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That earned me a smile.

She held on until the dizziness eased. Even after I steadied, she stayed tucked against my side.

I liked the warmth of her tucked against me, the way she held on as though her little body had any chance in hell of keeping me upright if I went down. Mostly, I liked that she was touching me because she wanted to help, and I didn’t want her to stop nearly as much as I should have.

When I shifted my weight onto the injured leg, her attention dropped to my knee immediately.

“Careful.”

“You’re getting bossy again.”

“Someone has to be sensible.”

“I thought your five minutes were over.”

“I’ve extended them due to extenuating circumstances.”

A laugh escaped me before my ribs reminded me why that was a bad idea.

“Getting comfortable ordering me around, are you?”

“Only when you clearly need supervision.”

There she was. A little more attitude appeared every time she decided I wasn’t going to bite.

I took a careful step.

Then another.

My left thigh protested, but it held. I crossed to the worktable, turned, and came back without ending up on my ass.

“I can walk.”

“Can you run?”

“Not unless Ciro plans to give me a considerable head start.”

Her smile disappeared.

“I’ll be faster by the time we actually move,” I added. “Walking is enough for tonight.”

That seemed to reassure her.

I started toward the worktable again, then noticed the drain in the floor.

Now that I was standing and everything inside me had apparently remembered how to function, I needed to piss. Badly.

At least Ciro had been considerate enough to put a drain in his dungeon.

“Mouse.”

“What?”

“I need another favor.”

Her expression immediately turned serious. “What do you need? Are you dizzy again?”

“I need you to turn around.”