“You’re injured,” Lexi said.
When Cole looked up from where he sat at Brokk’s side, Lexi gestured to his hand. It had stopped bleeding, but dried blood coated it, and when he turned his hand over, she saw the ragged edges of a raw gash.
Sahira looked up from where she was applying a healing salve onto Brokk’s chest. Her hands stilled as she glanced between the two of them while Cole stared at his hand. Lexi marveled at the size of that hand as he flexed his fingers.
“It’s healing,” he said and lowered it.
“We should still clean it,” Lexi said.
His gaze returned to his brother before shifting to Sahira as she rose away from Brokk. “I’ll take care of it,” she offered.
“It’s fine. Though, I should probably clean up.” Cole glanced around him and rose from the bed. “We got blood all over your things.”
“It’s fine,” Lexi assured him.
“I’ll replace them.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll show you to a bathroom and try to find you some clothes.”
“I can—” Sahira started at the same time Cole said, “Thank you.”
Lexi ignored her aunt’s irritated gaze as she moved toward the door. She felt Sahira’s eyes burning into her with every step, but she didn’t look back as she led Cole from the room and down the hall to one of the guest bathrooms.
She flicked on the light and hurried inside to remove the dust cloths from the vanity and toilet. She shoved them into the closet and pulled out a few towels that she set next to the sink.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
His skin remained paler than normal, and his eyes were dull when they met hers. Then his brow furrowed as his gaze latched onto her, and the silver bled out of his eyes. Lexi marveled over the abrupt change as they resumed their vivid blue color.
There was so much in those eyes, but also something raw and primitive, something far more lycan than fae, and something that wanted her.
That knowledge should terrify her; instead, she thrilled at it.
• • •
Cole started to reach for her when he recalled the blood staining his hands. He dug his nails into his palms as he lowered his hand.
He couldn’t touch her with blood on his hands, but the scent of her and the beauty of her hunter green eyes were difficult to resist. A clatter from Brokk’s room drew his attention, and he stepped away from her.
“I’ll be right out,” he said.
He entered the bathroom and closed the door. When he stepped in front of the mirror, his heart sank when he saw the amount of blood coating him. She never should have seen him like this.
He also realized washing his hands wouldn’t suffice though he scrubbed them before turning on the shower. A knock sounded on the door, and he opened it to discover Lexi standing there with an armful of clothes.
“My dad wasn’t as tall as you, but I found some of his biggest clothes. Hopefully, they’ll fit,” she said.
There was something sad and wistful about her as she held the clothes out to him. She misses him.
The thought struck him hard, as did the impulse to cup her cheek to offer comfort. He wasn’t one for comforting or for noticing others' feelings, but with her, things were different.
She was different. He had no idea why, but she was.
“Thank you,” he said as he took the clothes from her. “Your father was my friend and a good man. I miss him too.”
Her luscious mouth parted, and his gaze fell to those ripe lips as Sahira called to her.
“I hope they fit,” she whispered before rushing off to see the witch.
Cole closed the door, stripped out of his ruined clothes, and stepped beneath the hot spray of water. He watched the blood swirl down the drain until the water ran clear. He turned off the shower, dried himself, and dressed.
The jeans were too short on him and rose above his ankles. They were also a little too tight around the waist, but they fit well enough. The shirt pulled taut across his shoulders, and he might tear it if he moved his arms too fast.
When he opened the door, he discovered Lexi with her hand raised to knock.
“Oh,” she said, and her hand fell back to her side. “I thought you might need this.”
She held up a bottle of Sahira’s salve, and as he reached for the bottle with his good hand, her strawberry scent engulfed him. It was a scent he would never forget.
“I’ll do it for you if you’d like,” she offered.
The idea of her touching him was too enticing to resist. “Yes,” he said.
When he stepped aside, she pushed past him with far more authority than her slender frame and height would have conveyed. He almost smiled but stopped when he spotted Sahira studying him from Brokk’s doorway with blatant disapproval.
“How is he?” Cole inquired.
“He’ll survive,” Sahira said.
Some of Cole’s tension eased. “Thank you.”
Sahira’s eyes went past him, but before she could say anything more, he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. He understood Sahira’s disapproval; she didn’t think he was good for her niece, and she was probably right, but he didn’t give a shit.
He’d never denied himself something he wanted before, and he wasn’t about to start now.
When he turned, he discovered Lexi standing by the sink with her head bent as she uncapped the bottle of salve. The aroma of herbs and spices filled the air, but they were so varied he couldn’t name any of them.
She turned toward him. “Come here,” she said.
With pleasure. But he kept that to himself as he walked over to stand across from her.
“Let me see your hand,” she said.
He liked this bossy side of her and smiled as he extended his hand. She grasped it tenderly and drew it toward her. When she poured some salve onto his palm and gently massaged it into the wound, all his amusement vanished.
Her touch caused his cock to harden as he imagined those slender fingers working their magic over his shaft. Her long lashes curled upward as she worked with a tenderness he’d never experienced from another before.
“What happened out there?” she asked.
“We ran into a group of rebels who weren’t happy to see us,” he said gruffly. “The dark fae left but returned to ambush Brokk.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The lycan part of him, a part so close to the edge all night, surged to the forefront. Unable to resist touching her anymore, he cupped her cheek and savored the warmth of her silken skin against his palm.
Her fingers stilled, and her breath caught. For a minute, she didn’t move, and then her face tilted up, and her eyes met his. The freckles dotting the bridge of her nose were more visible in the light shining down on her.
She was so beautiful it was like a punch to the gut when those hunter green eyes, with their flecks of emerald, met his. Men would kill to possess her, and he would kill them to make sure she stayed safe.
His need to keep her safe increased as her breath warmed his thumb. His gaze fell to her mouth, and he ran his thumb over her pouty bottom lip.
She was a temptation more alluring than any siren, and he’d encountered a few sirens before. He’d resisted them; he couldn’t resist her.
Her warm breath tickled his thumb before he bent his head and replaced his thumb with his mouth. He braced himself for her to push him away, but she remained unmoving with her back against the sink as her fingers clenched his palm.
When she didn’t push him away, he ran his tongue across her lips and nearly groaned at the honey and strawberries taste of her. He could spend hours, days, years, kissing her, and he would never grow tired of the taste or the sensation of her lips yielding to his.
The lycan part of him broke free completely, and he completely forgot he was half dark fae as the wolf inside took control. His fangs extended, his claws lengthened, and a tingle raced up his spine as the transformation threatened to take over.
No! Not in front of her. Not like this.
He couldn’t recall a time when he’d lost such complete control of himself, because it had never happened. In all of his six hundred and seventy-two years, he’d never been on the verge of transforming without willing it to happen.
Then her mouth parted and her tongue met his. At first, it was hesitant and uncertain, but the longer they kissed, the bolder she became until she met each of his thrusts. He slid his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head as he deepened the kiss.
He lost himself to the wonder of her as her fingers encircled his wrists. Cole had kissed more women than he could count over his lifetime, and he couldn’t recall a single one of them, but he would never forget her.
His hand fell to her waist and slid beneath her robe. The thin material of her shirt pressed against his palm as he gripped her hip. He drew her flush against him, letting her feel his rigid dick.
He released her hip to grip her ass and lifted her so she sat on the counter. Her shirt bunched in his hand, and he growled as he stroked her hip before squeezing it.