shoulders and arms. Cascading rivulets ran over the beautiful lines of his dermaglyphs, and onto the darkening denim that covered his long, powerful legs.
She looked at him and felt as if she were seeing him with fresh eyes...seeing him for the first time. There was no mistaking what he was--a solitary, deadly male, trained to kill and nearly perfect in his apathy. But there was a stunning vulnerability about him as he stood in front of her now, soaking wet, his hand extended out to her in kindness.
And if the warrior in him gave her pause before, this new vision of him was even more unnerving.
It made her want to run into his arms and stay there, forever if she could.
Step under the water with me, Elise. I'll do the rest.
She felt her feet moving beneath her, her fingers coming to rest in the warm center of Tegan's palm. He brought her into the soft rain of the shower. Smoothed her hair back from her face as they both became drenched together.
Elise melted into the warm water and the even greater heat of Tegan's body brushing against hers. She let him soap her skin and shampoo her hair, glad for his comforting touch after the ugliness of her day.
Feel good? he asked as he rinsed her off, the low vibration of his voice traveling through his fingertips and into her skin and bones.
It feels wonderful.
Too much so, she thought. When she was with Tegan, especially like this, he made her forget about her pain. He made it all too easy to accept the void that had existed for so long in her heart. His tenderness could make her feel so full, pushing away all the darkness. Right now, as he caressed her and held her so safely in his arms, he made her feel loved.
He made it far too tempting to imagine a future where she could be happy again. Whole again, with him.
I'm failing in my promise to my son, she said, forcing herself to draw away from the comfort of Tegan's touch. All I should be concerned about is making sure Camden's death wasn't in vain.
Something flashed in his eyes, only to be shuttered an instant later by the fall of his spiked, wet lashes. He reached behind her and shut off the water. You can't spend your life living for the dead, Elise.
Reaching above her, he grabbed a folded towel from the supply stacked on a high shelf built into the marble of the shower. When he passed the towel to her, Elise met his gaze. The hauntedness reflecting there took her aback.
There was a bleakness staring back at her. The pain of an old wound, not yet healed.
She'd never noticed it before...because he'd never allowed her to see it.
You blame yourself for what happened to your mate, don't you? He stared at her for a long, quiet minute, and she was certain he would give her an aloof denial. But then he exhaled a hushed curse, ran his fingers through the wet hair at his scalp. I couldn't save her. She depended on me to keep her safe, but I failed her.
Elise's heart stumbled a beat in her chest. You must have loved her very much.
Sorcha was a sweet girl, the most innocent person I've ever known. She didn't deserve the death she was given.
Elise wrapped the towel around herself as Tegan sat down on the marble bench that ran the length of the shower stall. His thighs were spread, his elbows resting on his knees.
What happened, Tegan?
After her abduction, some two weeks later, her captors sent her back to me. She'd been raped, tortured. As if that hadn't been cruel enough, whoever held her also fed on her. She came back to me a Minion of the one who brutalized her.
Oh, God. Tegan.
Sending her back like that was worse than killing her, but I guess they left that task to me. I couldn't do it. In my heart, I knew she was gone, but I couldn't end her life.
Of course not, she assured him gently, her heart breaking for him.
Elise closed her eyes on a softly whispered prayer as she eased down onto the bench next to him. She didn't care if he rejected her compassion; she needed to be close to him. He had to know that he wasn't alone.
When she put her hand on his bare shoulder, he didn't flinch away. He pivoted his head to the side, meeting her sympathetic gaze. I