squeaked, tightening her hand over her mouth. The thoughts in her head scared her. She could just picture him, his body covering hers, his deep voice at her ear. She bit her lip, shoulders hunching. Jamie was never going to help a naked man into a tub again if this is what happened.
There was a silence, and then an uneasy, “Get out. Sit down.” Her face flamed even worse when she realized that he might have noticed her condition. She grabbed the old shampoos from the counter and set them on the edge, avoiding even looking at him, and practically ran from the bathroom.
She fell into the bed, heart racing.
At least he wasn’t trying to kill her anymore, she thought. Jamie stared at the canopy above her, just now noticing the matching vector designs that the bedspread held. She wasn’t going to question why they had stacked the room as if people actually lived here — and as if they wanted them to like their stay.
Despite her better judgement, she found herself listening to the sounds in the bathroom. Not that there were any, she thought, face falling. Just the soft slosh of water that barely even counted as interesting.
His dark eyes entered her mind, and then the memory of Auro looming over him, his back bloody and dark from all of the hits. It amazed her that he hadn’t killed her yet, shocked her even. But it gave her hope that he would be willing to help her escape.
She couldn’t get too close to him. The slow attraction was getting worse. Maybe it was just seeing him naked that was doing it, but either way she refused to give Auro and Lyne what they wanted — and something that she couldn’t give willingly.
Thoughts of Chris entered her mind. The mental and physical scars that he had given her hadn’t been forgotten, nor did she think they ever would be. Her hands turned white as she clutched the duvet, pain and memories running around her head. She had forgotten the pain in her shoulder, so focused on Talon that she paid no mind to anything else. Her face had settled into a dull ache, and if she didn’t jostle herself, she didn’t notice it.
Jamie wondered what he thought of her. He must have some opinion about her, she thought nervously, looking at the bathroom door again. He has to, or he wouldn’t have stopped from lashing out at her. Jamie knew that he was close on the edge, could see it in his eyes. But she knew that as tortured as he was, he wasn’t going to hurt her — yet. Right now, he relied on her and she was going to keep it that way until the time came for their escape.
A loud curse came from the bathroom. Jamie was on her feet in a second, rushing to the door. She didn’t even steel herself for the site of his naked body before pushing it open. “Are you okay?”
Jamie froze in the door.
Talon has his arm up, over the edge of the tub. His legs were drawn up, bent at the knees. Her pounding heart quickly slowed. She was relieved. Jamie thought he had been doing something unmentionable, or at least getting attacked.
Instead, blood seeped down his arm in agonizingly slowly drips. She went to him, grabbing the towel as her feet carried her to his side. His arm was propped still, his damp hair resting on his forehead while his head lay back against the tub, eyes closed.
He turned his head to the side, away from her. “Bleeding,” he said simply. Yet the sound it carried held so much pain and anger, she felt the blast of it from where she stood. Jamie swallowed before walking forward. It was like taking care of a wounded tiger.
One second he’ll be nice, the next he’ll be snapping your head off.
Jamie knelt at his side. “This wasn’t bleeding a second ago,” she said uneasily. The quaver in her voice went unacknowledged, along with the soft touch of her hand on his arm.
His breathing was ragged as he turned away from her completely. Jamie tried not to take it personally. She told herself that he was only doing that because he was naked. But Jamie knew. He had been naked the whole time in that cage, it wasn’t that he was virtuous or trying to save her eyes from the site of him.