in the mail."
Jocelyn opened her mouth, then closed it again. It might be brutal, but it was still justice. And the world was a better and safer place as a result. When John's associates heard what had happened to him, she had a feeling they wouldn't exactly be lining up to come after her.
She accepted Cassidy and Darcy's hugs and congratulations while feeling slightly numb. Zeke and Samson were in high spirits when they left to take their mates home, brushing off Aric's thanks as if they'd done nothing more than help him move a couch.
Soon she and Aric were alone again.
Alone…for the first time without secrets between them, without danger chasing them.
Jocelyn felt suddenly unsure of herself. Aric watched her hungrily, as if he wanted nothing more than to carry her off to bed and ravish her. Oddly, Jocelyn was ready, undaunted by the blood on his clothes and the violence he'd just taken part in.
What would it be like to touch him now that she was finally safe from harm? Now that she could focus completely on her alpha, would things change? There was nothing to hinder the bond that was now free to grow between them, nothing to ever keep them apart again.
The thought lit the embers of Jocelyn's nature, its heat unleashing the ache between her legs and causing her slick to flow. Inhaling its scent, Aric took a step toward her, the predatory look in his eyes deepening.
Then he caught himself, looking down at his blood-stained clothes.
"I need to wash," he growled, plainly frustrated with the delay.
Jocelyn gave him a coy smile and slipped past him, making sure to brush against the hard bulge in his pants. "I'll draw your bath," she murmured.
She closed the door behind her and turned on the taps. The water supply came from a thermal spring halfway up the hill, and as the huge antique tub filled with steaming water, Jocelyn removed her clothes with trembling hands. After testing the temperature, she rose from the floor to find Aric standing in the doorway watching her, his hands stalled on the buttons of his shirt.
"God, you're beautiful," he muttered and, no longer bothering with the buttons, ripped off his shirt. His gore-splattered pants were next—and then Aric disappeared into the living room.
Jocelyn was momentarily confused until she heard him open the fire grate. He was burning the clothes, something she had to agree made the best sense.
By the time he returned, Jocelyn had perched herself, mermaid-like, on the side of the tub, letting her long hair cascade over her shoulders. She'd never played the vamp before—and she wasn't now. She was presenting herself to her alpha, following her own sensual instincts, teasing and inviting.
But she wasn't sure how long she could keep it up. Before, she had been too preoccupied by fear and blinded by her heat to really take in the breathtaking sight of Aric's naked body. Now, she feasted her eyes on everything she'd been missing. Slick streamed down her thighs at the sight of his sculpted chest and shoulders, the hard, flat plane of his abs.
And moving lower…
Jocelyn already knew very well just how massive and powerful that part of him was.
Aric allowed her to look only for a moment longer before picking her up in his arms and lowering her into the water. The heat of it was delicious, bringing relief to her chafed skin and sore muscles. She found herself at eye level with his cock, and need erupted inside her.
But she forced herself to wait. She took a natural sponge from the ledge beside the tub and dipped it under the surface.
"Come here," she said huskily, no longer posing. Her mouth watered and her pussy screamed for attention, but what she needed most right now, what she ached for, was to serve her alpha.
Aric obliged, stepping into the huge tub and easing into a sitting position, watching her the whole time. Jocelyn raised the dripping sponge to his shoulders and slowly wrung it out, letting the warm water cascade over his skin.
Aric groaned. His eyelids fluttered closed. His hands twitched with the need to touch her, but Jocelyn stilled them.
"Not yet," she whispered.
She took her time washing him, starting with his shoulders and his chest, then his back. She gently dabbed his face and neck, taking care around the cuts and bruises he'd gotten from tearing through the woods, until he seized her hand and rubbed the sponge hard over his face.
She lathered his hair,