down the cliff to help…” She trailed off, her voice cracking on the last few words as more tears filled her bloodshot eyes.
“Oh, Thea.” I buried my face into her soapy hair, unsure if the water running down my face was from the shower or my own tears. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“I just keep wondering what I could have done differently. If I’d made it to her sooner. Hell, if I hadn’t led her straight to that cliff to begin with.”
“It’s not your fault.” Without knowing anything else, I knew that much without question. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
She sniffled. “Not yet.”
“Okay. Take all the time you need.”
I went through the motions of rinsing her hair then covering her in body wash. All the while, I didn’t really see her nakedness, something I wouldn’t have thought possible. Because all I could see was Thea sliding down the edge of that cliff. But instead of somehow stopping herself, like she must have done, she kept going until all that was left of her was her crumpled, broken body.
She never should have put herself at risk like that to help Lily. I didn’t care that the witch had been Hayle’s mother. Lily had murdered Thea’s mother, for god’s sake. And attacked her on Thanksgiving. And, most likely, attacked her again tonight.
“Tristin.”
The sound of my name jolted me out of my reverie, and I peered down at Thea, who was now watching me with concern. That was a switch.
She pressed her hands into my chest. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”
I looked down at myself. She was right. My internal raging had moved outward without me even realizing it. “Sorry. You scared the shit out of me, and apparently, I’m not over it yet.”
“If it helps, I scared the shit out of myself too.” With those words, she gave me the barest hint of a smile, and the ache in my chest loosened, though only slightly.
“No more risking your life for people who don’t deserve it.” I reached behind her to shut off the water. “Got it?”
“I did it for Hayle. Not that it ended up making a difference,” she added glumly.
Unable to resist, I wrapped her up in my arms again. “It’s going to take some time, but Hayle will be okay. The last thing he needs is your guilt compounding his pain, because I guarantee that’s what will happen.”
“You’re right,” she sighed. “I just don’t know what to say to him.”
“Be there for him. That’s all he needs from you.”
Thea slid her hands up from my chest to around my neck. “You’re pretty good at this.”
“At what?”
“At talking me off a ledge, and I don’t mean a literal one.” She scrunched up her face. “Wow, I can’t believe I said that. It’s way too soon to joke.”
I brushed my mouth over hers. “You never have to worry about what you say to me.”
She blinked up at me with those pretty brown eyes that I would never, could never, tire of. “Then, I guess I shouldn’t worry about the fact that I’m about to ask you to kiss me again.”
A smile threatened as I asked, “You’re about to?”
“I am.” Thea threaded her fingers through the back of my damp hair. “Will you kiss me, Tin?”
I answered by capturing her lips. Though my body immediately responded to hers, there was nothing seductive about my kiss. I wanted her to feel my relief that she was whole and here with me. I wanted her to find comfort in my arms. And I wanted her to experience love—instead of merely lust—through my touch.
She clung to me as I dipped my tongue into her mouth and swirled it with hers, savoring the taste of her. “I love you, Thea,” I whispered, needing to say the words as much as I needed her to hear them.
“And I love you.” She claimed my mouth then, pouring all of her into that single kiss while I drank her up.
I would never get enough of my angel.
Finally, we broke apart, and Thea shivered. “I’m kind of freezing.”
Meanwhile, I was an inferno of desire for her. But now was not the time to do anything about that.
Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her before taking one for myself. After we’d both dried off and dressed, I smiled at the sight of Thea in a pair of my sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. “You look adorable.”