Page 38 of Expose Me

Zey glanced up from his spot on the floor and placed his finger to his lips. “You must be silent.” His voice rang clear in my head. “Your friends are having a party. There are some vampires present, two shifters, a fae, and many humans. Most of the people are inebriated, and there is much noise, but we must still be silent.”

He lowered his gaze down to my leg as he spoke. He was sitting right next to the bed, his face level with my wound. I was pantsless, only in my underwear and the T-shirt I’d had on under my jacket. Did he undress me? I suppose if they needed to check the wound...

And why were the boys having a party right now? Didn’t they know how dangerous this was for all of us? Although, if it had been planned already, it would’ve looked more suspicious to cancel it. Most of the people present wouldn’t be affiliated with a House, but some might. Plus handing over two wanted fugitives could be leverage to get yourselfintoa House if you’d previously failed.

I tapped Zey on the head to get his attention, then gestured to his position and gave him a “WTF are you doing” look.

He answered in my mind, of course. “I was watching you sleep.”

I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips. His mouth slowly curved into a smirk and his eyes sparkled, making his already annoyingly stunning features even more striking.

Was he teasing me? And when did he learn how to smirk?

He rose silently and sat on the bed, facing me.

“I was watching your wound heal,” he explained. “And tracking the infection. It is all clear now. And your flesh is nearly back to its previous unblemished state.”

We both reached for the spot on my leg at the same time. Any normal person would’ve pulled their hand back, but Zey wasn’t normal. Was he even a person as we defined it? Our fingers tangled as we both stroked the now smooth skin where a gaping wound had been hours ago.

Vamp saliva was amazing.

Moving as quietly as possible, I made my way to the bathroom and freshened up as best I could, considering the need for silence. I was feeling so much better. There was no pain anywhere, and I was clear-headed and felt strong. If it weren’t for the apartment full of people, I would’ve been ready to go.

Zey was stretched out on his back on one side of the bed.

“I must rest now,” he said telepathically. I frowned at him, increasingly irritated that I couldn’t speak. He must’ve seen the questions in my eyes.

“It is similar to what you call sleep. A state of unconsciousness during which my body does important repair and my mind recharges. But we only require about two hours every few days.”

Damn! I wished I could function on such little sleep. I nodded and waved him off to sleep land as I lowered myself onto the bed next to him. There was only one bed and no other furniture. I figured I may as well get all the rest I could while we were forced to wait.

I felt a bit awkward laying down next to him, but he was unmoving and seemed to already be asleep, so I forced myself to close my eyes.

I dozed, unable to go back to sleep fully. I was too aware of the music and laughter on the other side of the door, of the potential danger if someone decided to sneak off for a hookup or a sober vampire heard us in here.

I was on my side, watching Zey’s profile and contemplating my life, when his voice spoke in my mind.

“Are you watching me sleep, Sky?” He opened his eyes and turned his head to give me a teasing smile.

I pressed my lips together, holding in a chuckle and a few choice words.

“Rude and creepy.” He shook his head.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and extended my hand in a choking motion. I didn’t know how else to express my irritation.

“How is your injury?” he asked, flipping onto his side to face me.

Unable to tell him that it was pretty much healed before he went to sleep—as he’d seen for himself—I moved the blanket and hiked my leg up so he could see. He reached out and prodded the spot with his warm, gentle fingers. The skin was perfectly smooth, like nothing had happened at all.

“Remarkable,” he said, his gaze focused on where his hand still caressed my thigh.

I frowned and cocked my head. He was the one that wasn’t remotely affected by bullets and could recover from seemingly anything as long as he was hydrated. Why did he think my healing was remarkable when his was so much better?

But obviously I couldn’t ask him in that moment. Because of the whole needing-to-stay-silent thing, but also because I was distracted by the goosebumps that sprung up on my leg.

The room was warm and comfortable, and I couldn’t even pretend that my skin was tingling because of anything other than his touch.

Zey cocked his head to the side, a curious expression on his face as he lifted his fingers off my thigh. Almost instantly, he returned his hand to my leg, running his palm over the raised bumps gently. His depthless eyes sparkled with wonder as he dragged his hand down my leg, lifting up on his elbow so he could reach all the way to my ankle.

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