Jake nodded. “I’ll find the first aid box and bring it upstairs for you. Olive, do you remember where Evie used to keep it?”
“Not sure. Nana Alice used to keep it in the cupboard under the sink in the kitchen. I expect Aunt Evie just left it there.”
She directed Theo up the stairs and through her bedroom to the adjoining bathroom. He set her down on the counter and stepped back to examine her feet.
“I can’t see the wounds clearly,” he murmured, checking the grazes on her knees and the palms of her hands. Moving to her face and taking a long look at the cut at her temple. “But this one doesn’t look too deep.”
“Theo,” she spoke quietly. “How did you find me? What were you even doing in the woods?”
“I saw you,” he replied as he continued to study the wound on her forehead.
“You saw me?”
“Yes.” His eyes softened.
“The dreams?” she murmured, and he nodded.
“You saved my life.”
“I told you I would never let anything hurt you.”
“I don’t understand you,” she admitted. “I’m usually so good at reading people, but you... you’re an enigma. You saw me, really saw me, and when I lost control of my power, you saw me burn, and you’re not afraid of me? You risked your life tonight to find me.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Olivia. I don’t know how to convince you that I’m not here to hurt you. I’m not a danger to you.”
“But who you are and where you come from—” Olivia shook her head. “I don’t understand how you can just accept me the way I am. How you can go against everything you were raised to believe in.”
“You think it’s easy?” He sighed. “I feel as if I’ve been constantly at war with myself since the moment I was pulled from that burning barn.”
She watched as he opened the shower door. He turned the water on, adjusting the temperature, but as he moved, she noticed the slash marks and bloodstains across the side of his shirt.
“You’re hurt.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.” She slid carefully off the counter to avoid putting weight on her swollen ankle. He watched with dark eyes as she reached out tentatively and grasped the hem of his shirt. Pulling it up and over his head, she tossed it to the floor behind her. Her fingers grazed his torso, tracing the dips and ridges of his chest, and then moved to his ribs. Marring his skin where four vicious-looking claw marks that oozed blood, staining the waistband of his jeans, which sat low on his hips.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, not meeting his eyes. “I never wanted you to get hurt because of me.”
He cupped her chin, raising her gaze to meet his own.
“It was my choice, Olivia, and if I had to do it again, my choice would remain the same.” His gaze dropped to her lips before once again meeting her eyes. “You want to know what it’s like?”
“What?”
“Being me.” He breathed slowly. “It’s like a dream I can’t wake from, all loud and unfamiliar. Nothing makes sense. My heart pounds and my head aches. I feel the magic in the air and pulsing beneath the ground, all the things I was taught were evil, and it’s terrifying, this new world I find myself thrust into. But I have to believe I was brought here for a reason. I should have died in that barn. I should have burned to death, but I was given a second chance. Being here in your world scares me as much as it confuses me, but when I look at you, I know the reason I’m here is you.”
“You can’t know that.” She frowned.
“I do know,” he replied, reaching out and tucking a strand of tangled hair behind her ear. “I’m not afraid of what you are or what you can do…” His words trailed off and his gaze dropped to her lips. “You are such a temptation. I know lustful thoughts are a sin, but–”
“But?”
“I want my hands on you, Olivia,” he admitted. “I want to touch you, and I know it’s wrong, but I can’t seem to help myself. When I saw you in the grip of your magic, burning like the sun…” He broke off, shaking his head, unable to find the words.
“You kissed me.”
“I know.” He nodded. “I shouldn’t have.”
