The Brightest Night (Origin #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,93

borrowed shirt.

“He told me.” Luc glanced over at his shoulder at me. “He told me what he said to you.”

Oh.

Wow.

Was not expecting that.

“Why would he do that?” I asked.

“Because he needed to.” Luc reached over, turning the water off. “Do you want to see how I’m going to do this?”

I wanted to know why Grayson felt the need to tell Luc how much of a dick he’d been and why he hadn’t healed his own injury, but frankly, I was more curious about how Luc was going to heat the water. Shuffling forward, I stepped behind him.

“I think of boiling water,” he said, placing his hand in what had to be frigid temps. A faint burst of white light powered down his arm, barely noticeable as he lazily trailed his hand through the water. “That’s all.”

Before I could speak, I heard the gentle rumble of water and squinted, seeing the bubbles spring forth from his fingers. “That’s all,” I murmured.

He withdrew his hand. “It’s not easy to control, though, so you need to wait a few minutes for it to cool down.”

With that, he rose fluidly, and with me standing so close to him, there was very little room between us. I had to crane back, way back, to look up at him. I suddenly felt incredibly nervous. Not the bad kind, but the kind that was an odd mixture of hope and anticipation. I wanted …

I didn’t know what I wanted other than I knew I wanted him, and I could sense he was about to leave.

“I saw the aura thingy,” I blurted out, and Luc’s forehead creased. My cheeks heated as I shifted from one foot to the next. “I saw the same transparent aura around Zoe that I saw around you.”

“And Grayson?”

“He looked like a rainbow.” I toyed with the hem of the shirt again. “A bruised rainbow.”

One side of his mouth curved up.

“You shouldn’t grin about that,” I told him.

“He shouldn’t have said what he did to you.” The smile faded. “Do you need help with anything?”

I arched a brow.

“Dirty mind,” he murmured, that half grin of his making an appearance once again. “I was talking about the bath. Do you need anything?”

Somewhat disappointed, I looked around the bathroom. “I can get the stuff.”

“Or you can let me be all helpful,” he offered, and because I didn’t want him to leave, I nodded. “What do you want?”

Luc went about grabbing what I asked for. Body wash and a loofah. Cleanser for my face. A big fluffy towel placed on a small wooden stool.

“I want to wash my hair,” I said. “I need to wash my hair.”

“Got it.” He grabbed two bottles out of the shower caddy. “Let me grab you a pitcher. That should help.”

Stepping aside, I waited until he slipped out of the bathroom before turning to the bath. I sat down on the ledge, curling my toes into the fluffy mat. The water was hot to the touch, but I thought in a few more minutes it would be cool enough, especially if I used the cold water to rinse the shampoo and conditioner out.

I pulled my fingers from the water and stood, my gaze sliding to the half-open bathroom door. I don’t know what I was thinking, or maybe I wasn’t thinking at all as I reached down and wrapped my fingers around the hem of the borrowed shirt. Maybe it was being asleep for so long and waking up to hear Luc whispering his innermost fears. It could be the little piece of hope Dr. Hemenway’s theory gave me. Perhaps it was the dream that was really a memory. Or maybe it was hearing Luc say he loved me.

I didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure it even mattered as I pulled the shirt off and then shimmied out of my undies, dropping both items in the hamper.

There was no turning back now.

Stepping into the tub, I sank down, sucking in a sharp breath at the shock of the hot water. It took a couple of seconds for my skin to adjust, and then … goodness. Leaning back until my shoulders were underwater, I almost moaned as the heat of the water invaded the stiff muscles along my back.

I sat up, tucking my knees to my chest as I eyed the soap. My pulse was pounding so fast as I waited, having no idea how Luc would respond. I doubted he’d scream, “My eyes!” and run from the room. I was sure he