“Not you,” I snap before he starts stripping down right here and now. The vampire has no concept of personal space or privacy.
Izzy bites back a small smile and her pretty whiskey-colored eyes shift to the vampire lingering at my side.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” she whispers to him.
Thank the moon.
I know they’re disappointed, that they wish they could have more time with her right here, right now. I know they have a thousand questions and the same burning urge I have to to hold her, kiss her, make love to her like she deserves and only then ask the important questions afterwards.
She just needs time.
Her hand slips into mine like she might lead me down to the shower room at the end of the hall but the feel of her palm against mine isn’t enough. I bend quickly and when my palms wrap around her thighs, a stifled yelp slips past her lips just before she’s pressed right up against me, chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat.
And then I carry her away like my goddess that she is.
I push the shower room door open with my back and we slip inside. It’s empty but steam hovers in the air around us. I lower her down slowly and I love the way her lashes flutter as her core presses just right against the hardness beneath my khakis.
She’s so small. How the fuck did I let her go?
That’ll never happen again.
I’ve held back because I didn’t want to scare her but not anymore.
If she’s scared, good. Because I’m fucking terrified.
“Take your clothes off,” I tell her on a steady tone that echoes along the crisp white tiles.
She removes the boots first, slowly, methodically, and when she comes back up to peel the leather from her body, I see the way her fingers shake. And then I’m on her. My fingers slide effortlessly down the slick material, pulling it over her arms and down her lithe length, unveiling her smooth skin beneath like a gift I don’t deserve. The leather cascades down her body effortlessly and only a thin, sheer layer of panties separate me from the perfect feel of her body against mine.
I force myself to step back from her and she turns to watch me as my fingers drift from button to button down my white shirt. When only my unbuttoned pants cling to my skin, I feel the heat of her gaze clothing me more than ever. My thumbs hook into the waist of my khakis and underwear and she follows their path as they slide down my thighs and pool at my feet.
I kick them and my shoes off, standing before her with blood pumping hard through my veins.
“Come here, mi corazón.”
She walks to me the moment I speak and I take her small hand and guide her into a big open shower. The pipes don’t make a sound as I turn the knob and I hold her at arm’s length until the steady water warms beneath my touch. And then I pull her flush against me, the perfect curves of her body sliding against mine as I watch the emotion in her gaze grow just from the feel of our bodies meeting just right.
“Did anyone hurt you?” I’ll kill them if they did. I’ll hunt them down and kill them all. Gladly. Even while I asked, my eyes flicked over her body. There isn’t a wound in sight. Nothing except for traces of blood, ash, glitter, and strangely colored substances that easily slide down her body with the spray of the water.
I reach for a bar of soap and begin lathering her long dark hair with thick suds, but secretly my heart is pounding its way out of my chest to know if someone laid a hand on my mate.
Not all wounds are superficial, after all.
“They were demons, Malek. You can’t get vengeance for me. Not this time.” Her soft hands settle on my hips and I hate that she didn’t answer me.
She hasn’t said a damn thing about what happened. And I know something did. Something to give her that terrified, almost vacant look in her eyes. She’d flinched when Phoenix and Saint had pulled her into a hug, I’d heard her fucking heartbeat. I’d smelt her fucking fear.
“You can tell me. You can tell me anything, Izzy.” I brush my thumb along the dirt on her face but soon enough I’m just cradling her head in my hands as the water washes over us.
“I’m okay,” she whispers.
Clear water glistens her face as she looks up at me with pure affection and my heart blooms to life under her attention.
“Okay,” I relent.
Her brows lift in disbelief.
Probably because I don’t believe me either.
