Could he see her lioness staring out from her eyes, the same way his dragon was watching her?
She bit the inside of her cheek. “As for the other drug…”
A muscle beneath his eye twitched. She resisted the urge to stroke it. Instead, she reached out with her mind, until she found his.
Deep, harsh cold, winter wind a knife against her ribs, sunlight so thin it shattered when it hit the ice—and behind it, a warmth that pulled her in tight, enveloping her mind and soul.
She gasped. Julian let out a ragged breath as his head dropped, breaking the connection between them. When he looked up again, he looked wrecked.
What had he seen in her, when she found that warmth in him?
Water lapped against her chest. They were both naked. In a goddamnhot tub.And he was her mate.
It should have been easy. They should have gazed into one another’s eyes and let the distance between them slip away. She should kiss him—not fierce and brutal, not desperate and afraid, not for the sake of anything except to be kissing him.
To be his.
But she didn’t know how to be the person who would do that.
She pulled her hand away from his face, looking away so she didn’t have to see his reaction. For a moment, there was silence.
The water rippled as he reached for something on the side of the pool. “Let me finish treating your wound,” he said, his voice perfectly controlled.
“Mm,” she said, matching his coolness, and kept her face averted as he lifted her arm back out of the water and checked it over.
“You’re not bleeding anymore. There’s an—exit wound. The bullet must have passed right through your muscle.”
“Oh, lovely.”
“It’s preferable to the alternative. And with the bleeding stopped, it will heal quickly. You’ll be fine.” He hesitated. “You’ve never been hurt like this before?” he asked slowly, as though weighing his words. “It doesn’t look that bad, now, if you’d like to—”
“No. Just cover it, please.” Her lioness nudged her, shoulder to shoulder, and it reminded her so strongly of the way Julian had held her up as she staggered the night before that she flinched.
It would be better soon, her lioness reassured her. The next time she looked at it, there would be nothing to see.
Maybe it would be better if it left a scar,she thought bitterly.
“I don’t want to see it,” she said shortly.
“You’re not used to being hurt.”
“Of course I’m not! My life has made itveryeasy to avoid all forms of hardship, thus far, including beingshot at.”
He didn’t even look at her, all his attention on her arm. “And yet you brought none of that protection with you when you threw yourself into my path.”
Silence rose up around them again. Julian finished washing her arm and spread a cooling lotion over the … area. He pushed her gently onto her side, then her front, until she was lying propped with her forearms on the side of the pool, so he could carefully wash away the rest of the blood that had dried on her body.
Each touch felt like a blessing. A prayer. Every second, she was one second closer to falling apart.
“I expect you’re loving this,” she said, and it wasn’t the right tone or the right words for what she’d meant to say. His eyes flicked up to meet hers.
And he understood what she’d meant.
He understood her perfectly. And far too well.
“Ah,” he said, his gaze returning to his task. “You condescend to remember you are my mate.”
“Yes, I do condescend,” she said haughtily, and won a fleeting smile. “We’re—this isn’t—” She forced the words out. “I don’t know how to do this.”
