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“I’m sorry.”
It was the automatic response, as was the sideways slant of her lips. One hand reached out before she thought better of it, not even sure what she’d intended.
“You could help me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Grab a washcloth out of there so I can clean some of these scratches up.”
“You can do that yourself,” Devin said as she drew back, careful to keep the chair between them.
“I could, sure,” he said, one side of his mouth tipping up in sardonic humor to show the sharp edge of teeth. “That way when someone who isn’t half as nice as me wanders up here, I’ll be in such a great spot to stop them.”
“What do you mean? Why would you have to stop them?” Devin hated the uncertain tremor in her voice, despised the way she huddled around her middle in a protective gesture. The reaction was as natural as breathing, the promise of violence far too commonplace to be misunderstood.
“People know you’re up here.” Cerulean eyes held a world of meaning as understanding passed between them.
He meant other males, and they knew an Omega was locked up in a little room far away from the bustle of activity. The sticky sweetness caught between her thighs no matter how hard she scrubbed would be more than enough reason for them to act. While Devin could make her escape if he were preoccupied, what was the likelihood she wouldn’t encounter any of them on her way out?
He shrugged and tipped the tumbler to his lips, downing the finger of burnished gold liquor like it was water. Rising, he seemed far taller than before, larger somehow. His presence filled the room to suffocating levels. “Like I said, they might not be half as patient as I am.”
Lips parted to gulp down a shuddering breath as Devin skittered away. Back flush against the wall, she made a sputtering noise of negation when he stepped forward. Hand fluttering to hold the man back, she dove through the bathroom door to retrieve a washcloth.
Had she the strength, the knob would have come off in her hand when she yanked the hot water on. Fisting the last of the white squares, her hand shook as it hovered over the sink.
This wasn’t fair or right in any way, but she was trapped there until they found Ashley. That nagging voice returned, muttering in the back of her thoughts as she wet the cloth under the warm stream. Ashley never would have left the club without her, but going off to some dark spot to have a rendezvous with a Beta she’d picked up on the dance floor? That was not only possible, but likely given how long it was taking. If Devin could say nothing else about her friend, Ashley enjoyed her pleasures and would not be hurried from them.
If she thought Devin was safe at the bar, she wouldn’t rush a damned thing.
Heaving a sigh, head nodding in agreement with that inner voice, Devin wrung out the washcloth and cut the water off once more. Heading back into the lush space, she tried to make amends. While the breadth of his morality and honor may be questionable, he was the known evil for the moment.
“Here,” she said, cloth held out at the end of her reach. There was no sense in being reckless, either.
The Alpha grunted low in his throat, taking the washcloth from her hand. With a speed and dexterity that had Devin scrambling, he gripped the torn shirt and pulled it over his head in a single movement.
Wonderful. Now she was trapped, alone, with an Alpha who had decided to start getting undressed.
Dabbing at the minor wounds, he ignored her. The lack of attention settled her primal urge to flee. As surreptitious in watching him as she could manage, hiding behind the solid chair once more, Devin felt the first hints of guilt. Curiosity was not far behind.
Broad and sun-kissed, scars of varying degrees littered his chest. It spoke of a man who had no qualms with fighting, something she found as disturbing as it was comforting. If you’re going to depend on someone to keep unknown assailants away, it should be one willing to throw a punch. One such tendril of puckered pink skin trailed a meandering path from shoulder to sternum across a bulging pectoral. Her violet gaze tripped over the rippling muscles of his torso as he moved. With an unconscious hum, she wondered how some of the nastier ones came to be.
“If you’ve looked your fill, I could use some help with the ones on my back.” Delivered in a lilting tease, he caught the fabric between thick fingers and held it out to her.
Caught staring, Devin felt her face warm. Knowing that regardless of any excuse given to the contrary, he would still believe she was admiring his body, she kept silent. She also remained right where she was.
It wasn’t that she was opposed to assisting, since she had inflicted the wounds after all. It was that doing so would mean coming close to the seated male who looked too comfortable and was going to great lengths to appear less intimidating. He acted downright genial.
“Come on, you owe me. These are your fault, and they sting like a bitch.”
“Are you telling me a couple of scratches are enough to bring you down?” Devin snorted and crossed her arms. Her silent feet slid over the soft rug as she moved beside the chair, not willing to close the distance between them yet.
His laugh was a rumble of distant thunder, prickling her skin into goosebumps. Finding herself moving forward without meaning to, she came to a hard stop just out of arm’s reach. Gaze darting from the fabric held aloft to the crystalline eyes that damn near sparkled with good humor, she remained uncertain. With his elbow resting on his knee and arm angled out, he held the hand she would need to reach for too close to his body.
“It’s the least you could do for me.”
So simply stated, it sealed her fate. Devin exhaled a groaning sigh and snatched the cooling fabric from his hand. Darting around the back of his chair, she kept herself out of easy range. A single finger poked at his spine, prodding him to lean forward.
With far more care and concentration than he had shown, Devin cleaned the little abrasions and grazes. A wry twist of thought couldn’t help but compare the raking paths across his shoulders with the marks of sex. It was funny how fear and passion were so closely entwined.
