“I’ll heal,” he argued weakly. “Just bring me some water and some ibuprofen.”
“Ibuprofen thins the blood, you idiot,” Chloe retorted testily. “Just let us get you sorted out.”
I ripped Carter’s t-shirt down the middle, revealing the cuts and massive purple bruises on his abdomen.
“Okay, I’m really beginning to think you have a thing for me. First you carry me into my bedroom and now you’re tearing my clothes off.”
I prodded the worst of the bruising, making him hiss with pain. “Sure, once you’re healed I’ll take you out for dinner and dancing.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re definitely not my type. Dinner and dancing? When were you born? In the 1940’s?”
“Yeah, 1942.”
He chuckled harshly. “Damn, you look pretty good for an old fucker.”
“How touching,” Chloe said dryly as she re-entered the room. “Should I give you two another moment?”
I glared at her. “Just bring me the stuff.”
She and I worked together, cleaning Carter’s wounds. He tried to refuse when we began licking the worst of the cuts, but we ignored him.
“Shut up,” Chloe demanded. “You saved our asses and we’re going to help you in any way we can.”
He stopped protesting. By the time we were done, his breathing was much easier and the bruising on his abdomen was fading. The internal bleeding had stopped as his body healed itself.
Chloe helped me strip him naked and draped a sheet over him.
As his eyes closed, Carter mumbled, “There’s clothes and stuff in the other bedroom. Take whatever you need.”
We waited until his breathing was deep and even before we left the room.
As I closed the bedroom door behind us, I said, “I need to see to your injuries, Chloe.”
She turned toward me, looking exhausted in the morning light. “They’re probably all healed by now.”
I glanced at the savage bite mark on her neck and she winced, looking away.
“I’ll tend to it,” she stated quietly.
“No, I’ll do it. I’m going to have to help close the bite with saliva,” I insisted.
Her shoulders drooped as she gave me her back and walked into the bathroom. “Just let me take a shower first. I’m covered in blood and dust.” Then she shut the bathroom door in my face.
With a sigh, I found the other bedroom Carter had mentioned and rummaged around until I found a pair of men’s boxers and a t-shirt. It wasn’t ideal, but I thought she might want some clothing between her injured skin and the coarse sheets on the spare bed.
When I entered the bathroom, she was just stepping out of the shower.
“You should get cleaned up too,” she suggested. “So I can see if your cuts need treatment as well.”
I sensed that she wasn’t ready for me to touch the bite wound on her neck yet, so I did as she asked. The water ran black and red as I washed the blood and dirt from my skin as quickly as possible. A few minutes later, I climbed out of the tub and snagged the towel she’d left hanging on the rack for me.
I dried off and slipped on the shorts I’d found for myself. Chloe was no longer in the bathroom, but I found her sitting on the side of the bed in the spare bedroom. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and she was wearing the clothes I laid out for her.
“Thanks for finding these,” she said.
I nodded. “No problem.” She tensed as I moved behind her. Seeing it, I shifted to the side closest to her injured shoulder but still within her sightline. “I need you to take off the shirt so I can see the bite,” I stated, keeping my voice soothing.
Exhaling heavily, she lifted the shirt over her head, taking the towel with it. Gently, I shifted the damp strands of her hair to the side, revealing the ragged edges of Brayden’s handiwork. Though it had been hours since he’d bitten her, the wound still oozed blood and the skin was healing in some places, but unevenly. The scarring would be deep and likely permanent.
