Page 55 of A Touch Of Death

I push away from the door, walking towards the bed. I drop my duffle bag next to the bed and move to the bathroom. Everything is white and grey in here, clean and pristine. I walk to the basin and look in the large mirror that sits above it. I look like I've gone for a swim in the nearest river with all of my clothes on. My hair is an unruly mess atop my head, soaked and tangle-infested. My clothes are suctioned to my body thanks to the rain, and my pale skin looks significantly paler with dark bruise-like colouring under my eyes. In short, I look like a disaster.

Shaking my head at my reflection, I push away from the basin and start stripping out of my sopping wet clothes, discarding them all at the bathroom door. I head to the shower instead of the incredibly inviting clawfoot tub that sits in the corner. Deciding my exhausted body just needs a shower to simply get rid of the rain smell that clings to my skin and to warm up before crashing for the night, I step into the shower and begin the process of washing myself down. I use the fancy little bottles set on the holder inside the shower, shampooing and conditioning my hair before rinsing it all and tilting my head towards the shower stream.

As soon as I'm done, I step out of the shower and wrap myself with the softest towel I've ever felt. Using the complimentary comb, I brush through my hair, pulling out knots and tangles mercilessly.

While I do so, my thoughts turn towards the guys. I'm missing them more and more with every hour. It feels like I've left a piece - or rather pieces - of myself behind, and I don't feel right without them. I know it was for the best, though. I can't have them in danger since it was me causing it. What kind of person would that make me? No. They're better off without me, no matter what my heart is screaming.

With the last run through of the comb, I banish the thoughts of the guys before I begin uncontrollably sobbing. I braid my hair, deciding on two Dutch braids to keep it out of my face, and walk out of the bathroom once I'm done.

I head to my duffle bag and think about getting dressed for all of two seconds before I decide to skip it and jump right into the comfy looking bed. I drop my towel, not bothering to fold it or place it somewhere to dry. I pull back the comforter and climb into the bed, burrowing down into the sheets until I'm covered from head to toe in warmth.

I pull a pillow under the comforter with me, hunkering down until I'm comfortable. Exhaustion decides to overtake me, and as soon as my head touches the pillow, I fall asleep.

A noise in my room startles and wakes me. My eyes snap open only to be greeted with the darkness under the comforter. I haven't moved at all since falling asleep. I don't even know how long I slept for. Is the sun even up? It feels like I've had an hour at best.

Another noise has my entire body freezing and my breath stalling in my chest. My heartbeat tries to pummel its way out from underneath my rib cage. The noise creeps closer and closer until I hear the sound of shoes scraping across the floor next to the bed. I'm the epitome of silence when the intruder stops beside the bed. Even when something presses into the bed from the bottom and glides across the comforter until it stops by my face, I don’t move a muscle..

The intruder presses down on the comforter, looking like they’re gathering a fistful of the material in their hand. The panic I've been staving off finally breaks out, and instinct begins to take over.

Just as the comforter is pulled away, I vanish. Using my ability to turn incorporeal and then disappear entirely, I vanish from sight seconds before the comforter is yanked off my naked body.

Fight or flight instincts kick in, and before I see who the intruder is, I'm using whatever scraps of energy I have left to phase from the bed to the couch. I bounce around the room a couple of times, phasing in and out while still holding my invisible form. The next phase in I land next to the door, but my energy is sorely lacking, and I lose my grip on my invisibility for a split second. That second costs me.

Just before I can phase back out in panic, a large arm wraps itself around my waist and yanks. Hard. Panic has me kicking and scratching to break free, but it's pointless because this arm might as well have been created from titanium. I don't quit though. The day I quit fighting will be the day I take my last breath on this planet.

The intruder acts as though I'm not flailing my legs around and doing all I can to free myself. I'm pretty sure I draw blood with my scratching and digging my nails into my attacker’s skin. I still get no reaction. Instead, I'm pulled backward into a body made of steel.

A body I know all too well.

All the fight seeps out of me quickly, causing me to sag into the hold of the man I recognise now that my panic is ebbing as the heat of his body begins to pour into mine.

"That wasn't very nice," Nix growls right next to my ear. His voice sounds deeper, huskier than normal. His nose trails up my neck, and I'm pretty sure I hear him inhaling as he goes. A shiver wracks my body before I can stop it, and Nix's arm tightens around me.

Then he's releasing me, spinning me around to face him and launching me into the air. I land on the bed with a bounce, and it doesn't escape my memory that I'm completely naked. I mean, he's already seen me without a stitch of clothing after rescuing me, but this... this is entirely different.

I scramble for the comforter and only manage to get half of my body covered before I feel the bed dip by my feet. My gaze flicks up to Nix, only to find him watching me with an intensity that has heat stirring in my belly. What has me freezing and unintentionally gasping, however, are the yellow irises where his ocean blues should be.

He crawls onto the bed, and up further still, until he's holding his body above mine. With him as close as he is, I get a better look at the new colour of his eyes. They're a vibrant yellow with hues of orange and darker yellows throughout. They resemble a wolf's eyes.

"You made me bleed," his gravelly voice tells me, his wolf-like eyes flicking to his arm before coming back to me.

I follow the move, noticing the crescent moon shapes in his arm, and then look back at him. "You scared the shit out of me. What did you expect?"

He doesn't answer. Instead, he growls. A sound that comes from the very pit of his chest, rumbling and deep. "You ran."

My mouth pops open, and I stare at him wide-eyed. "You weren't supposed to chase me."

"Predators don't take too kindly to things running away from them. Especially their mates. What did you expect?" he says, throwing my words back at me with a victorious glint in his new eyes. His voice is doing ridiculous things to me despite just coming down from the scare he gave me. The way he calls me his mate has heat flaring up inside my chest straight down to the apex of my thighs which causes me to shuffle beneath him. Heat flares in his eyes when he catches the movement, and the thudding of my heart quickens. His gaze moves to my comforter-covered chest, no doubt hearing the pounding organ beneath.

With a raspy whisper, he says, "You really shouldn't have run."

My skin breaks out with goosebumps, and I shiver. Lowering my voice into a near whisper to match his, I ask, "Why?"

He leans in close, dragging his nose across my neck and down to my collarbone before rising above me again. "Because now you're mine."

He doesn't give me a chance to reply before he slams his lips down, rendering me utterly useless. The moment his lips meetmine, I melt. My entire body relaxes, and all thoughts other than Nix and his body above me flyout the window. His lips are firm, demanding and rough but in the best possible way. His tongue sneaks out and glides over my bottom lip, seeking access I'm all too eager to give him, like it is the most natural thing in the world to do.

When his tongue stokes mine with a fierce intensity, he groans and pushes his body further against me. My hands are trapped between us, so I'm left to accept all he's giving me. His right hand moves away from my head, traveling down waist and resting on my hip, his fingers digging in my skin.

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