Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
LEO
The kiss deepened, careful and urgent at once. She tasted like the herbal tea she’d been drinking, like honey and magic and every late-night conversation, every morning coffee, every moment they’d been circling this point without quite arriving.
His hands found her waist, her back, the softness of her skin beneath the thin fabric of her tank top.
Her fingers threaded through his hair, careful of his wounds even as the kiss grew more intense.
Glimmer made a sound of protest and slithered away, scales flickering in resigned acceptance as she coiled on the bedside table.
Leo pulled Junie closer. The movement sent pain lancing through his ribs, and he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was holding her. Finally holding her. After weeks of wanting and fighting and pretending he didn’t need this—she was in his arms, real and his.
Mate. Safe. Home.
The words thundered through him with absolute certainty. His recognition was finally acknowledged. Finally accepted.
Junie broke the kiss, breathing hard. Her forehead rested against his, her hands still tangled in his hair.
“We should finish treating your wounds.”
“Probably.”
“You’re still bleeding.”
“I’m aware.”
“Leo.” Her voice was half-laugh, half-exasperation. “I can’t let you bleed to death. That would ruin the moment.”
He let her go. Watched as she returned to her emergency supplies, pulling out a jar of viscous green paste that smelled like forest floor after rain. Her movements were steadier, her hands no longer trembling.
“This is a healing accelerant.” She scooped the paste onto her fingers and began applying it to the bite on his shoulder.
The pain faded almost immediately, replaced by a cool tingle that seeped into the damaged tissue.
“Shifter metabolism will do most of the work, but this should help. You’ll probably have scars. ”
“I don’t mind scars.”
“Good. Because these are going to be impressive.” She moved to his ribs, applying the paste with the same careful efficiency. “You took on three jackals alone. Three trained killers.”
“They ambushed me.”
“And you won.”
“I survived. There’s a difference.”
Junie finished with the paste and reached for bandages. Her fingers were gentle as she wrapped the worst of his wounds, her touch professional and intimate at once. When she finished, she sat back and studied her work with a critical eye.
“You should rest. Let the healing work.”
“Stay.”
The word escaped before he could stop it. Raw and vulnerable in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to be with anyone in years.
Junie’s expression softened. “Leo…”
“Just—” He caught her hand, threading his fingers through hers. Blood and all. Damage and all. “Stay. Nothing more than this. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
She looked at him. At this man who’d built his life on control and had let her see beneath all of it. At the wounds he’d taken fighting her battles, and the way he was looking at her now—like she was water in the desert, necessary and unexpected and more precious than he knew how to say.
“Okay.” She shifted on the bed, careful not to jostle his injuries. “Okay. I’ll stay.”
They arranged themselves with the awkward care of two people navigating new territory. Leo on his back, protecting his wounded side. Junie curled against him, her head on his uninjured shoulder, her hand resting where she could feel his heart beating.
Glimmer reappeared at some point, coiling at the foot of the bed with an air of tolerance. Her scales glowed soft amber in the darkness—not quite approval, but not the hostile crimson Leo had grown accustomed to either.
Progress.
Leo’s arm came around Junie’s shoulders, holding her close. The pain from his wounds had faded to a dull ache, manageable against the feel of her body pressed against his. Her scent filled his lungs with every breath—herbs and honey and the particular magic that was uniquely hers.
Mate. Safe.
“You scared me.” Her voice was quiet against him. “When I saw you in the hallway, covered in blood…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Be more careful.” Her hand pressed harder against his heart, as if she needed to feel it beating to believe he was real. “Victor’s escalating. This was a warning. The next time might be worse.”
“I know.”
“So what are we going to do about it?”
Leo stared at the ceiling. The question was practical—what was the plan, what was the strategy, how did they neutralize the threat? But underneath it was another question entirely.
What are we now? What does this mean? Where do we go from here?
“Tomorrow,” he said finally. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. Tonight, I want this.”
Junie tilted her head to look at him. Her eyes were soft in the darkness, all the sharp edges smoothed away by exhaustion and emotion and the quiet intimacy of lying tangled in each other’s arms.
“This?”
“You. Here. With me.” His arm tightened around her. “Everything else can wait.”
She studied his face, searching. Then she pressed a kiss to his jaw—soft, brief, a promise rather than a question.
“Okay.” Her whisper brushed against his skin. “Tomorrow.”
They didn’t talk after that. Leo listened to her breathing slow and deepen as sleep claimed her. He felt the weight of her body against his, the pressure of her hand over his heart, the steady presence of Glimmer’s watchful gaze at the foot of the bed.
For the first time in twenty years, Leo Castellan fell asleep without fighting for control.
He let himself be held by someone who had chosen to stay.
And for the first time in longer than he could remember, his dreams were quiet.