Page 6 of Jacob Michaels is Trouble

Lucas had his hand on top of mine as it laid on his chest and the hot water cascaded over us. Steam filled the shower and was spilling over the top of the shower wall into the bathroom. Green, gilded-jade eyes were locked on mine as the flesh of my palm stayed against the raw bite wounds on his chest. Already, I could tell that they were healing. The puncture wounds from each individual tooth were not as deep as they had been. They weren’t as red and angry looking as when we had first entered Lucas’ house. Lucas didn’t seem to notice nearly as much as I did, but I was also concerned that he might be in shock from everything that had happened throughout our evening.

The attack had come so suddenly, out of nowhere, he hadn’t even had the chance to process the sudden return of his memories. A werewolf was chomping down on his shoulder before he could even think about what all of those memories meant. Before he could even mentally sort through all of the events of his past that had been stripped from his consciousness. Then he was watching two guys get burnt to a crisp. Then he was bleeding and freezing and bathed in a flashlight beam. Everything had gone to shit, and there was no way that my boyfriend had been able to take it all in without going a little cuckoo in the process.

Right?

“Rob.” Lucas leaned forward to lay his forehead against mine. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Did I?” I asked, chewing at my lip.

Lucas looked up at me, his eyes boring into mine for a moment, then he gently kissed me on the lips.

“You stopped him before he could do worse.” He sighed against my mouth.

“I didn’t save you, Lucas.” I shook my head jerkily. “All he wanted to do was bite you. He did that.”

“He might have—”

“If he had wanted to kill you, he would have.” I stopped him. “He was looking to turn you. I didn’t save you.”

Lucas stared at me as he kept my hand held against his chest and water poured over us, creating sheets of liquid warmth over our bodies. Against my desires, I was aroused, and I could feel that Lucas was feeling the same way. Standing there in the shower with my hand against his relatively fresh wound made me feel anything but aroused inside, though. Sex was the furthest thing from my mind. All I could think about was that wound that one day would mean so much more to both of us.

“I wasn’t fast enough.” My head was still shaking remorsefully. “You shouldn’t have been bitten.”

“Shhh.” Lucas pressed his lips against mine once more. “Rob. You can’t protect me from everything. And I can’t protect you from everything either.”

“Then what?” I asked after another gentle kiss. “This is my fault. If I had just left you alone…”

“Do you really wish you had left me alone?”

“No,” I said. “I just don’t want you hurt. And you’ve been hurt. I’m trouble, Lucas. Jason wasn’t wrong.”

“You must be upset if you’re agreeing with him.”

The attempt at humor was half-hearted at best.

“I remember everything, Rob.” Lucas’ forehead was against mine again. “You can’t convince me that everything is your fault anymore. If this had happened last night…maybe…but not now. And if you hadn’t given me back my memories, you would have lied to me.”

“I know, but—”

“You promised you’d come back.” Lucas gave me a sharp look. “And you brought my memories with you. You did exactly what you said you would do, babe. No more. No less. You did nothing wrong.”

“It feels like everything I do is wrong.” I sighed, the sound of the water nearly drowning out my words. “Coming back to Ohio was bad, Lucas. We both know it. If I had known when I got into my car to drive here what I know now, then…”

Lucas just stared into my eyes, his hand still over mine as it rested against his chest. I sighed and slumped forward, my forehead falling against his again as I considered what a mess I had made of everything over the last several weeks. Hell, the last decade. Everything that I had done in the last ten years was going to come back to bite everyone in the proverbial—and maybe literal—ass. All I had done was cause confusion and chaos—delayed the inevitable. There was no way that I would be able to keep Lucas from getting hurt in the process. The bite on his chest was proof enough. I slid my hand out from under his and let it drop to my side.

“Why did you take me out into the Maumee to talk to me, Rob?” He asked softly, just audible above the water. “Was it to shield the magic?”

“Sh,” I stated quickly, though it lacked energy. “Yes.”

“Does it have to be a natural body of water?” He asked.

Frowning to myself, I moved my head so that I could look my boyfriend in the eyes again. The corner of Lucas’ mouth was turned upward, and he glanced at the showerhead.

“I…I don’t know,” I said cautiously. “I didn’t even know that running water did that until…someone…told me.”

“But now I have my memories back,” Lucas said. “That’s all that matters.”

“I guess.” I shrugged, staring into those curious green eyes.