing her to shiver. Wow.

Cam froze. “Everything okay?”

She almost purred. “Oh, yes. Feels good.”

His gaze jumped to hers as David chuckled. “You’re quite a distraction. Close your eyes for me. David, move the light to the right.”

The second Sedona obeyed the order, she knew it was a mistake. No visual stimulation meant all other senses were heightened, including feeling Cam’s touch against her skin. She felt when Cam discovered something.

His muscles stiffened. “David, look at this.”

After a period of silence, the sheriff sighed. “I agree.”

Sedona turned her head to look up at Cam. “What is it?”

“Signs of an injection. You were right. Someone drugged you.”

Relief that she hadn’t imagined the pain of the needle entering her muscle caused Sedona’s knees to weaken.

Cam caught her and pulled her against him. “Hey, are you all right?”

She nodded. “Just relieved I didn’t imagine the shot.”

David said, “Until the hospital lab processes your blood sample, we won’t know what the kidnappers pumped into your system.”

“How long will that take?”

“Don’t know.” He circled his desk to sit in his office chair. “I’ll call and give them a push.”

David pulled out his phone and tapped out the number. In seconds, he was talking to one of the lab techs. A minute later, he ended the call. “They’ll have the results in an hour. We would have already had them, but the tech originally assigned to the case had to leave because of a sick child.”

The block of ice in her stomach melted. “Good. Thanks for checking on it.”

“Sure.” The sheriff shifted his attention to Cam. “You’re off duty until I tell you otherwise.”

Cam said nothing for several long seconds. “Why, sir?”