Chapter 13 #2
I straightened and stepped back, allowing her to stand.
She seemed steady on her feet, so I backed further away.
Her first few steps toward the bathing room were tentative, but she quickly found her footing and walked across the room.
As she reached for the shirt I’d lent her before, I realized she needed a clean one.
“Let me get you a fresh shirt,” I offered. “There is no need for you to wear the same one.”
“If it’s no trouble, I would appreciate that. The nightclothes you got for me are lovely, but the sleeves are tight enough to rub against the bandages.”
I hurried to my wardrobe and pulled out another simple cotton shirt.
This one lacked a collar or buttons. The sleeves were loose from shoulder to wrist. It was old and nearly threadbare, but the softest I owned.
I would cut the sleeves off for her so they wouldn’t get in the way of her hands when she wore it.
When I walked into the bathing room, I stopped short.
Leda stood at the sink with her back to me, hot water filling the basin in front of her.
She had removed her undergarment and was carefully washing her chest and abdomen.
There were strange black markings down the length of her spine, and the drawing of a thorny vine covered in lush flowers emerged from the band of her trousers and curved around her waist to the front of her body.
I swallowed hard, locking down every muscle in my body.
She was bare and in the same room. My mating instincts were screaming that she’d fought for the right to claim me, which meant I belonged to her.
The primal urge to prove that she belonged to me throbbed in my blood.
Seeing so much of her skin for the first time made that urge even worse.
I took a deep breath and released it.
I was stronger than my instincts.
I controlled my body.
I was not going to make her uncomfortable or frighten her. I was going to ensure she was clean, free of pain, and make sure that she rested.
When she finished cleaning her front, Leda glanced over her shoulder and saw me. Instead of yelling at me to get out, she surprised me. “Can you wash off my back, please?” she asked. “I can’t reach, and I can feel dirt on my skin there.”
I came forward, setting the shirt on the counter next to the sink. A folded towel was on the same counter in front of her. She picked it up and held it in front of her bare torso.
I kept my gaze away from her body as I reached for the cloth in the sink. After the cloth was wrung out, I moved behind her. It would take several passes and rinsing the cloth before her skin was free of dirt.
To distract myself, I asked, “What are these markings on your back?”
Her bowed head turned a bit so she could watch me out of the corner of her eye. “Tattoos. They’re drawn with ink and needles.” She turned her head back, her eyes closing. “Your tattoos are very pretty, by the way.”
“Those are brands. They’re burned into my skin with magic.”
She shivered a little as I wiped the cloth down the bumps of her spine. “That sounds painful.”
“So do needles and ink being jabbed into your skin.”
She huffed out a soft laugh. “Touché.”
“My brands denote my accomplishments as a daemon. Are your tattoos the same?”
“Yes and no. Some people get tattoos just because they like them. Others do it because they have memories they never want to forget. I’m in a different group.
My tats mean something to me, but they’re not related to a memory.
They’re to remind me to be strong, resilient, and that there is beauty in the world. ”
I continued to wash the dirt and blood from her skin as I spoke. “Does everyone in the human realm have tattoos?”
She shook her head again. “No. A lot of people do, but not everyone. What about daemons?”
“It’s common practice. Those without a single brand are often outcasts or undesirable to daemons looking for mates.”
Finished washing off her skin, I dropped the cloth into the sink and turned off the hot water. “Would you like me to brush out your hair?” I asked.
“I’d like the shirt first.”
“Don’t move your arms yet,” I instructed as I grabbed the shirt. I gathered the fabric in my hands and gently maneuvered the material over her head. Then, I let the rest of the shirt fall over her body. Even with her arms inside, it was loose enough for her to move.
She dropped the towel on the floor, and I saw her shoulders moving.
Her dagger appeared from beneath the shirt, and she laid it on the counter.
Then, her trousers and other undergarments pooled on the floor at her feet.
It took a little wiggling, but she slowly pushed one arm, then the other, through the sleeves.
“Why don’t you come sit on the sofa?” I asked. “You can rest, and I will tend to your hair.”
I knew the tincture for pain was taking effect when she did as I asked without hesitation or argument. Pain twisted in my chest at the sight. She was a strong, stubborn female. She would never just submit without resistance if she wasn’t injured.
Still, she wasn’t so far gone that she didn’t remember to take her weapon from the counter. The sight softened the knot in my chest. She might not be at her full strength, but she was still formidable.
I stood behind her with the comb in my hand and gently worked the strands of her hair free from the braid.
It took a long time to comb the tangles from the length.
Finally, when her hair was free of snarls and lay in waves over the back of the couch, I wove her hair into a thick plait and tied it off with a strip of leather.
When I finished, she didn’t move, her breathing slow and even. I carried the comb back into the bathing room and then readied the bed, pulling the furs and blankets back.
Leda’s eyes were closed when I came around the sofa, but they opened when I stopped in front of her.
“Are you ready to lie down?” I asked.
She nodded, moving as though she was planning to push herself to her feet.
I didn’t wait for her to stand on her own. I bent down and scooped her up in my arms.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “I can walk.”
“I know you can. Just let me help you.”
Again, she didn’t argue. Her head rested on my shoulder with her face tucked against my neck. She relaxed against me with complete trust. It was the first time she’d let her guard down so completely with me.
I loathed to put her down, but she needed the comfort of the bed in order to rest and heal.
I carried her to the bed, carefully lowering her to the mattress. Her eyes opened briefly to look up at me when I pulled the blankets over her body.
“I don’t need the furs,” she murmured when I moved to pull them over her as well. “The fire made it warm enough in here.”
“Very well. Rest now, Leda. I will return in an hour or two with dinner.”
“Thank you, Bo,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and rolled onto one side.
I stood over her, watching as she fell asleep almost immediately. Contentment filled me at the shortened version of my name. No one had ever called me that before, but I liked it from her lips.
Then, the anger came. I clenched my fists and forced back the growl that wanted to rise in my chest. I kept my footsteps silent as I walked out of the bedchamber and silently shut the door behind me.
As I made my way downstairs and back outside, I couldn’t decide if I wanted Venna to be there when I arrived or if I wanted the pleasure of hunting her down to warn her that she was not to challenge my female again.
If she harmed Leda, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from killing her.
My instincts already saw the human as my mate.
If Venna killed her, I would lose my grip on sanity and rip her to shreds.
It was time for the daemoness to learn that she couldn’t have whatever or whomever she wanted. But first, I was going to retrieve the broken piece of her horn from the training ring.
My female deserved to have a trophy from her first, and hopefully last, challenge.