“We’ll figure out a way to destroy him before that day comes,” Del said.
“We will.”
Cole’s gaze fell to Lexi, and his heart warmed as he gazed at her. She was beautiful, and she’d always been stronger than she realized, but now, she was becoming more so as her powers emerged.
He brushed his fingers across her cheek and the smattering of freckles there. Touching her didn’t erase the horrible events of this night, but it helped ease some of the revulsion swirling inside him over that room and the fountain.
He would have far preferred to have showered before touching her, but he wasn’t going to leave her here while he went to do so. She had to rest, and she would get more sleep in her bed than here.
“You really do love her, don’t you?” Del asked. “It’s more than your lycan seeking its mate; you love her.”
Cole tore his attention away from Lexi to meet her father’s gaze. “What’s not to love?”
“Nothing,” Del said. “And I’m glad you see that too. I’m happy she has you to protect her from what’s coming. She’s going to need it.”
“I have a feeling that once she figures out how to use her powers, she won’t need anyone to protect her.”
A sad smile tugged at the corners of Del’s mouth. “Oh, she will, but it will be from her own stubborn nature.”
Cole chuckled, but before he could respond, Del walked away. He continued to smile at the place where Del just stood. It was good seeing his old friend again; he was glad he was back and more glad Del didn’t intend to stand in his way when it came to Lexi.
The last thing he wanted was to end up fighting his friend and her father. She wouldn’t handle that well.
Bending, Cole slid his arms under Lexi and picked her up. She murmured in her sleep and snuggled against him. Her head fell onto his shoulder, but she didn’t wake.
Her sweet scent assailed him as he carried her from the library and up the stairs to her room. Del was nowhere in sight by the time he opened Lexi’s door and carried her inside.
He adjusted his hold on her to pull back the blankets. When he finished, he slid her onto the bed and tucked the sheets and comforter under her chin.
He stepped away from the bed and went back to shut the door. He poked his head into the hall, but it remained empty, and the house was quiet.
In the moonlight streaming through the windows, he stripped off his clothes and tossed them in a corner of the room. He would burn them tomorrow.
When he finished, he padded into the bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the light. He took a long shower where he scrubbed his skin until it turned red and the water ran cold. Even once the hot water ran out, he continued to rub at his skin.
He felt a little cleaner when he turned off the water, but he couldn’t wash away the sound of the pixie’s neck breaking and the feel of her small head between his fingers. The memories would haunt him forever, and she’d most likely become yet another figure in his nightmares.
He deserved that.
Cole toweled himself dry and turned off the light before opening the door. Lexi was still lying on the bed, but she’d rolled so he couldn’t see her face. Certain she was still asleep, he padded toward the chair near the window where he would spend the night.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping with me,” she said.
Shit.
Cole was at the chair when he stopped walking and turned to face her. She was still burrowed beneath the comforter with her head turned away from him, but she didn’t breathe as she waited for his reply.
Chapter Sixty-Six
“Lexi—”
“I wasn’t kidding, Cole. No more sleeping apart.”
She rolled to face him; he hated the dark shadows under her eyes, but he didn’t miss the determined set of her chin. Anger glimmered in her eyes, and since she was out of the rays of the moon, the beautiful hunter green of them was evident.
However, he’d never forget the magnificent, molten gold color they had become earlier. And he suspected it was only the first of many times he would see that color on her.
She was going to grow into a powerful force. And he would be there to help her every step of the way, but he could also become her downfall.
