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His eyes followed me as I left the bathroom, returning with the first aid kit.
“Pants off. In the shower.”
He smiled, listening to my words, and began undressing himself. As he turned from me, I spied a wound lining his shoulder blade, like claws had raked across his flesh.
“Were you able to find anything?” I asked as he removed his pants.
“Unfortunately, no. Just the usual darklings out hunting. Barrett and the others went back out to see if they could possibly find the building you saw in your vision.”
He stepped into the shower, letting the hot water pour over him and I walked over, setting the first aid kit on the vanity. I undressed quickly and climbed into the shower behind him. I reached for the bath sponge, gently washing his back, cleaning away all the grime and blood that marred his beautiful skin.
If only I were strong enough to be there where he was, fighting alongside him, watching his back myself. But I would only get in the way, regardless of how hard I trained. I was only human. What could I hope to do?
He turned around to face me, and his hooded eyes watched me as I continued to wash his skin. Thankfully, other than the wound on his shoulder, I didn’t see any other new injuries. My nerves eased. Anna’s words wouldn’t leave my mind, though. He needed to feed if he was going to heal properly. He didn’t have the time to heal as slowly as he had been.
The claw wound from the darklings’ attack more than two weeks prior had yet to fully heal on his forearm, the tear on the top of his shoulder still a scabbed wound. He reached around the small of my back and leaned down, his lips brushing the side of my face tenderly.
“Damien. How do we arrange for you to feed?” I asked, my eyes not leaving the wound on his chest.
His body tensed. “I don’t want to talk about that right now, Cas.”
“Please,mea sol. You’re wounded. You need to. I can’t stop worrying while you’re out fighting. You’re not taking care of yourself because I’m here, and all I can think about is that my existence is holding you back!”
He pinned me back against the wall, his forehead pressed against mine as his eyes pierced into me. “Mea luna. Your existence does anythingbuthold me back.” His eyes burned. “You give me something to live for, something to fight for. I feel more alive than I have in centuries with you at my side again.”
I stood there, feeling him against me, and I begged. “I can’t sleep, Damien.Please. I want to help you so badly. I feel so useless. If my blood could help you even a little, I would offer it, but I know it wouldn’t do anything for these wounds. It’s too weak.”
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “I’ll arrange for someone tomorrow, if it will help you feel better.”
“It will.” I swallowed back the nausea as the thought of him touching another woman filled my mind. I refused to let it show, refused to let that hesitation reflect in my eyes as I held his gaze.
He kissed my forehead. “Then it will be done,mea luna.”
“Thank you. Now turn around. I’m not done cleaning your wounds.”
A low laugh rippled from his throat as he obliged, turning to the shower head.
I couldn’t explain the feeling of satisfaction I felt tending to him. There was a part of me that wanted to be the only one who took care of him like this. The only one to heal him. If only I could be the only one he fed from.
He turned the shower off and toweled himself dry before wrapping the towel around his waist. I dried myself, wrapping a towel around my body, and grabbed the first aid kit as I followed after him.
“Sit,” I said, gesturing to the chair at our bedside. He didn’t argue, only listened. Anna wasn’t kidding when she told me about the strange power females had over their mates.
Damien sat quietly as I dressed his injury. I was extra careful not to hurt him, applying a healing salve that Ethel had given me to his older wounds that hadn’t fully healed yet. I prayed they wouldn’t leave scars.
His thumb gently brushed in lazy lines back and forth along my arms as I worked on his chest. Those beautiful eyes watched my every move as I tended to him. He didn’t interrupt me, didn’t get in my way, and the simple act of his affectionate gaze warmed my heart.
“I want you there when it happens,” Damien muttered as I finished treating him.
I hesitated a moment, unsure of how I would feel to see him with another woman like that. Regardless of how he swore that there was no intimacy for him, it stung. I wished that I could be the one he used, but it was clear that it wouldn’t benefit him. I wrapped my arms around him, his face leaning into my chest as I held him.
“I will be at your side,mea sol.”
27
Iwas awoken to the feeling of Damien’s lips brushing against my neck. I groaned as his hands explored my body.
“Mea sol,” I groaned a low laugh at the sensation of his touch, opening my eyes.
