Page 64 of Crimson Born

He cracked a smile, and even in the darkness his teeth gleamed white. God he was handsome.

Reece had made a full recovery from the blood poisoning, and his grueling Navy SEAL-style workouts with the Bloodbound had enhanced his already impressive physique. His arm around my shoulders was heavy and well-muscled. Even his jaw looked stronger.

Unable to resist, I reached up and stroked it gently.

His fingers grabbed mine in a lightning-quick reaction, snatching them away from his face.

He frowned down at me. “What are you doing?”

“Wiping away a raindrop,” I lied. “Your face is wet.”

Staring at me for a long moment, he finally said, “Your face is wet too. And your hair... you’re soaked through. Here...”

Unfastening his jacket, he removed it then stripped the dry shirt underneath over his head and handed it to me.

“Use this.”

I took the offered shirt, but I wasn’t sure how much good it would do—not if the goal was getting drier.

The alluring scent of him filled the tight cave. That combined with the sight of his shirtless torso was causing sweat to pop out along my hairline and at the nape of my neck.

Using the soft shirt, I dabbed at my face and neck, darting glances at his bare chest, arms, and abdomen.

Wow. Heat was spreading rapidly through my body, and it was a physical struggle not to reach out and run my hands over his smooth, beautiful skin. It was like he exuded some sort of powerful but invisible magnetic force.

I wrenched my eyes away from his mid-section and those enticing V-shaped lines that disappeared beneath his belt.

“Do the Bloodbound take... steroids?” I asked, trying valiantly to sound unaffected by his partial nudity.

Reece’s head jerked back. He wore a quizzical look. “What?”

“Anabolic steroids, you know... to increase stamina, and strength, and speed, and... size.”

He laughed. “No. Is that what people say about us at the Bastion?”

“Well...” I gave him a sheepish grin.

“No. Wedon’ttake steroids. I don’t even know if those would work on vampire physiology. But the blood we drink is a little different from the general population at the Bastion.”

“Different how?”

“It’s pure plasma. And it comes from a special group of donors.”

“How are they special?”

Reece waved a hand as if dismissing the conversation. “I don’t really know a whole lot about it. I haven’t even been initiated yet, remember.”

Ah. The subject Ireallywanted to talk about. Here was my opening.

“About that...”

“No Abbi. We’re not going to talk about that. I’ve made up my mind, okay? Why can’t you just accept it?”

“Because I can’t. Because I don’t understand.”

He got up as if preparing to leave the cave. The rain had dissipated a bit. “You done with that?”

He gestured to his shirt, and I handed it back to him—reluctantly. He pulled it over his head and down over his waist.

---