Page 54 of Remington’s Mate

Remy healed her? “Since when do you have healing powers?”

“I don’t,” he said. “Are you hungry? Do you need food? Squatch can bring us something. He’s out in the other room.”

She let him change the subject because she needed time to wrap her mind around this whole thing, and her brain wasn’t working very well yet.

“Actually, what I’d really like is a shower,” she said. She was still alive—that was what mattered. “Or a bath?” She felt filthy, and there was dried blood caked in her hair. “If I can do that without ruining the bandages?”

“I need to take them off anyway, and check the wound,” he said. “You’re going to need me to help you, though. You’re still weak.” A hint of his old self crept in. “I promise not to peek at your boobies or your Hidden Lotus of Ecstasy.”

“That is the stupidest name for a pussy I’ve ever heard.”

“I have worse ones. I can tell them to you while I’m not looking at it.”

“You are such a liar. You’re going to look.” It was a relief that he was teasing her. It meant he thought she was going to be okay.

She let Remy help her into the bathroom attached to the bedroom. “Where are we?” she asked. “Your territory?”

He shook his head. “The safe house in Louisville. Squatch is here, keeping watch. Colt’s at work, pretending to be evil, Brandon’s following a lead, and Kitty and Callie are grocery shopping. And I think Kitty said something about a better TV, so hell only knows how long they’ll be gone. Kitty loves electronics stores.”

Remy let her sit on the toilet seat while he started water running in the claw-foot bathtub, and then he gently cut the bandages off her.

Jaeda looked down at her chest, not even thinking about her naked boobs being exposed to the world. There was a small, red, angry-looking wound over her left breast, way too close to her heart. And she could feel a much larger, very sore place above her left shoulder blade, where Remy’s fingers brushed ridged, swollen skin.

The exit wound.

“You’re going to have a scar,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”

Was he kidding? She should be dead—or in the ICU.

“Better than the alternative.” She shivered.

“You’re cold,” he said. “Let’s get you in the tub.”

He helped her off with the oversized sweatpants she was wearing, and lifted her into the bathtub. The hot water was bliss on her battered body.

“Give me a minute, and I’ll wash your hair.”

She’d never imagined Remy could be so gentle. He carefully shampooed her hair, strong fingers rubbing her scalp, then went on to gently massage her neck and the tense, sore muscles of her uninjured shoulder.

Jaeda tried really hard not to moan. Fail.

He rinsed her hair with the handheld shower sprayer, shielding her eyes with one hand so she wouldn’t get soap in them.

The whole time, he hardly said anything. Jaeda hadn’t even known that Remy could be this quiet for this long.

And he felt—sad. She could feel it in her own chest, like a heaviness.

She put her hand over his where it rested on the side of the tub. “Hey. Are you okay?”

She looked up and he met her eyes for the first time since she’d woken up. There was something raw and naked in his gaze—emotions she’d never seen from him before.

He dropped his eyes again. “It was really bad, Jae,” he said softly. “I was afraid you would die on the way here. But then I brought you inside and saw the bleeding slowing, and I thought, ‘Thank god she has shifter healing.’”

Jaeda frowned, not understanding. “But I don’t.”

“Yeah. As soon as I walked away from you to get the medical supplies, the healing stopped. The first time, you’d almost bled out before I realized.”

“What?” It came out a nearly voiceless whisper.