Chapter 21 #2
Salem shook his head. “I’d rather not say until Milly contacts his family.
Three are in critical condition. I did what I could, mostly removing embedded shrapnel and treating burn victims. The guy who runs the hardware store offered to drive them home after treatment.
I think Montana’s going out to Milly’s later to see if anyone needs a ride home from there.
Milly’s only got so many beds. Tomorrow I’ll be doing house calls.
” Salem heaved a woeful sigh. “I’ve done all I can do. ”
I tugged his hand. “Let’s go upstairs. You need a shower.”
Salem wearily followed, trudging up the stairs while we made our way to the bathroom in the back.
After gathering a pair of boxers and a white tee for him to sleep in, I flipped on the bathroom light.
A long cabinet ran along the right-hand wall, and I grabbed a few towels from it.
Salem sat on the bench seat beside it while I stepped into the oversized shower across the room and adjusted the water temperature.
When I undressed, it gathered his attention.
Then I made him stand and remove his clothes. As soon as we entered the shower, I moved him beneath the spray and began with his hands. I meticulously lathered them with soap, cleaning between the fingers and around the nails until the pink foam rinsed away.
Because the shower had a stone bench against the wall, I made him sit while I gently shampooed his hair.
Salem lifted his eyes to mine. “The man who captured Mr. Blackwater—it was Scott. He used magic to subdue him.”
My fingers ceased moving in a circular motion as I realized I’d misjudged Scott as a coward.
“He’s the hero.”
I slicked back Salem’s hair and lifted his chin with my fingertips.
“No. You’re the hero. You save lives. The ones who catch the bad guys aren’t the only heroes in a story.
” When I lathered shampoo into his beard, he curled his lips inward.
“Are you supposed to shampoo a beard? I’ve never done this before. ”
“I have something else I use for it.”
“Well, this’ll have to do for tonight.” I smiled warmly before he stood.
While he rinsed away the shampoo, I scrubbed his back and sides.
Then he faced me, and my breath caught at how exceptionally handsome he was with his deep-set eyes and sculpted face. When he slicked back his dark hair, water spraying his shoulders, I had déjà vu.
“I’m sorry about our date,” he said.
I lathered up his chest. “I’m sad that it happened, but you shouldn’t be sorry. I love watching you in action. It makes me proud to be your girl.”
He curved his hand around my waist and pivoted so I was under the showerhead. I hadn’t planned to get my hair wet, but standing beneath his amorous gaze, I had no complaints.
Not a single one.
Salem laid a kiss on me that was passionate, unhurried, and deep.
Our tongues moved in rhythm, and though I was aroused, the desire I felt for him was beyond physical.
My wolf knew to her core that this was her life mate, and she yearned to meet his animal—an improbable meeting that would never take place.
I broke the kiss and pinched his chin. “I’m not done yet. Sit down and I’ll condition your hair.”
While I turned away to retrieve the conditioner from the corner shelf, a dizzy spell hit me out of nowhere. I flattened my hand on the wall, pretending to read the bottle so as not to draw attention to myself until it passed. The letters on the bottle blurred.
“Who’s Ian?” I asked, buying a little more time. “The British guy with the injured woman.”
“They tried to join the pack in the beginning. Ian’s wolf is violent, and Tak couldn’t make him submit. He lunged at the women.”
I blew out a slow breath as the episode passed, then turned around and opened the bottle. “That poor girl. I hope she’s okay. What happened to her?”
Salem wiped his face. “She suffered needlessly while her bumbling brother was trying to find a Vampire to pay off, but you can’t just go around buying Vampire blood. It doesn’t work like that. Eventually he carried her out of there and drove her to Milly’s.”
When I squirted the bottle on top of his head, a stream of conditioner violently shot out and dribbled down his face.
A laugh pealed out of me as I wiped his cheek. “I’m so sorry, my love.”
He captured my wrist. “Why are you doing this?”
I massaged the conditioner through his hair, careful that none got into his eyes. “I want to raise the bar so the next woman has a lot to live up to. That’s what you deserve.”
He drew an invisible heart on my stomach with his finger. “I only want you, and you’re not going anywhere.”
I squeezed the ends of his hair. “You can’t wish something to be true.”
“I’m not. I’m doing something about it.” Salem moved around me and stepped beneath the stream of hot water, rinsing his hair while I stared at his Adam’s apple, dark nipples, and sensual body. Despite all the eye candy, that’s not what held my attention.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Salem? Look at me. What do you think you can do?”
He cupped my face in his hands. His touch was filled with so much hope and determination that it made my heart do a quickstep. “We’re going to fight this together.”
“Salem…”
“Listen. I was poring over medical books and put them away, but I think we should at least try. Did anyone ever try anything on your father? I don’t mean giving anecdotal advice, but actual procedures or medications?”
“No, but—”
“Then that’s what we do. You tried to help your father, but you lacked what I have: medical knowledge and resources. Quinn, this is what I do. You have to let me try. If anyone was born to fix you, it’s me.”
Salem didn’t doubt a single word, and it communicated through his touch. Whether that was intentional or not, I wasn’t certain, but the conviction in his eyes stirred up something I’d long given up: hope.
“This is so unlike you,” I quipped. “Normally you focus on all the negative outcomes that can happen. Are you sure you’re Salem Lockwood?”
“I’ve spent too many hours thinking about the bad, and I don’t like that helpless feeling. It’s in my blood to solve mysteries, but I can’t do it without you.”
“Obviously,” I said, tamping down a smile.
“I need you to try. I need you to want to live, and that means putting a little faith in me.”
“I’ve always had faith in you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “But I’ve been in your shoes, and I know that helpless feeling.”
His arms locked around my waist, his wet hair falling over his face. “That’s not an answer.”
I glanced at the droplets of water clinging to his short beard and felt myself wanting to resist and accept my fate.
This was how my father must’ve felt when I wouldn’t relinquish hope.
But hope kept me going. Hope is what we do when we love someone more than life. I couldn’t take that away from Salem.
“If you think draining my blood is a cure, reconsider your strategy. That’s one thing they did try on my father. Bloodletting is an old fallback. Are you planning to poke a lot of holes in me?”
A charismatic smile touched his lips. “Just a few. I’ll need all kinds of samples for a baseline. I’d like to do a biopsy of your spleen and some other organs, but we’ll give you an anesthetic for that. You’ll never feel any pain.”
“Hmm. You really know how to seduce a woman.”
“I still need your consent.”
I lowered my arms and stepped back beneath the spray of water. A cure was a long shot, but maybe he would find a treatment that would help someone else in the future. “Yes, Salem. I consent to being your lab monkey.”
He tilted his head to the side with a look of annoyance.
I laughed. Couldn’t be helped. “You know what? You need to lighten up. Doctor’s orders.” I slid my hands over his perfect behind and tugged him against me. “It’s your turn to wash me.”
His hands traced the outline of my hips as he lowered himself to his knees.
I gestured to the bottle. “You forgot the soap.”
His tongue flashed out between my legs and made me gasp. “Not just yet.”