"I just need a bath," she protested. "And some gel for my hand."
"Shh." He turned on the shower and climbed in with her, blocking the worst of the spray with his body as he eased her hair aside and started a slow exploration. "Your face is swelling up, too. What happened?"
"I got smacked, what do you think?" She twisted away from his touch. "I'm covered in blood, that's the bad part."
"Lex." It came out as a snarl that echoed off the tile, and he fought to moderate his tone. Fought and failed. "Let me take care of you, for Christ's sake. Let me do this."
"I--" A shudder wracked her. "Okay, fine."
Seizing hold of his frayed self-control with both hands, Dallas edged her under the showerhead. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. You just scared the hell out of me."
"I know." The water plastered her hair to her head and ran red with the blood that hadn't quite dried.
He poured shampoo in his hands and worked it into her hair. "Why'd you do it?"
"The opportunity presented itself," she answered dourly.
That simple. That cool. For all that she was tolerating his attentions, Lex was still pissed at him. "Because I dealt with Cerys."
"I took him out," she said stormily. And I did it on my terms, not yours."
"Okay." He cupped her cheeks and tilted her head back. "Look at me, Lex. Believe me when I say this. I don't give a fuck. As long as you're okay, Cerys and Fleming and everyone in both their sectors can burn. And Gareth fucking Woods, too."
She stared dully back. "Stop it, Dallas."
He opened his mouth and shut it again without speaking. Talking wasn't getting it done, so he'd listen. He'd prove he could listen. Maybe that was what she needed, to know she could draw a line and ask him not to cross it, even if the line was this simple.
Stop it.
In silence, he washed the blood from her hair and body, taking careful note of her injuries. When the water finally ran clear, he turned it off and wrapped her in an oversized towel, using a second to work the water from her hair. "Will you let me bandage your hand?"
Lex nodded and tugged the towel higher on her chest. "I need something to wear."
Because there wasn't anything else, he found her a clean T-shirt and toweled himself off while she pulled it on. He took just enough time to drag on a pair of jeans and went in search of the med kit.
Impossible not to compare this to the last time someone had gotten patched up in his suite. Noelle had babied Jasper's tiny cut before kissing every part the man had to make it all better. That had been a night of dedicated debauchery, a night he'd almost crossed the near-invisible line he'd drawn for himself and fucked Lex cross-eyed, even though he hadn't collared her.
She'd been pissed at him the next morning, pissed that he'd gotten her off but refused to get in her, pissed over his arbitrary line and how ridiculous she found it. Dicks aren't required for fucking, Declan. A certain proclamation, delivered with a tilted brow that invited him to imagine a whole world of scenarios that didn't require dicks even before she added, I should know.
Having watched her fuck Noelle on a dimly lit stage more than once now, he suspected she'd been right about that, too.
When he returned to the couch, he found Lex curled up on one end, her legs tucked beneath her, rubbing her fingers over the tattoo on her wrist.
He thought of what Doc had said and damn near bit through his tongue to keep from commenting. Instead, he set the kit on the couch and knelt in front of her. Slow and easy. That's what he had to do.
Gentle.
"Do you want Jade to stay here?" he asked as he examined the cut on her hand. A safe, neutral topic to test the waters with. If Lex wasn't planning to stay, she'd be less likely to make long-term plans involving the gang. Assuming any plans concerning Jade could be long-term.
"That was my deal," she whispered. "Her freedom for Woods's life."
He'd grumbled over Noelle. He didn't have the heart to do it about Jade now, not with Lex looking so bruised and hurt and sad. "She'll have a place," he promised, "and whatever Doc needs to make her comfortable. But, Lex..."
She shook her head stubbornly. "Trix. She came from Five--you know