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Helen remembered hearing about the female Kodiak bear shifter who’d mated with the alpha of the Holloway den, Laramie Holloway. She’d overheard Carter speaking with some of the other hunters about them attempting to take her and another shifter. Apparently, they’d failed if she was still with the Holloways.
“Thank you,” she called as Jensen stepped from the room. He gave a brief nod before turning and pulling the door shut behind him.
“Would you like a bath or a shower while we wait for your food?” Fletch asked as they were left alone again.
“A shower sounds like heaven, but I’m not sure my legs will hold me up.”
He growled again then swept her up into his arms.
“I’ll help you,” he stated.
“That’s okay.” Her cheeks warmed at the intense look in his eyes.
“You’re my mate. It’s my duty to see to your needs.”
She didn’t say anything to that as he carried her into the en suite. He set her on the bathroom counter then turned to start the water in the shower before pulling out two towels for them. He moved back to her, his gaze skimming over her from head to toe. She’d never been insecure in her skin, human or bear, but after years of fighting to survive, she wasn’t at her best. She hadn’t seen a mirror since she’d been taken, but she didn’t need to. She knew she looked bad. She felt it.
“Sorry you’re meeting me like this,” she whispered, absolutely hating the lack of confidence in her voice. Who wanted to meet their mate when they were at their worst?
“Why?” Fletch demanded. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I’m not…” She paused. “I’m sure I’m not what you hoped for in a mate.”
He cupped her face, lifting it until she met his gaze. His thumb brushed along her jaw.
“You’re everything I wished for in a mate. You’re strong, fierce, beautiful.”
“Not at present,” she denied with a laugh.
“After everything you’ve been through, you’re here in my arms. You have more strength than anyone I know. You survived when countless others didn’t. I saw the bodies. I saw those carried out. Some didn’t make it through the night. Some won’t make it no matter how much Jensen and the others fight to heal them. I see you, all of you, and I’ve never known such beauty.”
“Fletch—”
“Shh.” He brushed his finger over her lip. “Shower, food, then…”
He leaned in and replaced his finger with his lips, gently rubbing them over hers.
“Then?” she questioned.
“Then we can get to know each other even better.”
Chapter Five
Fletch seethed as he brushed the soaped cloth over Helen’s scars, bruises, and the jut of her bones where her flesh was pulled too tautly over them. He hated the fact she felt less desirable to him because of what she’d survived. If he could, he’d go back and personally kill every one of the men who’d held her captive. He’d certainly make sure the few they’d taken suffered. Especially the one with that fucking whip!
He knelt at her feet, lifting her foot to place it on his thigh while he ran the cloth upward with a firm hand. He paused at her upper thigh, glancing up to meet her gaze as his knuckles brushed along the center of her sex, making her inhale sharply. Then she hissed when he grabbed her foot to place it back on the shower floor. Lifting it higher, he took in the bruised soles of her feet.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he demanded.
“I barely even feel them,” she muttered, but he saw the truth in her gaze.
He quickly washed her other leg then startled her again as he ran the cloth quickly between her thighs before standing and turning her to rinse the soap.
“I can finish,” Helen murmured as she eased an inch away from him.
Fletch dropped a kiss to her shoulder. “I’ll check on the food then.”
He stepped from the shower, grabbing one of the towels he’d set out and half-heartedly drying off before wrapping it around his waist and striding back into the bedroom. The vision of her didn’t leave him. His shaft rose long and thick between his thighs despite the fact he had no intention of using it. Not yet. She needed time to heal. Not just physically, either, though it was the physical that consumed him currently. He needed a diversion, and there was a source close by to take out his rage out.
