between us, you’ll know how easy I was on you. You’ll be begging for me to relent.”
Once again, his words grazed me like fingers tracing my skin, threatening me with other things besides battle. The line between danger and ecstasy was very fine.
“Now drop the bedsheet and flip over.” He tilted his head as if he was going to kiss me, but I heard a deadly menace in his tone. “Now.”
“What?” I jerked back, slamming into the bed frame, my fingers gripping the comforter to my chin. Heat swarmed my veins, my damp skin prickling with stimuli.
His eyes dropped down to my body, pausing over my lips as they came back to my glare.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Seen it. Not at all interested.” He stood up to his full height, peering down at me, adding to the raging mortification I felt. “Your leg, Kovacs. I need to wrap it up. It’s bleeding all over the sheets right now.”
My head snapped to my calf. True enough, the wound had reopened and was leaking down my leg. I hadn’t felt a thing.
Shit.
Humiliation colored my cheeks, knowing his presence was the reason I didn’t notice. It was hard to notice anything with him around. He overpowered. Consumed.
As he returned to the dresser to grab the first aid supplies, I slipped on the silky tank, forgoing the pointless lace bra, covering myself up as much as was possible. I rolled over, acting like the thing they considered panties exposing all of my ass was no big deal. This guy had seen me naked. Twice. This should be nothing…but it didn’t feel like nothing. The strip of lace and loose, silky tank falling off my shoulder were almost worse than if I was completely naked. These items were meant to entice.
Seduce.
Invite.
He strolled back up to me, setting the gauze and antiseptic on the bed. The sensation of him over me locked my muscles down. When I was in the bath, it was as if I could actually feel his weight on me, feel his wet clothes rubbing against my skin. I gulped, tension coursing through me.
He didn’t move for a long time, and the silence in the room blasted out the voices and movement stirring in the building. The sun was lowering, coating the room in shadows, fashioning an intimacy.
Finally, his fingers wrapped around my calf gently, his other hand gliding down my leg, his palm coarse, spouting shivers over my skin. My teeth ground, and it had nothing to do with pain. Though that quickly changed.
As a damp cloth glided over the wound, a gargled cry broke from my lips and made my stomach churn. “Ahhh!” My fingers rolled into fists.
“Oh yeah, it’s gonna sting.”
I shot him a look over my shoulder, wishing he’d melt into the rug. He only smirked. He was enjoying this.
“You really are a bastard,” I snarled, gripping the comforter harder, the alcohol sizzling my leg.
“Actually, I am.”
My head yanked back over my shoulder, my forehead scrunching down.
“If you believe in that shit.” He concentrated on cleaning my leg. “If a piece of paper between two people declares their offspring legitimate or not.”
“You don’t believe in marriage, I gather.”
“A deed issued by the government should not determine the nature of a relationship. Who are they to tell you your love is valid? Your child is valid?”
“So…you believe in the fae way?” I bit down on my lip, huffing through the pain stabbing up my leg. His fingers were surprisingly gentle, but it still throbbed as he finished cleaning it.
“Seems more honest to me.” He shrugged, tossing down the rag and grabbing the gauze. “Fae don’t need a marriage license to prove they’re together. When they meet their mate, they know it. Don’t need a flashy leash.”
“Flashy leash?” I burst out laughing. “You mean a ring.”
“Same thing. A collar around your finger is no different from a collar around your neck or dick.”
“Wow. Tell me how you really feel.”
“Let me guess, princess…you dreamed of your wedding since you were a little girl. Fluffy white dress, glamorous party, perfect cake, the envy of all society…even though the wedding is a total fantasy, and reality wakes up next to you the next day snoring and farting in his sleep. Will you even like the wanker when the glitter is gone? Then you start popping out kids to avoid actually being with each other.”
“Damn.” I shook my head, my mouth parted. “What the fuck happened to you to be