Relaxing her shoulders she stepped into the locker room, which was thankfully empty.Oh, thank God.She wasn’t sure what she would have done if the other fighters were still hanging around, she didn’t have a plan B. Not that she really had a plan A, either.
Eva hadn’t had a chance to look around, but she knew it consisted of the locker room, an attached shower room and a separate sleeping area where the security usually slept when on site.
She could hear water through the wall, walking past the little cubicles full of bags, coats and other random stuff to the door that led into the showers. Knowing she didn’t have long she stepped inside, the room warm and misty as she searched the open space.
His silhouette was at the back, head resting forward with both hands pressed against the tile as water cascaded over his very much naked skin.
Fuck. Me.
Eva knew she should look away, but she couldn’t help but stare, his body built with such defined muscles he looked like an artist’s depiction of the perfect man. Intricate black and red markings patterned down the entirety of his left side, tattoos she itched to explore in detail if he wasn’t such a moody arsehole.
She hadn’t seen his body before, and she definitely felt cheated of the experience. Her eyes drifted up his strong back, over his wide shoulders to where his red hair plastered to his head, the strands darkening to almost black.
It took her longer to realise that blood stained the water by his legs, and she realised the wounds on his chest had opened and were bleeding freely against the strength of the spray.
Cold coiled itself around her stomach when she looked up, only to be met with narrowed green eyes.
“You’re hurting yourself,” she said, gesturing to the water. It was the one time she wished she hadn’t had fed, the blood she took from Augustine earlier only highlighting her embarrassment at being caught gawking at him like some sex crazed weirdo. Just because he had given her the best orgasm of her life did not mean she wanted to do it again.
She didn’t. Probably.
Stop it Eva!
He turned the water off, and she made sure she concentrated on his face when he turned and not on what hung below. He was a mountain as he stalked closer, his feet somehow silent on the slick tiles. She braced for him, but instead of stopping he slipped past, moving into the locker room and leaving a smear of red in his wake.
“Honestly, you’re insufferable,” she muttered as she followed, almost running into his back when he suddenly stopped and reached for a towel, wrapping it around his hips as he turned to face her.
“What are you doing?” he growled. “Do you know what you’ve risked by coming here?”
Eva blinked, dumfounded at his tone. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” she shot back. “I came because you were hurt and we need to discuss Hunter.”
“I’m fine, and he will be fine when I get him out of here.” His words came out cold. “Go back to yourMaster.”
Tears burned her eyes, and it infuriated her more that her body’s natural response with anger was to cry. “Fuck you!” She went to shove his chest, pulling back at the last minute before her palms could connect. “Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!”
“Quiet.” Kace reached forward and gripped her wrists, yanking her closer until she almost touched his raw skin anyway. “Eva, you need to leave. Don’t push me right now, I’m so fucking close to losing it,” he said as he released her, his next words closer to a whisper. “I’m trying not to hurt you.”
Eva licked across her lips. “You wouldn’t hurt me.” She was sure of it, despite the rage that still carved vicious lines into his face. “Why didn’t you kill those other fighters?”
Kace frowned, lashes dropping to hide the expression in his eyes. She wasn’t sure whether he would answer, but after a heartbeat he seemed to just let out a breath, leaning down to rest his face in her hair. Eva froze, unsure what to do as he gradually relaxed, his muscles not as stiff.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he said, softer his time.
“You had a sword, yet you pulled every strike. Why?”
“Because there’s such a fine line, and I would rather not tempt fate.”
Kace finally shifted back, and just like that she immediately wanted to close the gap up again, missing his warmth that was a blanket along her skin.
“Sit down,” she said in what she hoped was an equally soft one, despite the butterflies. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his answer, but she still couldn’t watch him standing there hurting.
Kace crossed his arms, pressing the wounds on his chest. “It’s fine, I don’t need help.”
“Look, I know we don’t exactly like each other, but stop being a baby and let me at least clean it up.” She reached forward, intending to pull his arm away when the tattoos on his skin began to glow. Eva snapped her hand back, and when she looked up Kace just stared, his face composed into a careful mask.
He didn’t say anything as she slowly moved closer, and once again the tattoos closest to her fingertips brightened.
“Eva,” he warned, his voice strained.
