Page 34 of Expose Me

OK, then. Fine. Whatever. Wouldn’t be the first time I had to patch myself up.

He returned a moment later with one of the two chairs that were tucked under the little table next to the door. Placing it in the middle of the bathroom, he guided me down into the seat.

“How do I make it stop leaking?” he asked, crouching down next to me. I finally took a proper look. There was a jagged, deep gouge in the side of my upper thigh. The bleeding was slowing down, but the fact it was still bleeding after all this time told me it wasdeep. It was a good thing the bastard got me in a fleshy part—I didn’t think it had reached bone.

“We need to clean it first.” I gestured to the first aid kit, and Zey opened it. “The antiseptic. The wound has to be disinfected, then bandaged.” It probably needed stitches too, but I was too wrecked to deal with that. Hopefully, I’d find some way to get my hands on a healing potion or some vampire saliva tomorrow.

Zey got to work, focused on what he was doing. His intuitive learning must’ve filled in the basics of wound care, because I sat in silence while he worked. Well, unless you counted the stream of curses I let loose when he poured the antiseptic all over my leg.

“Thanks,” I said as he finished securing the bandage. “For carrying me all that way, and for this.” I gestured to my leg.

He looked up at me with those unusual eyes, and I felt like he was studying me again, trying to figure something out about the species.

“I am ... pleased that you are not dead,” he said, his gaze intense. Mirth bubbled up my chest at his strange choice of words, but it died as quickly as it came. I was suddenly acutely aware of his hand on my thigh. It was close to the bandage, his thumb rubbing back and forth in miniscule motions. I wasn’t even sure he was aware he was doing it.

He was at about eye level, kneeling in front of me. He lifted his other arm and gripped the back of the chair. I leaned into him reflexively. He’d carried me in his arms away from danger, he’d figured out how to drive and how to reserve a motel room to get us somewhere safe, he’d cleaned and bandaged my wound ... he was pleased I wasn’t dead.

And with his arms where they were, I felt safe in the cocoon of the moment.

Zey tracked my movement and mirrored it until we were nose-to-nose, staring into each other’s eyes like if we just looked hard enough, long enough, we’d be able to figure out the answers for all the messy questions we had about our situation.

He licked his lips. I parted mine on an exhale as pressure built low in my belly. Anticipation made my skin tingly. He rubbed his nose against mine, tilting his head. I released a tiny, involuntary moan as I closed my eyes and—

No!

I shoved him back and leaned away.

It was his fault I had a wound that needed bandaging in the first place. It was his fault my life was a total fucking mess. He was only pleased his buddies hadn’t offed me because he needed me to find his other two trinkets. Whatever this rush of lust was, it was just a response to an intense situation.

“Sky?” His fingers flexed on my thigh.

“I need to sleep,” I said, gripping the edge of the sink to pull myself up.

“Of course.” He wrapped an arm around my back and leaned down to pick me up.

“No!” I slapped at his shoulder and arm until he backed up, giving me a perplexed, displeased look. “I can do it myself,” I stated and forced myself to turn away from him. I thought I caught a glimpse of hurt in that beautiful face that was getting more expressive every day, but I must’ve been hallucinating.

I hobbled over to the nearest bed and peeled my still-wet bra and underwear off before getting under the covers. I could feel his eyes on me for a long moment before the bathroom door clicked shut, but I was already falling asleep.

Chapter11

Iwoke slowly, rubbing my face against the thin, scratchy pillowcase. I didn’t want to move out of the cheap-but-warm sheets, but I knew I couldn’t sleep away the day—as much as my body needed it. We had to keep moving; I needed to search for the next Onuei. I had to get my hands on something healing first though. We weren’t going to get far with me injured like I was.

A plan beginning to form in my mind, I blinked my eyes open slowly. Zey was sitting on the bed directly opposite, facing me, his hands in his lap.

I didn’t expect him to be so close, and I startled. Pain shot through my leg at the sudden movement, and I winced.

“What the fuck, dude?” I sat up glaring at him. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Yes,” he said, his gaze dropping to my chest for a brief second.

Remembering that I’d gone to sleep completely naked, I grabbed the edge of the blanket to cover myself up. But then I stopped myself and threw it completely off. If he was so unbothered by nudity, then I wasn’t going to make myself uncomfortable around him. More uncomfortable than I already was that is ... and irritated.

“I know you don’t have eyes where you’re from, but here, it’s rude to stare,” I said, twisting to look at my bandage. “And it’s creepy to watch people sleep.”

“There was nothing else to do, and I didn’t want to disturb you. Your dressing needs to be changed.”

“Yeah, I know.” I rubbed my eye with the heel of my hand and moved to get up. Zey got to his feet and stopped me with a gentle touch to my shoulder. He pushed me back down to the pillow and sat next to me, first aid kit in hand. Silently, he cleaned the wound and changed the dressing. I just lay there, feeling all conflicted and shit. Why did he have to be so matter-of-factly attentive when he was the literal bane of my existence. It really wasn’t fair that he wasn’t affected by my body laid out in front of him. Likeat all. I guessed hormones weren’t a thing either where he was from. Did they even have sex? How did they reproduce?

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