Chapter 20
Twenty
Winter stood in the shower, letting the hot water pour over him, washing away the blood that had coated him from head to toe.
The heat and pressure helped to ease tense muscles and a few lingering aches, but it did nothing to erase the image of Fox huddled in the SUV on the ride back to the loft.
He’d been covered in blood and staring off into space, lost somewhere in his thoughts.
It had taken Winter two tries to get Fox out of the SUV and up to his own bedroom to get cleaned up.
His preference had been to pull Fox into the shower with him, but he wasn’t sure if the witch could handle that kind of intimacy after watching Winter slaughter eleven vampires in a matter of minutes.
Fox should have never seen that.
He should have run out of the house, been out of that damn place before Luke’s body hit the floor.
But things went to shit too fast.
Closing his eyes, Winter tried to tell himself that it was better this way. Fox needed to know the truth about him. The whole truth. Winter Varik was a killer. He’d murdered countless vampires to protect his family. And he would go on protecting his family until his life finally ended.
Since meeting Fox, he’d been kept in this protective bubble of lies.
He’d seen only a little sliver of Winter.
The man who liked a quiet night in his house playing video games and laughing with his brothers.
A man who talked about protecting his family and used his gift of invisibility to escape any harm.
Fox would want to escape him now. He’d have to send the witch to stay with Rafe or maybe Bel and Marcus. Yes, Bel had a soft touch, and Fox had already bonded with River. He’d be happy there until they could take care of Damon. Fox could forget about Winter.
Except Winter didn’t want him to forget. Didn’t want to let him go. Even with all this fucking prophecy nonsense.
Fox wasn’t a threat to him. The witch wasn’t going to tear their family apart. Even after he’d watched Winter kill all those vampires, he’d still tried to protect Winter from being attacked from behind.
Cursing himself, Damon, and this whole damn mess, Winter shut off the water and quickly dried off.
He pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt before marching straight to Fox’s room.
He needed to make sure he was okay, that he hadn’t tried to leave on his own.
It wasn’t safe out there for him right now.
If he didn’t want to stay with Winter, he’d make arrangements so he did feel safe.
He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Slowly, he pushed it open and found Fox sitting on the floor against the wall. The room was dark except for golden light pouring out of the bathroom. His elbows were resting on his bent knees and his hands were thrust into his blood-crusted hair.
“Fox, are you okay?” he asked, knowing full well that Fox was nowhere near okay. He was covered in vampire blood and caught in the middle of a war. The man he’d slept with was a killer. Nothing about any of this was okay.
Fox’s head snapped up and he stared at Winter for a second as if he were trying to get his brain to focus on the here and now. Winter remained near the door, not wanting to crowd him or make him feel threatened.
“Yeah, I…just lost in thought,” he said softly. He lifted his hands from his hair and rubbed his fingers together as if suddenly registering the grittiness of the dried blood. “I’m supposed to be getting a shower.”
“You can do that, but I think you need to talk first. About tonight. May I come over there?”
Fox actually jerked at the question. He cocked his head at Winter, his mouth pulling down into a hard frown. “Of course. Are…are you scared of me now?”
Winter’s mouth fell open. Of all the things to come out of Fox’s mouth, that was the last thing he’d expected. It took him a couple of seconds to recover. “No, of course not. I thought maybe you might be afraid of me now.”
“God, no! You protected me. They were going to kill you. Kill your family!”
They both started moving at the same time, but Fox didn’t get any farther than pushing to his knees before Winter reached him.
His body shook with relief and he dropped to his knees, pulling Fox against him.
He didn’t think. He just kissed him. It was desperate and messy and so damn hungry, but it was also perfect.
He smelled of sweat and old blood, but he felt like home.
Gasping for air, Winter reluctantly ended the kiss. “I was so afraid I’d destroyed things. I don’t want you to be scared of me.” He blinked and found unshed tears glistening in Fox’s bright eyes.
“What about the prophecy? What if it’s dangerous that I’m here?” Fox asked, his voice cracking.
Winter held him tight. “The prophecy is bullshit. I can’t prove it yet, but it is. You’re not going to hurt me or my family. I know it.”
“But—”
“There are no buts. No exceptions. Nothing.” He wouldn’t listen to any arguments.
He didn’t give a shit if it wasn’t logical.
He’d dedicated his entire existence to protecting his family, and so much of that had been following his instincts.
Those same instincts were shouting that Fox was not a threat.
The only real threat was allowing Fox to walk out of his life.
Winter turned his head and brushed a kiss to the shell of Fox’s ear, earning a small shiver. “Come on. Let me help you shower.”
Fox didn’t say anything as he let Winter help him to his feet.
He ushered the young man into the bathroom and left him leaning against the counter while he turned on the water, adjusting it to the right temperature.
When it was set, he found Fox was only half-undressed.
He helped Fox finish before he stripped off his own clothes.
Thank God he paid for the extra-large shower stalls.
He’d never imagined using them with someone, but he was glad he was standing there with Fox.
The man moaned softly as the warm water hit him.
He closed his eyes and turned in it, letting it wash over him and soak into his hair.
Winter quickly grabbed up the shampoo and started working his hair into a lather.
After rinsing, he repeated it with the conditioner, massaging his scalp.
Once his hair was clean, he soaped up a scrubbie and carefully washed every inch of Fox’s body.
He winced at the ugly bruise and scrape on his back between his shoulder blades.
He’d already found a matching bump on his head.
But the one that really bothered Winter was the ugly bruise forming on Fox’s jaw. He’d put that there.
When Fox had asked him to do it, Winter’s logical brain had known he was right, but his soul screamed at the very suggestion of harming him. In the end, he’d caved only to get the moment over with so they could be here. So he could have Fox safe in his arms again.
His fingers drifted to that bruise now of their own accord and Fox caught his hand. He turned Winter’s palm and pressed a kiss to the center.
“Don’t. That bruise very well could have saved my life. Luke and the others never questioned that I escaped you. Never thought this was all part of a ruse.”
“I never want to hurt you. Don’t want you to be scared of me.”
Fox released Winter’s hand and pulled him into a tight hug. “Maybe I’m crazy, but I’ve never been scared of you. Even after seeing what you can do, I’m not scared of you.”
Winter didn’t know how long they stood there like that.
It was only when the water started to run cool that he turned it off and they separated.
He grabbed a towel and dried off the heaviest of the drops, then picked up another for Fox.
He batted the younger man’s hands away and carefully dried off every inch of him.
“Is there any way for me to subscribe to this bathing service for every night?”
Winter looked up from where he was kneeling in front of Fox to find the first glimmer of a smile playing on his lips. “Maybe.”
“Good, because I have never been so relaxed or clean in all my life.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Winter stood and tossed the towel aside for the wash. “You should try to get some sleep. I need to call my brothers and report what we learned tonight.”
Fox’s tentative smile evaporated in a heartbeat, and worry marred his beautiful face again. “Do you mind if I stay with you for a while? I just…”
“No, of course not. I’ll meet you downstairs. I need to grab my phone off the charger.” Winter paused to brush a kiss across Fox’s temple and double-check that he was looking steady prior to grabbing his clothes.
He hurried to his bedroom to grab his cell and then moved to the kitchen, where he quickly swallowed a bag of blood.
He’d taken some minor hits during the fight at Luke’s.
Nothing major but it was enough to make his body use the blood it had to heal itself.
He didn’t want to feel peckish around Fox right now.
He’d have to hunt soon and wasn’t looking forward to it.
Fox felt tender and wounded. Winter didn’t want to leave him alone.
Not yet. And definitely not for this reason.
He’d just have to make the bagged blood stretch.
Rinsing his mouth out with water, Winter cursed himself yet again for not having mints handy. Or even gum. He grabbed a cookie and it brought a smile to his lips.
“Did you have a midnight snack?” Fox asked for the doorway.
Winter looked up to find him wearing a pair of soft pajama pants and a T-shirt. His hair was looking rumpled and adorable, but there was also a sad and bruised quality to his demeanor that worried Winter.
“I was just thinking of the last cookie you gave me. I think I still owe you a kiss for that first argument.”
Fox made a small huffing noise. “I think we owe each other a lot of kisses for yesterday.”
“We’ll get caught up. Do you want something to eat or drink?”