Page 22 of Stealing His Human

As Nedrick spoke, he opened a chest to the left of the structure and pulled out a couple of towels, placing them on the lid after he closed it. He returned to Brett’s side and reached for the hem of his shirt. Unable to help himself, Brett tensed and took a step backward.

“Let’s be careful so we don’t jostle your arm,” Nedrick murmured, rubbing his side soothingly. “This is me helping, taking care of you.”

Brett couldn’t remember the last time someone had offered to take care of him. He was an only child, and his parents weren’t exactly maternal. They weren’t cold exactly, just disinterested. At least they helped pay for college—fifty-fifty, they’d told him, so he could learn responsibility.

After a nod, Brett allowed Nedrick to work his shirt off him. The man was patient and careful, easing the short sleeve over his cast. He folded the shirt in half and draped it over a patio chair before opening the paper bag. Nedrick returned a moment later with a plastic bag and a rubber band.

Holding out his arm, Brett let Nedrick wrap his cast.

“I’ll start the water if you want to kick out of the rest of your clothes,” Nedrick stated. “It won’t take but a minute for the water to heat.”

Without waiting for a response, Nedrick turned and did just that. He twisted a couple of knobs, and the water started.

Brett hesitated, staring longingly at the streaming water. His desire for a shower overrode his reticence at getting nude, and he crossed to the patio. Once he’d unlaced his hiking boots, he toed them off, followed by his socks. Brett paused again with his hand over his fly, but then he realized how ridiculous that was.

The man helped me piss, after all, then felt up everything I got.

The memory caused his neck to heat, and he fought against his rising blush. He quickly unbuttoned and unzipped, then pushed the shorts down. Nedrick turned around just as Brett was peeling off his briefs, and seeing the appreciative gleam in Nedrick’s brown eyes, Brett lost the fight with his blush.

“You’re spectacular, my mate,” Nedrick crooned, his eyes narrowing as he swept his gaze over him appreciatively. “Stunning.”

Having no idea what to say to that, Brett hurried past him along the stone path and slipped into the shower. He began closing the door behind him, but Nedrick’s hand stopped him. Brett gaped as he watched the other man climb into the spacious shower, naked as the day he was born.

“What are you doing?” Brett would forever deny the squeak in his voice.

“Taking care of you,” Nedrick replied, gripping his hips and turning him around. “Just relax and enjoy.”

Brett did as Nedrick urged, his mind racing.

Shock. That’s gotta be why I’m going along with this.

Chapter Nine

Nedrick figured he was sort of taking advantage, but he would take every opportunity to touch his mate and build their bond that he could get. Even recognizing that Brett was probably suffering from a mix of shock and being a little woozy from the meds in his system didn’t make him exit the shower. Hell, Nedrick rationalized that the fact that his matewason meds was part of the reason he insisted on showering with him.

Can’t have Brett falling and hurting himself in the shower, now can I?

With that thought in mind, Nedrick rested his hands on Brett’s waist where he’d positioned him partly under the spray. “There ya go,” he rumbled over the sound of the rushing water. “Relax there a sec.”

Reaching out, Nedrick moved the body wash bottle off the upper corner shelf. “Rest your elbow here,” he urged, gripping Brett’s arm and easing it upward. “That’ll help keep your bag and cast out of the spray and elevated.” Nedrick knew that keeping it out of the way would help with the pain.

Once Brett rested his arm where Nedrick instructed, he grabbed the bottle of shampoo. He poured a healthy dollop into the palm of his right hand before returning the bottle to the lower shelf. Rubbing his palms together to work up suds, Nedrick eyed Brett’s beautiful, wet mane of auburn hair.

He could still see bits of dirt and debris in it from Brett’s fall.

Damn Karissa for shoving him through those bushes.

It didn’t matter to Nedrick that Karissa had no way of knowing what was on the other side of them. She never should have put her hands on Brett like that in the first place. Hell, in Nedrick’s opinion, she shouldn’t be putting her hands on his mate at all.

Shoving his anger way down deep, Nedrick focused his energy on taking care of his injured mate. “Let’s get this all cleaned up,” he stated, lifting his sudsy hands. “Tip your head out of the spray for me.”

It took a second, but Brett did it.

Smiling, Nedrick settled his palms on Brett’s head. Sliding his fingers through his mate’s wet hair, he ignored the way his human tensed. Nedrick focused on massaging Brett’s scalp and working the shampoo through the man’s full head of hair.

Damn, his hair’s amazing.

After a moment, Brett relaxed, his head lolling back even more. He had his right hand wrapped around the base of the shower nozzle, perhaps for support or orientation. Nedrick could see that his human’s eyes were closed, and his lips were parted. It only took another minute or two of working on Brett for his mate to let out a soft moan of pleasure.

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