Page 120 of Bound in Blood

“I can hear you. I’m just keeping my eyes closed,” she murmurs. “I’m so tired.”

I look to him, concerned.Is that normal?

He nods.She is healing, and she is grieving. Not to mention she destroyed a wraith. I would be concerned if she were not exhausted.

Satisfied with his explanation, I hand him to her and jump out of the bath. While I strip and run some fresh water, he tells her that Axl and Malachi are taking a shower in the other room, and then they’re going to make her some waffles and a milkshake because she needs food to help replenish her blood. And he tells her how much he loves her and how he’ll never let her go again.

Although I’m aware he isn’t speaking to me, the sound of his voice and his declarations of love soothe what remain of my rough edges.

“I love you too, Xavier.” His tone is deep and sincere as he says the words I wanted to hear for so long. “All of you.”

I keep my face turned away from him so he doesn’t see the tears in my eyes. “I know.”

When the bath is refilled, I sink back into the warm water, and he hands her to me. She leans against me again, and I gently wash the blood and grime from her skin. Again, she purrs, content and safe. And mine.

Alexandros turns on the shower and removes his own clothes. My eyes rake over him, from his taut muscles to his silvery scars. Every part of his body that I love.

He catches me watching him and smirks.Later, pup.

Fuck. Between Ophelia’s soft body nestled against mine and him being, well, him…

Ophelia giggles, no doubt feeling my hard cock digging into her back. “Waffles and milkshake first.”

“Whatever you want, Cupcake.”

She yawns. “That’s what I want.”

She turns her body so she’s sitting sideways on my lap, her cheek pressed against my chest, a relaxed smile on her beautiful face. Her breathing is steady and deep, her heartbeat a strong, rhythmic pulse.

She is incredible, is she not?Alexandros asks.

I hum my agreement. She’s more than incredible. She is everything. She is mine. Ours. She is Ophelia Hart, still the most powerful being in the universe, with or without her light.

Chapter

Sixty-Five

AXL

Ophelia lies between Xavier and me, dressed only in a clean T-shirt of Malachi’s, with her hands resting on her stomach. The final rays of the evening sun bathe the room in soft amber hues. A movie plays on the TV in the background, but none of us are watching it. Alexandros is reading quietly next to Xavier, and Malachi is lying next to me, his fingertips trailing up and down my spine.

It’s an oddly ordinary scene given the extraordinary events of yesterday. Malachi scrapes his teeth over the nape of my neck now, his chest pressed up against my back. My dick stiffens. We’ve always been physical creatures, and this is how we reconnect. How we anchor ourselves back to each other after bad shit happens, and last night was the embodiment of bad shit. But I’m not sure if Ophelia is ready for that yet. We’re all fully healed now, and although she slept most of the day away, she’s still tired.

“You need anything, princess?”

She shakes her head. “Got everything I need right here.”

Xavier’s eyes lock on mine, and they’re filled with longing. He wants what Malachi is teasing at too.

Alexandros gives me a sideways look, letting me know he can feel the growing sexual tension in this room as much as we can.

“I lost my powers, didn’t I?” she asks, her voice small and quiet.

Alexandros closes his book and places it on the nightstand. “Do you still feel them?”

She shakes her head, biting down on her bottom lip.

“Like they are depleted or like they are gone?” he questions her further.

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