Maybe because he had been in so much pain, or because Auro really was cold enough to burn — Talon had no clue.
Just the thought of Lyne’s hands on Jamie’s pale skin caused his lip to curl in a sneer. He didn’t know the woman, and deep down he hated her with a burning passion, yet he couldn’t help but feel pity for her. Lyne must have put her through torture to let her into this room, with Talon in tow.
With ears that had always been more enhanced than was right, he listened to Jamie. He could hear the scrape of clothes, the soft thuds as things fell. His brows furrowed, and he brought himself onto his elbows, confused.
Was she changing? The thought left him almost shocked, but the emotion quickly fled. The only time his heart stopped or sped up was when Auro tied him. The only emotion he could feel was anger. The only thing he knew was cruelty. Talon remembered nothing of his life, and was glad.
It would only be more painful to know what he had lost.
Jamie opened the bathroom door and came out, hands in her pockets. “I could so order pizza right now,” she said, mockingly proud. He stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
He took in her new appearance. No longer dressed in wanton clothes, she had on soft looking pants. The shirt under her jacket looked equally as soft, much more comfortable than her previous outfit had seemed.
Her hair was down around her face. The change of hairstyle made all the difference. Her face, pale and unblemished, had stress lines. Her forehead wrinkled too much, her eyes were too solemn, her lips too straight. Her bangs were on either side of her face, the long curls framing it.
She looked like a dark seductress, despite the air of depression that radiated from her.
Talon pulled the duvet higher around his body, shifting his legs. He didn’t think she needed to see him as hard as a rock. A dark flush crept up his cheeks, and he was grateful she didn’t notice.
“I filled the bathtub for you,” she said uneasily, shifting on her feet. They were bare, the only skin she left exposed. He looked at her face, clearing his own of all expression.
Her little feet pattered against the ground as she came to his side, nervously touching his shoulders. It was like a chain-reaction. He tensed, she flinched. He growled, she squeaked. He stared, she fidgeted.
When they finally made it to the bathroom, the sheer disbelief that this was actually happening came over him in a rush. Her hands were soft, gentle, as they helped lower his trembling form into the warm water.
Right then, as he stared up at her, with her hair falling around her face, pale features worried, he knew he couldn’t let her attach herself to him. It made him angry that things had to be that way, but it was best for the both of them.
He might be over analyzing things, he might be thinking things through too hard, but the attraction he felt for her was strong, and by the way she stared at him when she thought he wasn’t looking led him to believe that if he let her, with her soft heart and kind eyes, she would become more to him than an accomplice.
Jamie listened to the harsh grunt that came from him, biting her lip. Her face was heating to drastic heights.
The man had a body to die for.
He was taller than she expected. More toned that she would have thought. It was obvious that he was malnourished, but plain that he had had an amazing form before this had happened to him. His skin was not as gray as it had been, and his voice, even though it was still violently harsh, had softened because of the water.
Jamie tried to look away, she really did. But as her eyes strayed over his back, the profile of his nicely rounded but, and then around to the front... She gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth and turning around.
He was huge. He was hard. He was hung like a fucking horse. The parts of her body that had touched his body came to life, fire flowing through her once again. The same exact fire that had attacked her when she had been cleaning him now flowed through her freely. If she climbed into that tub with him... Her head shook.