His gaze lowered to her clothes, ruined and blood-soaked. Not wanting her to awaken and relive the horror of what occurred, he crossed to the small, attached bathroom and wet a towel. Back at her side, he dropped the cloth on the nightstand and carefully removed her jacket.
A dagger summoned, he sliced open her ruined sweater, then the top she wore underneath it, leaving her only in twin scraps of black fabric covering her chest. Weapon dismissed and damp towel in hand, he sat at her side and carefully cleaned the gore from her chest. His fingers brushed against her warm, smooth skin, and that awareness he tried to shut out swept through him.
She moaned, coming to.
“It’s okay?—”
She bolted up, her head crashing into his jaw. “Ow!”
Lore jerked at the impact and grunted.
“Darn,” she groaned, wincing and rubbing her head. “You have a chin like granite. What…what happened?”
“You’re safe,” he said, clenching the damp, bloodied towel.
Her gaze settled on her ruined clothes on the floor, then rushed to her healed chest. She lifted wide, terrified eyes to him.“I thought it was a nightmare, all those daggers hurled at you. But one got me, too.”
Just recalling the onslaught of unleashed blades, his unawareness that she’d been struck, his ire resurged. Lore rose, wanting to kill the scourge again. “I know. I am sorry.”
“H-he was going to kill you.” Her lips trembled, her fear constricting him like a noose.
“Demons always try for that victory.”
“Is he dead?”
Lore nodded and dropped the towel on her bloody clothes. “It was a minion.”
Her mouth thinned. “That spineless pissant is playing games with us!” Anger morphed her eyes to a flaming amber, her fighting spirit returning in spades. “I swear, the next time I see the jerk, I will knock his damn head off!”
While he was in awe of her resilience, he didn’t want her in the line of fire. “You are not to confront him or set yourself as bait, Nia,” he said, tone stern. “Demons are cunning and dangerous. This one more so.”
When her chin tipped in that familiar, stubborn manner, he held her stare and waited for her agreement. Several seconds passed, then her shoulders sagged.
“Fine. I’ll leave him to you. I need a shower. I reek of blood…” She swung her legs off the bed, stood, and swayed. “Aw, crap?—”
Lore grabbed her arm before she hit the floor. “You need to rest for a while.”
“I’m fine.” She braced a palm on the bedside table.
He ignored the falsehood, removed his cell from his pants pocket with one hand, and mentally sent his question to the phone.
The moment he got the info he needed, he slipped the device back into his pocket. “You should remain in bed and drink liquids to replenish the blood you lost…” His words died as shereached up and touched his face with warm fingertips, a faint smile on her enticing mouth.
He slipped his hand to her lower back, bracing her, his fingers splayed on her bare, warm skin.
“Did Google tell you that?” she asked softly, lips curving.
He gave a single nod, unable to speak, not when her warmth, her tempting scent,her, caused that awareness he tried desperately to shut out to break free. Everything about her called to him. His gaze lowered to her mouth and back to her soft stare. The lingering smell of blood drifted to him.
If he hadn’t been with her, she would have died. He shook his head, trying to dispel the thought?—
“Lore?”
With a groan, his mouth covered hers, needing to feel her, to know she was okay. Having kissed and tasted her once, he wanted more than a brush of their lips. He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth, and he found hers. All thoughts faded from his mind except for the female in his arms.
She whimpered and leaned into him. His arm banded around her waist. Being so tall, he had to lean way down. Instinctively, he picked her up, and her legs hooked around his hips. He supported her with one hand on her bottom, the other around her waist. At the tantalizing whiff of her musky arousal, his body tensed.
Her warm, feminine center pressed against his groin, and his shaft swelled as her core moved against his throbbing sex. Pressure built. He grew painfully hard, and for the first time in his long life, the need for something more consumed him…
