the filthy battle-worn fabric over his head, tossing it onto the ground.
Holy. Shit.
I blinked, my insides locking up. Fear. Shock.
Desire.
He wasn’t some pretty boy type, and I’m not even sure he would be grouped in the rugged category. Warwick Farkas was in a whole league of his own, everything about him severe and overwhelming.
His thick, corded shoulders and arms were the kind you could picture bending a car in half or wrapping around you like a shield. His torso and chest were carved with muscle and decorated with deep scars and tattoos, a timeline of his life. Symbols and pattern tattoos scrolled down his arms, and one started at his side and slipped below his pants line. I couldn’t decipher the meaning of any of them, but there was no denying they were sexy as hell. He was brutal and sensual, terrifying and captivating.
His cool gaze remained on me while he shoved his pants down, kicking them to the side, along with his boots. Completely naked, he straightened to his full height with no hint of inhibition, displaying his massive physique.
The tattoo on his side curved over his ass and down to his thigh, drawing my gaze with it.
Fuuuuckkkkmmmmeee.
My mind blanked.
He stood fully erect. My gaze couldn’t stop from moving to his deep V-line, my eyes trailing down. Even full of terror, my body responded.
I had seen a lot of naked guys at the academy: fit, toned, ripped, and in all shapes and sizes. I thought I had seen it all—but nothing, I mean nothing—prepared me for Warwick Farkas.
Chapter 22
He sauntered toward me, my body and eyes tracking him as my heart thumped in my chest. But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
He strode right up to me, his toes nudging into mine. Craning his neck down, he loomed over me, the heat from him slinking over my skin, wrapping around it, dipping between my legs. He watched me for a moment before he stepped past me, his shoulder grazing mine as he dipped his head under my shower stream, his hand brushing the water off his face, running through his hair.
“Wh-what are you doing?” I whispered, my voice breathy and nervous.
“What does it look like?” he rumbled, tilting his head back. The water trailed down his face, over his lips. Every word he spoke, no matter loud or quiet, raked over me like gravel until it turned into liquid, dripping slowly down my limbs, seeping under my skin and into my bones.
Hot and burning.
I had never met anyone like him, who held the world in his palm. No fae or human could resist his lure, and I knew it wasn’t magic. Not in here. It was just him.
I forced my eyes forward, away from him, terrified of why he was here, but I couldn’t deny how aware I was of his naked body moving next to me. My skin screamed with his nearness, fixated on the way the water dripped down his physique. “Don’t you have your own shower?”
“Yes.” Dunking his head under the cascade again, his arm brushed mine, jolting me. A touch from him was similar to lightning ripping through my nerves. He grabbed the shampoo off the shelf, his gaze lowering as he poured the creamy gel into his palm and peered over at me.
“Your fight is already over?” I stared at the drops of water clinging to his long, thick lashes, which were so dark they almost appeared like eyeliner. “You can kill that fast?”
“When I need to.” His tongue slid over his bottom lip, swiping up drops of liquid.
I swallowed. “You needed to?”
He peered at me, not answering, handing me the bottle of shampoo. The beads of water glided over his mouth, taunting me as they rolled over his shoulders and chest, to his stomach, moving lower, inviting me to catch them with my tongue, to taste the salt on his skin. The urgent need to rise up on my toes and suck off the water, skimming my mouth over every inch of his skin, to take him into my mouth and taste him on my tongue, wracked through my muscles, pulling me to him like a magnet.
I jerked back.
What the hell?
His brow furrowed with confusion, but the expression cleared before I even could decipher it. Running his soapy hands through his hair, he tipped his head under the cascade.
I watched him for a minute, realizing I had no fight left in me. Not for this. Switching off my brain, I gave in to the