Luukas
Luukas laid the witch down carefully on the rug in front of the tub. A bath. Yes. She needed to be cleaned. Hunkering down beside her, he took a handful of her shirt in each hand and ripped it right up the middle, then down both arms. Moving to her shorts, he yanked them open, sending the button flying, and pulled them down her legs, sliding off her slip-on shoes along with them, and throwing it all in the corner.
Sitting back on his heels, he let his eyes wander down her curvy body, clad in only what used to be a white bra and little cotton underwear with purple stripes. Reaching out, he cupped one of her full breasts, then ran his hand down her soft belly, over her hip, and down the outside of her shapely thigh.
Feelings he didn’t understand made him scowl down at her, and he pulled his hand back, leaving her in her bra and underwear.
Can’t hurt her.
He ripped his own shirt off, throwing it into the corner on top of hers. The tub was big. They would both fit. Rising up off of the floor, he took off his boots and peeled off his bloody, sticky jeans. They joined the “to be trashed” pile in the corner. He wasn’t wearing anything else.
No emotion was reflected as he caught sight of himself in the mirror. He looked nothing like the vampire he remembered anymore. He was thinner, and the recent gashes from what they’d done to him covered his torso and legs. Twisting around, he looked at his back, crisscrossed with lash marks and still half raw. He idly wondered how long it would take them to heal, and why there were no burns?
But what surprised him most were his eyes. They were no longer grey.
They were black.
He spun away from his reflection, unable to stomach the sight of those stranger’s eyes.
Sliding his arms under the witch, he lifted her limp form and lowered them both into the deliciously warm water, propping her up between his legs with her back against his front. She moaned softly as he settled them in the warm water, her eyelids fluttering.
His cock stirred at the feel of her lush ass against him, and he ground his teeth together, fighting the urge to roll his hips and increase the contact.
No. Can’t hurt her.
With his cupped hands, he scooped water over her front and onto her hair, letting it run down her face, washing away the dirt. He found the shampoo bottle and dumped some on her head. Using both hands, he gathered up her long hair, massaging the shampoo through it.
She moaned again as he rubbed her scalp, one small hand lifting out of the water to touch his bare knee.
“Luukas?”
He stilled at the sound of her voice.
Rip her open! Suck her dry! Kill her! Burn her!
Can’t hurt her!
The two instincts battled fiercely within him, making his head pound.
His hands tightened on either side of her head. How easy it would be to crush her skull, the darkness told him, until her eyes popped out and her brain matter oozed between his fingers.
“Luukas? You’re hurting me!”
Can’t hurt her!
He released her head instantly, dropping his hands into the water on either side of her, breathing hard.
“I want to hurt you.” His voice was raw with the battle raging inside him.
“Luukas, I need you to help me,” she whispered.
Help her. Yes. He would help her.
She pushed her soapy hair back out of her eyes and struggled to sit up. He pushed against the backs of her shoulders to help her. She flinched at his touch, relaxing again when he only steadied her.
“Where are we?” she asked weakly.
“Home.”
“Your home?”
“Yes.”
“Where is my sister? Where’s Emma? And the other vampire?”
“Nikulas...my brother...is in the other room. Emma left.”
“Left to go where?”
“I don’t know.”
She peeked back at him over her shoulder, started to say something, but then turned back around without speaking, but not before he noticed a slight blush creeping over her skin.
She seemed to be thinking about something. “Luukas? Would you help me shower? Please? So we can rinse off?"
“Yes.”
Bending his knees, he sat up and reached down by her feet to lift the plug, then stood up and yanked the curtain closed. He turned the water on, and then pulled the knob up. As he straightened up, he grabbed her under the arms and brought her to her feet, holding her steady.
“Thank you,” she told him shakily. “I’m sorry, I would do this on my own if I could.”
He kept a grip on her arm as she stepped into the spray to rinse out her hair. “Gods, this feels so good.”
Turning around carefully, she kept her eyes closed and hung on to his forearms as she tilted her head back, letting the warm water wash away the years of grime. She lifted her head back up, blinking away the water, and her eyes flew open wide as she caught sight of his naked form. Quickly, she averted them to the side.
“Would you hand me that bottle please?” she asked him huskily, pointing to the body wash.
He stiffened, clenching his jaw. “What's wrong? You don’t like to look at me? At my wounds? The wounds you helped them inflict? Am I ugly to you?”
She shook her head. “No! No, you’re not ugly to me. Not at all.” She stared him right in the eye, not looking away, but not looking anywhere else.
Not sure why it even bothered him, he got the bottle, and squeezed some soap onto a cloth, lifting it up out of her reach when she went to take it from him. “I’ll help you.”
She steadied herself against the shower wall as he ran the soapy cloth over every trembling inch of her, enjoying her sharp intake of breath when he ran it slowly over her breasts and between her thighs.
When she was as clean as he could get her, he helped her rinse off. Grabbing a white towel off of the rack, he slid one arm around her waist and lifted her out of the shower, then wrapped it around her.
“Sit and wait.” He pointed at the closed toilet.
Hugging the towel around herself, she sank down gratefully onto the toilet seat.
Luukas washed himself quickly and efficiently. Twice. The soap and water burned his raw skin, but he didn’t care. She was right. It felt good to be really clean.
Turning off the water, he grabbed the matching towel and dried himself off before wrapping it around his narrow waist and stepping out.
He noticed her bra and underwear had made their way into the pile as he washed, and her towel was firmly wrapped around her.
She shivered, her eyes tired as they glanced at him apprehensively.
Clothes. He'd seen clean clothes somewhere.
Leaving her where she was, he walked out into the bedroom and saw two sets of clothing on the bed. Both contained a pair of his drawstring lounge pants and a T-shirt.
He picked a set and strode back into the bathroom.
“Lift your arms.”
She did, and he slid a shirt over her head and torso. Squatting down in front of her, he helped her place her small feet into each pant leg, and then lifted her to a standing position with his hands around her waist. She steadied herself by hanging onto his bare shoulders, and he pulled the pants up her legs, tugging the towel off of her when it got in his way.
He sucked in a quick breath when she was revealed to him for a split second before the T-shirt fell and covered her.
Recovering quickly, he pulled the pants the rest of the way up and tied the drawstring so they’d stay. His clothes were big on her, but at least she was clean and dry.
Picking the towel up, he squeezed as much water from her long hair as he could. He found a brush, and patiently removed all of the snarls as she sat complacently.
Not asking her permission, he picked her up and carried her out to the living area, setting her down on the couch.
“Do we have anything for her to eat?” he asked Nik.
“Yeah. I grabbed some stuff from my place real quick while you guys were in there. I’ll get it ready while you go get dressed.”
Nik headed into the kitchen.
Luukas hesitated a second, then nodded once. Leaving them to it, he went in to dress himself.