Touching her everywhere. Along with myself—all while her eyes watch hungrily.
Then I rinse our bodies off, wash our hair for good measure, and ensure we’re both suds-free by the time the shower ends.
Afterward, I pick her up and carry her to the bathtub.
“I’m capable of walking,” she grumbles at me.
“I know. But I like the feeling of having you in my arms.” I start up the two steps toward the tub, only for a bloodied Noah to run into the bathroom and jump into the bath before we have a chance to enter.
Water slosheseverywhere, drawing a curse from my mouth.
“Thanks, tech boy,” Noah says as he surfaces. “This isexactlywhat I needed.” He shakes out his wet hair like a damn dog, then holds out his arms. “I’ll take that from you, too.”
I glower and move backward a step. “Absolutely fucking not.”
“Hey!” He pouts. “We’re supposed to share. And it’s very much my turn with the omega.” He holds out his hands again. “Come on. Gimme.”
I grunt at him and leave the bathroom instead.
He shouts something after me, but I ignore him, walking swiftly through Lark’s quarters and out into the hallway to head toward my bedroom.
Only to be blocked by Laz.
“It’s not like you to drip water all over the fucking hardwood floors, so I’m not going to bother pointing it out more than I just have. But I would like to remind you that there are staff who frequent this corridor, and I would personally be very displeased if they saw our omega in this state.”
“Then perhaps you should move so I can safely hide her in my room,” I mutter at him as I try to step around the towering asshole.
He sidesteps with me. “I’m not finished.”
Of course you’re not,I think, irritated.
“Ms. Bianchi requires food. So whatever you have in mind is going to have to wait. Now take her back to her room so she can get dressed. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. Then we’re having a pack meeting on how to handle the Ricci situation.”
My back stiffens. “Has something else happened?”
He stares me down. “I thought that would have been obvious by Noah coming to get the two of you. Our sparring was cut short. And we need to talk.”
“Noah failed to mention any and all of that,” I inform him flatly.
“Hmm” is all the stubborn alphahole says. Then he adds, “Ten minutes,” and walks away.
It’s then that I realize he’s still only wearing a pair of boxers.
Yet he gave us a hard time about being naked. “We should probably ask the staff not to frequent this hallway for a while,” I call after him. “Seems safer than facing your wrath.”
I don’t wait for his response, just turn and head back to Lark’s room.
When I go to open the door, I find her grinning up at me. “Something amusing you, little hacker?”
Her smile grows. “Life.” That’s all she says. She doesn’t elaborate. And I don’t press for details.
Instead, I give her a kiss and draw my lips to her ear. “I owe you a bath, Lark. And I promise when that happens, you’ll have a whole new appreciation forlife.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LARK
Stefano Ricci looks exactlyas I remember, only with a few subtle age lines around his full mouth. His hair is still black, his eyes the same color. And he’s tan, just like Lazarus, except Stefano has a yellowish tint to his skin.
