The nerves were dead around the scar tissue, maybe the tree got me there and I didn’t notice? But if that were the case, wouldn’t it be bruised as well.
Chewing my lip, I dug my phone out of my discarded jeans and checked for any word from Lucifer. The uneasy feeling, since I’d seen the sigil on that axe, increased. Still nothing from Luci. I cursed and fired off another text, but with so many of us—handmaids, hounds, the lords, and high-ranking demons—his phone was always blowing up. He tended to only reply when he had the answers we wanted.
I quickly dressed, and when I walked out, Lothar was standing at the window, his eyes closed.
“Any luck?”
He turned to me. “He definitely passed through this town.”
Excellent. We were in the right place at least.
Lothar hit the shower after that, and when he walked out, I was at the little desk by the window, sterilizing one of my blades over a candle flame. His gaze dipped to the blade, then up to me. I grinned and winked. “Time to slice and dice, big guy.”
He huffed out a rough breath and shook his head.
The clean jeans he’d put on clung to his monster thighs. He was shirtless, and his damp wavy hair hung loose down his back. I tried not to, but it was impossible not to eat up his thick, muscled torso and huge biceps when he rummaged in his bag and grabbed a hair tie. My stupid mouth literally watered, watching the way his muscles moved as he gathered up his hair and knotted it messily, getting it out of the way.
“Where do you want me?” he said when he was done.
I quickly slammed my damn mouth closed, kicked the stool out from under the desk, then grabbed the ice bucket I’d acquired while he was in the shower, and went to fill it with warm water, grabbing a few towels as well.
“You done this before?” he asked when I walked back into the room.
I rolled my eyes. “Well, obviously. Like I said, I’ve fought alongside my sisters in a lot of battles, Lothar. We’re fast healers, like you hounds. Stuff like this happens a lot.” Well, I was usually a fast healer. I wasn’t sure what was going on right now. Maybe it was just this realm?
“You ever fought any angels?” he asked as he sat.
My stomach cramped instantly and a humorless laugh slipped free. “I’ve got the scars to prove it.” Why did I say that?
He froze and twisted on the stool to face me. “The one on your side? An angel did that?”
“A fallen, but yes.” Why was I telling him this? Being in close quarters with him, just the two of us forced together all the time, was making me act stupid.
Just shut the hell up, Roxy.
I poured gin that I’d found in the mini bar on my blade. It was the best I could do, but hounds weren’t prone to infection.
“So what happened?—”
I sliced into his skin, and Lothar hissed. “Sorry.”
“A little warning before you cut into me would be cool, yeah?”
There were dark lines visible under his skin, the mud and other crap showing me where I needed to cut. “Brace,” I said, then continued to follow the jagged line with the tip of my blade. His body went rock solid, but he didn’t move or make a sound this time. Stubborn male.
Grabbing a towel, I dipped it in the water and ran it down the open wound, wiping away the dirt and grime, then did it again to make sure I got every trace. It was a painful process, but it was the fastest and best way to make sure I got everything out. Then I repeated it over and over until every trace of mud was gone.
“I’ve got some balm that Willow gave me. It’ll make sure there’s no nasties left in your skin so you should heal up without any problem.” I got it from my bag and carefully smeared it along the first slice I’d reopened.
He said nothing, sitting there patiently as I carefully smeared the powerful healing balm over his wounds. As the minutes ticked by, I became ultra-aware of his closeness, of the sound of his slow, even breaths, of the goose bumps I could see breaking out along his shoulders with every gentle swipe of my finger.
I cleared my throat. “Okay?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
The rough throaty sound had me breaking out in goose bumps as well. I quickly smeared balm on the last slice and stepped back. “All done.”
He rolled his wide shoulders and stretched before he stood. “Thanks.”
