Page 59 of Because the Night

I loop my arms around his neck as we head down to the basement lair. He says nothing as he carries me through his bedroom and into his en suite. There, he carefully sets me down so he can start running a bath. Steam starts to billow as hot water slowly fills the tub.

He grabs a face towel and wets it before taking my chin in hand. “Let’s get the dried blood off your face.”

“I fed on someone and killed them. The human they had with them.”

“You did what you had to.” He tosses the dirty towel into the sink and drops to his knees to examine my leg. Strong hands gently feel along the line of the bone leading up to my hip.The man does not look happy; though, he says, “It seems to be healing satisfactorily.”

“Yeah.”

He stands and toes off his shoes. “Tell me everything that happened in as much detail as possible. Don’t leave anything out.”

And I do as told. His getting naked, however, is damn distracting. It works to break through the shock. My brain seems to be doing better at dealing with the here and now. At calming down and feeling safe in this moment.

By the time I’m finished talking, he’s down to nothing. Even at his ease, he’s a sight to behold. Not that I stare at his crotch or anything because that would be awkward. While I’m not sure exactly what we’re doing, I don’t think this is about sex. He doesn’t seem to be giving off those vibes right now. Which is a good thing. The events of tonight have left me feeling fragile.

“Stand up,” he says, then he undoes the zipper on the back of my dress. My strapless bra and panties are soon gone, too. He climbs into the bath, then holds out a hand to me. It is nice to know I’m not alone. I think I need some company right now.

I sit between his legs, my back to his front. The hot water is heavenly. Having the solid strength of his body pressed against me is even better. I am home and safe and everything is okay. For the moment, at least.

First thing, I wash all of the makeup off my face. Lucas starts pulling the pins out of my messy hair and dropping them on the floor. Not stopping until my hair hangs loose. Then he combs it with his fingers, working out the worst of the tangles with more patience than I would have given him credit for.

“You really killed two vampires and a human?” he asks with an edge of surprise.

“Yeah. Basically. I did things tonight I never imagined I would have to do, and it was…I don’t know. I try to be a kindperson. Mostly,” I say. “But the rules change when someone wants to torture and kill you. I don’t know how else to explain it. Guess we’re both monsters now.”

He grunts.

“That’s all you’ve got to say?”

He sighs. “Skye, why did you want to go off on your own at the hotel?”

“I just needed a moment. You’re used to these things, with everyone staring at you. They still weird me out.”

“You weren’t jealous of Zofia?”

To be honest, I had forgotten all about her. I rest my head back against his shoulder and think it over. “A little, maybe. But not really.”

“Please explain.”

“We banged once on your office desk,” I say. “It doesn’t equate to a situation where I believe I have any rights over you.”

“Mm.”

“Zofia is very beautiful. I might have liked to dance with her myself.”

He goes from lazily tracing a finger back and forth along the length of my arm, to having his hand wrapped firmly around my throat in an instant. “No, Skye.”

“Speaking of jealousy.”

“The difference between us is…I am not pretending otherwise.”

I don’t know what to say to that.

He presses a kiss to my forehead and, a finger at a time, releases the hold on my throat. I don’t know if it’s all vampires, or just this one in particular. But they are emotional quicksand. I never know where I’m standing, let alone how fast I’m sinking.

“We haven’t even known each other a full week,” I say in a quiet voice.

“What’s that got to do with it?”

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