Page 26 of The Vampire's Bride

“Don’t thank me yet,” I tell him. “We need to take care of your wounds.”

I remove my shoes and my heavy cloak, hanging it near the mantle to dry the melting snow from the fabric. The hem of my dress is damp as well. It will need to be removed before I sleep, but first I must tend Valaric’s injuries. Everything else can wait.

Across the way is a door to the cleansing room. It’s sparse but clean, with a sink, a clawfoot tub, several clean towels and soap, and a toilet in the far corner. A tiny square window is centered above the bath, and I add a towel over the curtain to block the sunlight from outside.

Quickly, I retrieve a bowl of warm water and a few fresh towels. When I crawl into the blanket fort, Valaric blinks at me in confusion.

“Take off your cloak and shirt so I can cleanse your wounds,” I instruct him.

“There is no need. My injuries will—”

“You’re covered in blood, Valaric. You cannot sleep like that.”

I half expect him to argue, but instead he removes his cloak, tunic, and boots, leaving him in only his dark pants.

I inhale sharply as I take in the extent of his wounds. The marks are even deeper than I thought. If he were human, I’m almost certain these injuries would have been fatal.

“You see?” He points to his chest. “I am already healing.”

It was so dark in the forest I couldn’t see his wounds very clearly then. But if he thinks this is an improvement, I shudder to think of what they looked like originally. Blood seeps steadily from the marks. I worry my bottom lip. “Does it pain you?”

“My tolerance for such things is high.”

As my gaze travels over his bare torso, I note several scars—the silver-white lines a stark contrast to his already pale skin. It seems he is no stranger to pain. I would expect a warrior to have scars such as these, not a lord, and I wonder how he got them.

I dip one of the towels in warm water and then run it lightly over his chest. He clenches his jaw, trying to hide his discomfort, but a soft hiss escapes through his clenched teeth when I touch the edge of his wound, the cloth snagging on the torn and jagged flesh.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” he replies stiffly.

Wiping away the dark blood staining his moonlight pale skin. The glow of the fire carves his figure in shadow and light, accentuating his broad shoulders, the muscular expanse of his chest, and his finely chiseled abdomen.

Heat flushes my cheeks as I move the cloth over the claw marks across his stomach. His breath hitches when I reach thewaistband of his pants, and he catches my wrist, lifting it away from his skin.

I glance up to find his eyes locked on mine with burning intensity.

“Did I hurt you?”

He swallows hard. “Quite the opposite,” he grits through his teeth.

I frown, but when I look down, I notice the telltale bulge in his pants. Hot embarrassment scorches through me. I’ve never seen a man fully unclothed before, but I’ve seen images in books.

Mother tried her best to explain the marriage bed to me, but I wonder if Vampires are the same as human males when it comes to their anatomy. Despite my best efforts not to look, my gaze drops again to the sizable swelling in his pants.

I lift my gaze back up to Valaric. His eyes are dark with unmistakable desire. Nervous butterflies flutter in my stomach, and I quickly look away.

“I’m fine,” he says, his voice low and deep. “You do not need to continue.”

Dark blood still seeps from his deep wounds. “No, you’re not.” Despite my nerves, I force my gaze back to his. “I’m your wife. Let me help you.”

His piercing eyes search mine a moment before he finally releases me so I may continue. As he lowers his hand, I catch a glimpse of a strange mark on the inside of his wrist. It looks like a tattoo or a rune of some sort—a straight line with two branches extending out near the top. “What does that mean?” I gesture to it, curious.

Valaric goes still and then turns his wrist down so I can no longer see it. “Nothing important,” he replies, but the tense set of his jaw tells me otherwise.

Whatever it is, he obviously doesn’t want to discuss it, so I change the subject. “You said you will heal,” I remind him as Itear one of the larger towels into strips to use as bandages, and then wrap them around his torso, careful of his wings. “How long will it take?”

“It depends,” he replies cryptically.

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