She nodded and finally turned to me. “You’re right, let’s?—”
I snarled, my fucking heart stopping in my chest. She was injured, badly. I could see it even through all the blood and other shit covering her.
“I’ll be fine,” she said not missing my reaction. She strode across the deck and opened the door to the cabin under the helm. “Once we’ve searched the ship, I’ll take care of it.”
I wanted to snatch her off her feet and force her to let me tend her, but the stubborn look on her face told me that would be a serious mistake, which meant we needed to conduct this search as fast as possible because the beast went wild seeing Roxy like that. Over and over, he was slamming into my subconscious and writhing under my skin, trying to force me to shift. He wanted to lick her wounds and heal her, right the fuck now.
Striding ahead of her, I stormed the small cabin we’d walked into, opening and closing cupboards and looking under anything big enough to hide someone.
Roxy headed for the steep stairs that led below. I got in front of her again and went down first. She huffed but let me have my way. Thank fuck, because the beast was becoming more insistent. There were several smaller cabins below as well as the captain’s quarters, and after a thorough search we were positive all of them were empty. We made our way to the galley next, where a fire in the stove blazed and a huge pot of water bubbled away on top and another with some kind of rich-smelling stew, but still no sign of life.
“Drake must be worried. He even provided dinner.”
“No fucking way will I be eating that,” I muttered.
We hit the cargo hold, but that was just as empty as the rest of the ship.
“Looks like it’s just us,” Roxy said. “I’ve been reaching out, and I can’t feel anyone else here.”
Neither could I. Good. I grabbed her hand and led her back up the stairs and down the narrow hall into the captain’s quarters.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her big blue eyes narrowed.
“Strip, I’ll get water.” Not waiting for a reply, I strode back to the galley.
Quickly filling two buckets with boiling water, I strode back and tipped them into the small tub sitting on one side of the room, then strode back and did the same again. Then I switched to cold, scooping it from a barrel of fresh water, to get the temperature just right. Roxy just stood there, not taking off her clothes. “Strip, Roxy. Now. You’re injured and covered in blood.”
“I can tend my own wounds, Lothar,” she said. “You go and keep watch and I’ll?—”
“No.” That was unacceptable to me, and to the beast. At least we agreed on that. I strode over and jerked her jacket down her arms.
“Lothar,” she snapped. “Stop it.”
The beast snarled, taking hold of my vocal cords for the second time. “We will tend you, female.” I grabbed at my throat, clamping my jaw tight. It was my voice, but it was the beast’s words.
Her gaze snapped up to me, wide, alarmed. “We? Lothar, what’s going on?”
I ground my teeth, refusing to let him do it again. It should be impossible. The beast wasn’t supposed to have autonomy. We were one being, of one mind, yet the animal in me was fracturing, splitting me in fucking two. I shook my head instead and tugged at the bottom of her shirt, trying to fucking plead with her, with just a look, because I needed this and the beast wasn’t going to let me leave her here on her own.
Whatever it was, she saw it written on my face and relented, but there was a wary expression in her eyes. She finished stripping off, revealing the extent of her raw, angry skin that had been burned by the monster’s toxic saliva. I snarled, and she got into the tub. There was soap and a washcloth beside it, and I handed them to her, unable to look away, to take one fucking step back until I saw her washing that filth off her skin.
She did so without argument, cleaning off every bit of muck, then finally rinsed the blood from her hair before silently lifting the soap and cloth toward me. That’s when I realized my flesh was burning as well. I’d been so focused on Roxy, I hadn’t even noticed. Tugging off my gore-soaked shirt, I dipped the cloth in the bath water, lathered it with soap, then quickly ran it over my face, neck, chest, and shoulders. The relief was almost instant, as was the warm buzz over my skin, telling me my healing had kicked in and was already working to mend the damage.
Roxy’s, on the other hand, would take longer. The saliva had soaked her thoroughly and had burned deeper. Tossing the cloth and soap in the tub, I reached into the water.
She grabbed my biceps. “I can get out on my own.”
The beast’s constant need to growl and snarl had me tightening my vocal cords and clamping my mouth closed again. I had no idea what would come out of my mouth, but with the shit the beast was thinking, I knew I didn’t want to give him free rein to talk through me like I was his fucking puppet.
Ignoring her protest, I hauled her out of the water and carried her to the bed.
She sat silently watching me as I quickly stripped and washed as much blood and other shit from me as fast as I could. It wasn’t the best job, but it would do. All I could think about was looking after Roxy, of tending to her wounds. When I was sure I wouldn’t get her dirty again, I advanced on her, clearing my throat as I got on the bed with her.
“Lothar? What are you doing?”
I wrestled control back from the beast. “Need to lick you,” I said. It was all I could manage to get out.
Her cheeks flushed and she blinked up at me, and I knew what she was thinking. I didn’t have time to correct her, though, and as much as I’d fucking love to go down on her and get another taste of her pussy, healing her was the driving force inside me right then. I leaned over her, and her arms came around me a moment before I dragged my tongue over her shoulder and up the side of her throat, right over the top of her burns. My eyes drifted closed at the taste of her blood on my tongue and the sweet warmth of her arms around me. She squirmed, and I licked again, gently, using my healing saliva to start work on the deepest wounds.
