Page 39 of A Hunter Cursed
“Jesus,” he muttered at the first sight of his cabin. “It’s like a bomb went off in here.”
“We should be able to clean this up pretty quickly.”
He shook his head, his arms tightening around her. “Not tonight. Tonight, I just want to hold you. This mess will still be here in the morning.”
That sounded good to her as well, but instead of guiding her into his bedroom, Jeremiah led her to the bathroom and began filling the tub. Keegan groaned. “I think I’d rather sleep,” she told him.
Jeremiah looked over his shoulder at her and grinned. “Just for a little while,” he said. “Trust me, you do not want to ignore Marguerite’s advice.” He gave a mock shudder. “That woman can be a harridan.”
Turning, he gently gripped her waist as he stepped closer, his eyes those of his wolf. “And I need to take care of you.”
Keegan let out a scoffing sound. “I’m a woman full-grown.”
“I’m aware of that,” he said with a growl as he playfully nuzzled her neck. “But it’s instinct. One I can’t ignore.”
Favoring her injured shoulder, she raised her other arm and wrapped it around his neck, holding him close. Protective, caring, those were parts of his nature, pieces that made up the whole of the man she loved and she wouldn’t ask him to change. Besides, if she was honest with herself, being taken care of was kind of nice. It made her feel spoiled. “Just don’t start thinking you can always be so high-handed,” she warned with a scowl.
Kissing her nose, he murmured, “I wouldn’t dream of it. I know full well you could probably kick my ass.”
As he pulled away to shut off the water, Keegan snorted at the very thought that she could win against Jeremiah in a fight. The man was so big and brawny the idea was laughable until he added, “You could turn me into a slug or some shit.”
Those words erased her humor and had her rushing to say, “I would never…” But she’d done it before, hadn’t she? Not a slug but she’d turned Noah Landry into a goat. Had Jeremiah found out about that?
Jeremiah was grinning when he glanced over his shoulder until he saw the horrified look on her face. He quickly turned and hugged her to him. “Hey, I was joking,” he told her, his lips in her hair. “I know you wouldn’t do that.” And then more firmly, he added, “Iknowyou, Keegan Bishop. I know your heart. You’re a good person. Hell, you tried to protect me when you thought you were cursed, you came to rescue me, even though you were injured and in pain, you fought ademonfor me.”
His words, the ferocity behind them, had her heart soaring. The smile that lit her face was beaming and she couldn’t help but tease, “When you put it that way, I am pretty badass, aren’t I?”
Jeremiah chuckled and squeezed her just a bit tighter. “You are. But honestly,” leaning back so that he could look into her eyes, he stroked his hand over her cheek and told her, “You didn’t need to do any of that and I would still love you. You’re my mate.”
“Your mate,” Keegan murmured with a thoughtful frown. “What does that mean exactly?”
Running his fingers through her hair and gently working through the tangles still left over from her aborted shower earlier, he said, “That means my heart belongs to you. Only you. Now and forever.”
Tears prickled in her eyes and she had to swallow past the lump of emotion in her throat before she was able to say, “I’ll take good care of it.”
“I know you will.”
“And I know you’ll take good care of mine,” she added, burying her head against his shoulder.
His broad hands stroked soothingly over her back. “On my honor.”
They stood like that for a few moments more before Keegan swiped at her wet cheeks and sniffled. “Join me in the tub?”
Jeremiah eyed the bathtub and its steaming contents dubiously. “I don’t think we’ll both fit.”
Keegan let out a merry laugh and began tugging at his T-shirt. “You said the same thing about my car and we fit just fine.”
He raised his arms to accommodate her, but still argued, “My tub is even smaller than that roller skate you call a vehicle.”
His wide, beautifully sculpted chest now bare to her admiring gaze, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his skin. Huskily, she said, “Humor me.”
And that was all it took for Jeremiah to be on board. One could say he was even eager now, stripping off both their clothes in seemingly record time before he scooped her into his arms and stepped into the tub. She had to lay on him, her legs between his bent knees – there really wasn’t much room – but neither one of them complained, both of them enjoying the excuse to remain plastered to each other as the hot water swirled around them and sloshed over the top.
His hands explored her body gently. Stopping occasionally, he growled as he discovered bruises on her shoulder, her hip, and knee, the cut on her hand from where she’d sliced it for the locator spell, the skin scraped raw on her hands and legs from her tumble to the pavement when the demon had shoved her. “Tell me about your vision,” he prompted. “What did you see that had you throwing yourself out of your shower?”
Lifting her head from where it was pressed against his shoulder, she cupped his cheek with her hand, smiling when he turned his face to kiss her palm. “I saw you,” she said. “Alone on a dark stretch of road.” She stopped, needing to swallow past the rising anxiety the memory evoked, reminding herself that he was here with her now. He was safe. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore. “I called out to you and when you turned, your eyes were nothing but empty black sockets.”
Jeremiah’s arms came tightly around her and his big palm cradled the back of her head. Kissing her softly, he murmured against her lips, “That had to be scary. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
