I turned back to Rebecca and lifted her gently in my arms. She smiled up at me, her pain reflected in her eyes. God, how I loved her, and how close I'd come to losing her. I carried her to the van and lay her flat on the front seat, and held the now soaked shirt against her wound while the bleeding slowed and then stopped, and her breathing gradually settled.
"I'm OK now," she spoke softly.
I gazed at her, absorbing the beauty and strength of her, and then I buried my face in her neck. Her hand came up to rest on the back of my head, and she threaded her fingers through my hair. That wonderful, terrible desire rose unbidden, and I automatically began to pull away, but her grip transferred to my shoulders, and she kissed me, and I lost myself in the sensations shooting through my body.
A cry of frustration from the other side of the road recalled me to the present. I lifted my head and smiled ruefully down at her.
"I need to sort Jack out."
She chuckled. "I think you've done that already. I never knew that breaking bones could be so loud." She shuddered slightly. "Are you going to, er, kill him?"
"No. We'll take him to Julia, and let her deal with him. Believe it or not, her grievances are far, far worse than anything he has done to you."
"Really? That's awful." She paused, then, "Well, go and get him then!" She grinned at me and pulled herself up into a sitting position. I kissed her again, and dragged myself away to fetch Jack, who lay in helpless fury on the damp grass at the roadside.
"You bastard!" he spat at me as I approached him. I grinned back evilly.
"Hey Jack," I said.
"What?" he snapped furiously.
"Bite me."