Page 32 of The Dragon's Dream Mate (Savage Shifters Special Ops 3)

Damian, Jared, and Gage smirked and looked at Lucian expectantly.

Lucian looked as though someone had just hit him upside the head with a bag of bricks.

I merely held out my hand, waiting.

He reached over to Gage’s desk and then handed me one of the little plastic cards that would let me into his room.

“If I’m snoring when you come in, don’t turn on the lights and don’t make a lot of noise.”

I looked at the other three men, who were still smirking and said, “I appreciate you guys.”

I stood on my toes, kissed each of them on the cheek, bid them good night, and then walked out the door without another glance at Lucian.

After turning the shower on, I quickly took off the clothes I had worn as Rachel and stuffed them into the trash. Although I had promised Lucian I would dress up in them for him, I honestly never wanted to see them again.

I turned the controls until the water was as hot as I could stand it.

I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. I wanted to cry. The kids had been scared to death. They were all so very sweet.

I wanted to laugh because we had won this battle. Then, I wanted to cry again, because there were so many more children, women, and men out there who needed help.

But then, I reminded myself that I should celebrate every single victory that came along, because, unfortunately, we were handed a lot more defeats than victories.

Then, the exhaustion overtook me. I pressed my forehead against the cool shower wall and let the scorching hot water run over my body. For once, my brain was completely blank. I wasn’t thinking or feeling anything. I simply existed.

Lucian took me by surprise when he opened the shower door. I was so out of it that I never even heard him come into the room or the bathroom.

“Well, I guess you let the cat out of the bag,” he said.

“To be honest, I didn’t care who knew I was going to sleep in your room or your bed. If someone had a problem with it, then they could say something to me right then. However, judging by the looks on their faces, they already knew everything.”

“You’re right,” he said and kissed my shoulder. “How are you doing?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

“It has been a long, tiring, and emotional day,” he said.

“Mmm-hmm,” I answered.

He picked up the mini shampoo bottle supplied by the hotel and poured some into his hand. Then, he began to wash my hair. His fingers felt so good as he massaged my scalp and then began to scratch a bit.

“Lean your head back, baby,” he said.

He rinsed out my hair, making sure to get all the soap out without getting any in my eyes.

Then, Lucian put some shower gel on a washcloth and carefully washed my face, around my eyes, my mouth, and nose.

Being pampered felt so good.

After he rinsed my face, then he ran the soapy washcloth over my back, massaging my tense muscles that were so knotted they presented a challenge to his strong fingers.

“Mmmm,” I moaned. “That feels so good.” I was practically purring.

Once he loosened up my shoulder and back muscles, he ran the cloth over my butt. Even my glutes were sore.

Soaping and massaging his way down, he managed to relieve the tension in my thighs and calves.

I leaned against the smooth shower wall for support, moaning. The cold wall felt good on my head, which was beginning to develop a nasty thudding pain.

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