His roar rattled the entire bathroom while he spilled into me, and I was surprised the mirror didn’t shatter into a million pieces. Fane cursed as he slammed into me a dozen more times while I fell apart around him.
When we finally floated down from the high, I rested on his chest, our hearts tapping the same frantic beat. Our ragged breaths filled the room, and the weight of what we’d done fell on us.
This did not get me out of Fane’s system like he’d hoped. If anything, it reignited his addiction and desire.
As he realized this, he stiffened to stone and pulled back, his nostrils flaring. “You tricked me.”
“Tricked you?” I laughed, wincing as pain flared through me, blurring my vision for a moment. “I warned you, but you didn’t listen. You thought you could just screw me and be done.”
His eyebrows crashed down, and he pulled out, still semi-hard. Instead of arguing or calling me names, he rested his hands on either side of my face, and my pain lessened as he took it into him.
“What are you doing?” I murmured through a breath of relief.
Fane shook his head as he studied me, so many emotions brewing in him, confusion the most intense. “I have no fucking clue.” He helped me off the counter and wrapped the towel back around my body with trembling fingers.
I gripped his wrist before he could pull away. “Do you believe me now? That you care about me and would never kill me?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” He snatched the bloodstone necklace off the counter and grabbed his clothes from the floor. “But I still want to kill you. That didn’t change. This only made me want to fuck you before I do it.”
Fane bolted out of the bathroom, and I slumped against the counter, my heart clenching. He wanted to hurt me with those harsh, cruel words to hide his true feelings. He cared about me, and it terrified him to death.
When I finally shuffled out of the bathroom, a neat pile of clothes had been left on the bed for me. I grimaced and picked up the black leggings. Had one of the healers come in while Fane was screwing my brains out?
It took forever to dress myself, cursing up a storm from the aches and sharp pains tearing through me. Once I was done, I crawled onto the bed and sat against the pillows, breathing raggedly.
A knock sounded on the door, and Hailey peeked in. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not dead.”
The edges of her lips curved into a smile. “Yeah, we know.”
Flames licked up my face, and my gaze dropped to my lap. “Oh, uh, Fane helped me shower.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” She searched through a cabinet on the right and brought out fresh linens. “Let me change those sheets for you. I’m sure you must be worn out from Fane’s help.”
For shit’s sake, did the whole neighborhood hear us? “Can I go back to the Anders now?”
Hailey flicked her golden hair over her shoulder and waved me off the bed. She looked to be in her early twenties, but something in her eyes told me she was much older. “Actually, Julia wants to speak to you first. She’ll be up in a minute.”
“Oh.” I gingerly stood and rubbed my suddenly sweaty palms on my leggings. What could she want? Had something gone wrong with the blood transfusion? Maybe she found out about the Infernal Sol. “Let me help.”
Hailey scooted the chair Fane had used into the corner and tapped the cushion. “You need to rest.”
I dropped into the seat as she rolled up the soiled bedding and tossed it into a basket, my thoughts turning to Fane. We had to find a way to break this damn spell. He couldn’t go on like this forever. Even if he admitted to caring for me, the urge to feel my life fade beneath his hands still had a hold on him. Our relationship was complicated enough without this dark magic making him believe I’d killed Warin in cold blood.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Julia strolled into the room, her linen pants brushing her sandals while her long, auburn locks swayed around her narrow waist. “I thought we were going to lose you.”
“I’m more stubborn than that.”
She chuckled. “You sure are.”
Hailey finished and waved as she left the room, closing the door behind her. Julia motioned for me to resume my spot on the bed, so I settled on top of the covers, stretching my legs out. As she pulled the chair back to the bedside, the tension in the room grew.
“What is it?” I licked my numb lips, waiting for the other shoe to drop. What the hell was going on?
The healer tilted her head to the side as she analyzed me. “I thought Fane’s bite turned you into a shifter.”
“It did.” My fingers brushed over the tattoo on my neck just as it tingled, and the man in question strolled into the room.