Page 87 of Blood Bearon
“You have my apologies for that. I’ll turn into the asshole you expected,” he chuckled.
Rachel leaned in close, resting her head very gently on one shoulder. “You had better not. I like you just the way you are, and I would very much like to keep it that way.”
He turned to face her, and she once again winced at the damage Korred had wrought on her mate’s body. Bruises and swelling covered much of him. It had been a close call. If she’d not taken the shot, or if Rachel had hesitated much longer, the wicked spell that he’d been caught in would have squeezed the life from him.
“What?” Khove asked.
“Just your injuries,” she said, spreading her fingers wide on his chest, the lightest of touches. “It hurts me to see you this way.”
“I’ll heal,” Khove said. “A couple of days and I’ll be good as new. No babying me, I promise.”
She nodded, reaching down for his free hand, the one not in a sling, and bringing it up, forcing him to rest it against the back of her head.
“I wish I could have you promise me you’ll never put yourself in danger like that again, but that’s never going to happen, is it?”
Shaking his head, Khove stroked the nape of her neck with two fingers. “No, it won’t. My job is to protect my Queen. Ideally, it won’t put us in such danger, but such is the nature of life among shifters, my darling Rachel. Sometimes, it cannot be avoided.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I just don’t like it.”
Khove clutched her tight. “Do you think I like knowing that you put yourself in danger every day?” he countered.
Rachel frowned into his chest. That particular train of thought hadn’t occurred to her.
“I guess,” she said, admitting the truth of it. “But you had better come back to me, or I will cross over and find you.”
“Duly noted. Consider the same threat applied to you.”
Giggling, she kissed his chest tenderly and resumed washing. “I wouldn’t dream of it otherwise.”
Khove fell silent, letting her scrub him down as hard as she dared.
“Why did you come looking for me on the battlefield?”
The sudden question caught her by surprise while she was crouched down washing his legs, being extra careful with the recently broken one.
“Umm,” was all she could muster, standing up to let him turn and rinse the suds away while she organized her thoughts.
“Just um?” he asked, completing his circle.
Closing her eyes, she recalled the urgent need that had driven her from the safety of the garage out into the hell-ravaged battle zone. It had spurred her onward as Fae closed in on all sides. It had allowed her to make a decision that would otherwise have left her wracked in grief. So why was she having such a hard time saying it?
“Rach?”
She wiped water from her eyes and stepped back. “Why do you think?” she said, abandoning any attempt at sappiness. It simply wasn’t her style. “I love you, you big dope. Completely, utterly, and honestly, totally unbelievably. I’ve known you a week, and yet I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. For the rest of it. How is that possible?”
Khove stood stock still, not responding until she was finished. “I love you too.”
Blinking, she couldn’t help but smile. “I give you a paragraph, and I get a sentence?” she teased.
The big man leaned in and kissed her. “Give me a few days and I’ll give you a ring.”
Rachel gasped, first in surprise at not only his words, but the gravity and understanding with which he spoke them. Then a moment later while kissing, she let out a smaller, less surprised gasp when she felt something stir between them.
“You’re hurt, mister. Can you spare the blood flow?” she asked, looking down, bottom lip curling between her teeth.
“Come here and I’ll show you,” Khove growled.
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