He’d mostly acted as if he wasn’t injured, to the point I had to tell him when he was bleeding, because he didn’t seem to notice.
Howcouldn’the notice?
Lucien’s kneading grew more intense as he lowered his hands, massaging my upper arms, then my lower arms, before intertwining my fingers and clutching them to release the tension that still had them curled into fists around the pillowcase. Ever so slowly, I began feeling my muscles finally relax.
My fingers left the pillow then, and he warmed them up before moving back up to my shoulders. Then he started kneading my back.
I expected to feel pain, but instead, all I felt were his soft yet rough palms as they worked on my skin and muscle expertly. Faintly, I wondered how come a werewolf Alpha knew how to massage, but whatever the reason, I was utterly grateful he did.
When his hands reached my waist, he grabbed it and kneaded the little dimples in my lower back with his thumbs. I felt myself tense, though this time, it wasn’t entirely uncontrollable. In fact, the lower his hands roamed, the more a different kind of feeling rose to the surface.
A feeling that had no business being here right now.
The moment his hands grabbed my thighs, heat—a very different kind of heat from the pain before—lit up within me, causing a soft, needy pounding in a very specific spot between them.
At once, all I could think about was how I wished he would push my thighs apart and touch that aching spot with his nimble hands.
The moan that escaped me then was very much involuntary.
Lucien paused. “Does it hurt?” he asked, and was it my imagination, or was his voice a little lower than before?
I found that I had regained agency over my head, so I managed to shake it.
He resumed his movements, and I had to bite my lip not to moan again when he drew closer to my ass but didn’t touch it.
My heartbeat was now on overdrive.
However, the logical part of me suddenly whispered in my ear,Did you forget what he said about you being his Eteria? That you will be magically manipulated to lust after him? Love him? Isn’t that what’s going on here?
Was it? Because this felt real. I didn’t feel manipulated. The heat pooling between my legs was definitely of my body’s own doing, caused by Lucien’s innocent touch.
Is it really innocent, though?that voice questioned, obviously skeptical.
But I knew that it was. It had to be. That I was his Eteria wasn’t of his choosing; he’d said so himself. I doubted he would’ve chosen me given the option.
I mean, the man was earth-shatteringly gorgeous. And I was ... average.
As Lucien went lower to massage my knees and then my calves, the desire slowly dissipated. My thoughts had poured much-needed icy water over any heat I might’ve felt.
A few minutes later, Lucien took his hands away from me and asked, “Can you move?”
My muscles were still stiff and aching but not as much as before. Slowly, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, wincing slightly at the groaning of my limbs, before I turned to look at Lucien.
He seemed completely haggard. His face was etched with rage, and his eyes were no longer arctic blue but almost an electric shade, practically spitting fire when he caught my gaze.
He growled, and the sound made my heartbeat quicken again, especially when he snarled, “Never again.”
Chapter 20
Provocations
Anais had given me a pair of fresh jeans and a tee that somehow fit me perfectly. She then ushered me to the fancy bathroom I’d seen before to take a much-needed shower.
Once I was clean and dressed, my muscles slowly loosening up and returning to their natural state, with the memories of the pain still sharp in my mind, I exited the bathroom and saw Lucien and Thayer standing outside, apparently waiting for me.
“It’s time we discuss a few things,” Lucien said in a businesslike voice.
I frowned at him, seeing he was freshly showered and dressed as well. “What about your injuries?”
