Just as Elizabeth's vision began to blur and her body lost all strength, Rex's reaction was lightning quick.
Before her head could make contact with the hard floor, his massive left arm shot around her waist like a vice, catching her dead weight with surprising gentleness. He pulled her flush against his hard, muscular chest, his other hand still slick with her fluids as he stabilized her shaking frame.
"I got you."
For several long, agonizing seconds, the only sound in the room was Elizabeth's ragged, broken breathing and the heavy thud of Rex's heart against her ear. Slowly, painfully, she forced her eyelids open, her vision swimming as she looked up.
'Huh...?'
She found herself staring directly into Rex's face. His dark eyes were fixed on hers, intense and unreadable, his jaw set in a rigid line.
His lips were pulled back in a smirk that didn't reach his eyes, but there was something there, something she couldn't quite name. He hadn't thrown her down like trash.
