Beneath the scent of his soap, her sweet, strawberry aroma drifted on the air. When he rested his hand against her cheek, her sweeping lashes rose, and her hunter green eyes, with their flecks of emerald, met his. Her rosebud lips parted.
She was so beautiful, and she washis.
Drawing her closer, he kissed her. When he deepened the kiss by running his tongue across her lips before nibbling at her bottom lip, she pulled away.
“You have to relax and heal,” she scolded.
“I’m feeling much better,” he assured her.
“Hmm,” she grunted as she rested her hands on his chest and pushed him back. “Let me take a look.”
The steely tone of her voice made him smile as she finished pulling off the bandages. He glanced at his healing wounds as she examined them. The one in his chest was still raw and red, while the one in his side was more of a pink color and nowhere near as irritated looking.
That one would mostly heal by tomorrow, and the one in his chest would be completely closed by then.
“They both look good,” she said.
“They do.”
“I’ll clean them and wrap them again.”
She washed them with tender care and pressed her hand against the hole in his chest when pink seeped out to stain the cloth. The bleeding soon stopped, and she finished dressing the wound.
As soon as she finished, he pushed aside the blankets and swung his legs out of bed. Before he could rise, she seized his arm and stepped in front of him.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Getting up,” he replied. “I’ve been in bed long enough, and the kingdom needs to see that I’m alive.”
“You can’t be serious. You were stabbed through theheart.”
“And the sooner the dark fae see me walking around after that, the more they’ll respect and follow me.”
“Cole….” Her voice trailed off as he rose from the bed.
She scrambled back and grasped his arm when he swayed a little. The blood rushed from his head, and he nearly collapsed onto the bed. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to remain standing while his healing heart raced.
He was doing a lot better, but there was a stutter in his heartbeat, and it lumbered harder than it used to. Unable to move, he stood and waited to see if he would have a heart attack. But then, the tension in it eased, and it gradually returned to normal.
Or the normal it was now as its beat was staccato at best. But it was still beating and far better than it should have been, given it had a sword through it yesterday.
Brokk had survived fae metal, he should have survived it too, and he had. But he shouldn’t be healing this fast. It had taken Brokk more time to heal, even with Sahira’s potions.
He’d always been stronger than his brothers, but this was different. This was a combination of the healing potions, finding his mate in Lexi, and the shadows he sensed all around him. The ones creeping through him now.
“Are you okay?” she demanded.
“I’m fine.”
“You should rest for at least another day.”
“I can’t.”
“Damn it, Cole.”
“There are still rebels out there to hunt down.”
“You arenotgoing to do that today.”
