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Renton pulled at the hem of his shirt, jaw clenching.
“Quit.” She smacked his hands away. “You act like you’ve never been babied before.”
He blinked up at her, all his defenses lowered. “I haven’t.”
Chest tightening, she slid her fingers under his shirt and peeled it off his deadly body. She pushed down the urge to ask him about the gruesome scar over his heart and why it sometimes pulsed as if it had a soul of its own.
His eyes were trained on her the entire process, kickstarting her heart. It only settled when she glimpsed the nasty yellowish bruises peppered along his side and stomach. The gouges that had been the cause for all the blood had thankfully knitted back together, leaving nasty pink spots behind. Her anger nipped once more when he stood and pressed her hand flat against them.
“They don’t hurt anymore,” he said.
She pulled her hand away. “You need to sit.”
“I can’t take off my pants sitting down.”
“Oh.” She was certain her gulp was audible. “Right.”
Renton’s eyes never left her as he finished undressing, testing whether or not she wanted to bail. She’d never been in the presence of a naked male before, but she wasn’t about to let him catch on to just how much of a mess she was internally right now. Her blood grew thick in her veins, throbbing under tight skin. Despite his injuries, her traitorous mind was drifting to considerable parts of his body. There was no question, Renton would undo her, piece by piece.
“Tenah,” he said, cutting through her daze.
“It’s the steam, okay!” she replied, fanning at her cheeks. “Sit down and let me finish this.”
He laughed but obliged, taking pleasure in her embarrassment. She cursed herself for watching water run down the cut planes of his chest and much lower. He’d nearly been beaten to death, and she couldn’t keep her lust in check.
Renton’s arms wrapped around her, his hands cupping just below her backside. She wanted to push them higher. She wanted him to touch her everywhere. Lick, bite, and breathe warmth into her skin.
“I can’t stop thinking about you, do you know that?” His voice was low and sultry.
Tenah’s stomach went on a wild, lurching ride. “No,” she replied, her voice cracking. “But tell me more.”
“Mmm, when I’m healed, I’d like to show you.”
She was practically panting, his promise building something hot and consuming at her core. She ached to ask him what exactly he would do to her when that time came. Then again, could she handle him?
Tenah wriggled in his hold. “Didn’t I tell you to stop misbehaving?”
He let go only long enough to hook his finger in the collar of her shirt and tug her down closer to his face. “I should have warned you from the start, angel. I’m nothing but trouble.”
His mouth pressed against hers. Electricity shot from her head down to her toes, so strong she jerked back, wide-eyed and internally combusting.
She threw the sponge at his chest. “Wash yourself. Kissing me with no pants on,” she muttered.
She stomped out of the bathing room to hide her full-body blush as Renton’s chuckle echoed behind her. Pressed against the wall between them, she noticed fresh sheets on the bed. Someone had changed them undetected and placed a neat stack of clothes on the table for Renton.
How the hell was she going to spend the entire evening with him?
Methodically, she pulled on a long-sleeved shirt, baggy pants, and thick socks. More layers might be needed to ward off temptation. She froze at the edge of her bed as anxiety crept in. Rubbing her thumbs into the center of her palms did nothing to help. Her mind was too far in the trenches of how foolish she was for thinking she could ever have something casual with the hunter when Chaos whispered for her to cut into his scar.
Tenah burrowed into the cool sheets, pulling them up to her ears in a silly attempt to hide. His bare feet padded on the floor, but she couldn’t summon up the courage to roll over and face him, instead pretending to be asleep. All traces of the fire goddess had sizzled out.
“Thank you. For everything,” Renton murmured, leaning down to kiss her temple.
She only moved when the bedroom door clicked shut, checking to make sure he’d grabbed the healing tonic. She had no right to make him stay. None of this was fair. To have limited time in this new but cursed life. To have found someone she cared for. The pressure building in her chest from the night of the gathering threatened to crush her lungs. If she wasn’t so messed up inside, she might have allowed herself to find comfort in his arms, even just for one night.
But she was the offspring of Ruzgorn. A child of fire and Chaos. A shadow doomed to mutation. Her time was borrowed, and one day, the death king would come calling for payment.
Tenah bit down on her lip, fighting to keep tears from spilling. She would drown in them if she let them fall.
