Page 67 of The Other Side of the Mirror

His eyes lowered to my collarbone, fixing on the bloody imprint of Aviel’s teeth where he had bitten me to pull me from Bash’s arms.

Bash let out a low growl. “I’m going to kill him.”

A dark laugh bubbled up from my throat. “Not if I get there first.”

“I wish I could’ve seen you stab that syringe into his heart.”

“I wish you’d been there to finish the job.”

“Me too, hellion.”

We were both quiet for a long moment. I turned to look at him.

“I stabbed him in the side after I figured out about his duplicity.”

A humorless smile flitted across his mouth. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less.” Bash reached out to shampoo my hair, then hesitated as I shrank back slightly. “If you don’t want me to be here, I can get Yael or Marin…”

“No,” I said, too quickly. “Don’t go.” I turned back around, closing my eyes as I leaned against the tub. Bash gently lathered my hair, massaging my scalp so tenderly I let out a deep sigh. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Though ifthatwas all there was to it, Yael or Marin would have sufficed.

The silence echoed in my ears, and I opened my eyes to see Bash leaning over the top of the tub, his mismatched eyes staring intently into mine.

“May I?” he asked, gesturing at the rest of me.

I nodded and closed my eyes, not trusting myself to speak without crying again.

Bash slowly soaped my arms, then legs as I lifted them one by one, gently massaging my freshly healed feet before washing the suds from my hair. Then he kneaded the creamy conditioner into my long tresses. I only opened my eyes when his fingers stiffened on the base of my skull before letting go.

The bubbles had dissipated enough that my torso and thighs were visible. Bash’s eyes were narrowed on the bruises that scattered down my body, darkest where Aviel had held me down, and I saw his shadows gather around him as his face turned deadly with rage.

“It looks worse than it feels,” I muttered unconvincingly.

Bash’s hands clenched the sides of the tub so tightly his fingers turned white. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

With a sigh, I dunked my head to wash the conditioner away. When I resurfaced, I heard Bash’s breath catch as the swells of my breasts lifted over the water.

He coughed, looking away, before putting his hands back into my hair, brushing it away from my face. The feeling of him comforting me might have been more than I could bear, but his touch was welcome. His gaze seared into mine as I looked up at him?—

Then glanced down at the dissipating bubbles, unable to meet his eyes any longer.

“I’ll go find your robe,” Bash said, sensing the change. He stood, quickly walking into the bedroom.

Alone with my thoughts, I took a deep breath and sank below the surface. Under the water, I could almost imagine I was swimming in the lake behind Quinn’s house. Holding my breath for the thrill of it instead of in a failing attempt to hold myself together.

Abruptly, strong hands lifted me above the water, arms clasping beneath my knees and my shoulders.

“Are you alright?” Bash’s eyes swirled with panic, and I realized too late what he might have thought I was doing.

“I wasn’t trying to drown myself,” I said waspishly, too numb to give the words much of a bite. “I was just…” I trailed off at the worry in his eyes, so apparent with our faces only inches apart.

“I’m sorry, I thought—” Bash cleared his throat, then awkwardly draped a towel around me, heading toward the bathroom doorway.“I didn’t think you were letting go. But if your injuries were worse than I realized, and you lost consciousness in the water…”

“Worrywart,” I teased, trying to erase the concern that crested the lines of his brow, the fear that lived in the tightness of his features.

Bash sat me down on the edge of the bed and knelt before me, drying my legs with a smaller towel I hadn’t seen him pick up. I winced as he reached the bruises on my thighs where Aviel held me down. There was horror on his face when he pulled away.

Bleakness shaded the storm in his eyes. He stood up so suddenly I flinched in surprise.

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