Page 81 of Reap the Night
Fuck. I lashed once more.
He jerked and cried out, the sound one of release, and my pussy flooded with heat.
I dropped my arm, the whip hanging limply from my hand because it was over.
He was safe.
He stood slowly, his bloody back to me. “I need to…need to shower and—” He staggered, and I rushed forward to brace him, accidentally pressing my arm to his wounds.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
“I’m sorry, oh fuck.”
“I’m fine.” He pulled away from me and staggered toward the washroom.
I followed. “Let me help.”
He chuckled dryly. “You in the shower with me? I’m not a fucking saint, kitten.” He stepped inside and closed the door.
The water started up a moment later.
I sat on the bed and waited. There was no way I was leaving him until I was certain he was okay.
He emerged a few minutes later in a black tee and loose black pants. Did he keep clothes in his washroom?
“Why didn’t you leave when I asked you to?” Hemlock said. “In the tunnel…I asked you to go, and you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t. Something made me stay and…And what if Ihadleft? What would you have done? Held them off and detonated?”
“If that’s what it took to keep you safe, then yes.”
His words knocked the air from my lungs, but his next ones had my heart sinking a little.
“You’re vital to Ezekiel. To the world. I’m dispensable,” he said.
“No. You’re not.” I approached him slowly. “Why would you think that way?”
“It’s a fact, kitten, and you know it. We need you and Ezekiel to keep Loviator locked up, I’m superfluous to the equation. Whether I live or die doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
He exhaled sharply, but then his eyes narrowed. “I think you’re getting things a little twisted, kitten. Everything I do is for the bigger picture. That involves keeping you comfortable in the safe room and saving your life. It’s my job, that’s all.”
His words stung, and my face burned with embarrassment. Had I been reading too much into our interactions?
His mouth tightened. “Now if we’re done here, I need to check on Godor, find out what’s happening with Barin, and secure the tunnels again.”
“The padlock…”
“It had a good reason for being there. You can wait in your room and?—”
“I’ll come with you.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but I didn’t give him the opportunity, yanking open the door and stepping into the corridor. “Well, come on. Let’s go find him.”
Maybe Hemlock was simply doing his duty by protecting me, or maybe he felt more and didn’t want to. Either way, I had to be true to myself and my feelings, and there was no denying that I cared about this man. Whether he liked it or not.
Chapter 30
