He removed her shirt, pulling it over her head as if she were a child. Then he opened her jeans and pushed them down. Damn it, she was still wearing her blood-spattered shoes. He untied the laces and took them off her feet.
One of her hands landed on his shoulder, and she pulled one leg out of her pants, then the other.
He stood upright as she removed her bra and dropped it on the floor. Then she shimmied out of her panties.
His breath caught as desire kicked him in the chest. Her curves should be illegal.
She tugged at his shirt. “Take this off. It has blood on it, too.”
He looked down and saw the drops on the fabric for the first time. “I didn’t realize...” He didn’t finish the sentence as a wave of anger nearly sucked him into an undertow that would have drowned him if Anna weren’t in his arms.
Anton was gone, but the people who’d turned him into a weapon weren’t. They were going to pay for destroying his friend.
Pay and pay and pay.
He stripped off his shirt as Anna stepped into the shower and stood under the spray.
***
The water was blessedlyhot.
Anna stood and let the water wash away Anton’s blood, her tears, and the stress of telling Zar she couldn’t stand with him, support him, as his wife.
The stall door opened, and Zar’s naked body brushed against hers. A moment later, his hands were on her head, massaging her scalp while his fingers worked shampoo into her hair. She tilted her head back to rinse it out, then he was cradling her head and kissing her.
It went from gentle to ferocious in seconds, and she kissed him back with just as much wild intensity.
“Anna?” Her name came out as a groan as if he were on the precipice of something terrifying.
“I need you,” she said, her own voice so shaky she didn’t recognize it. “Please, Zar.”
“Mon Dieu,” he growled before taking her mouth again. His hands stroked her body, breasts, and between her legs.
He backed her up against the wall of the shower, then he pulled away and spun her around.
“Put your hands on the wall,” he said in a dark, dangerous tone.
Shaking with need and a hundred other emotions all at once, she did as he ordered. Then his cock entered her. It felt so good, she arched her back and pushed back against him until he was all the way inside.
He set a fast, hard pace that brought her to orgasm much too quickly, but he didn’t stop. He slowed down, keeping his thrusts long and steady until she was on the edge again. Only then did he lose himself in her, pushing them both over into bliss.
They finished washing each other, then dried off and redressed, Anna in clothing that had been waiting on the foot of the bed. Neither spoke until they were walking down the hallway to this war room Brigette mentioned.
“What happens next?” she asked, her throat as sore as if she’d been yelling at full volume for an hour.
“My mother will want to hear from both of us.”
“Is that all?”
“Until we have more information, we can only hope for the best and plan for the worst.”
Zar opened the door to the same room they’d met the queen in earlier. She was there along with Estelle. Brigette and Gabby weren’t in sight. Several members of the Guard were scattered around the room. One for every window, two for every door, and three in a quiet discussion with the queen.
They broke up their tight huddle when she and Zar approached.
The queen gave them both a long, thorough inspection. After a moment, she nodded as if satisfied.
“Were either of you injured?” she asked, her tone brisk and professional.