Page 73 of Claimed
I snort and pain shoots through my face. Groaning, I grab my nose. “Ow.”
Caine is sitting up in front of me before I can blink. “Horan healed a lot of the worst injuries, but some of it will heal human slow.”
I glare at him. “Thank you for telling me that now.” He smirks and the teasing play of his lips leaves me very aware of how close he is.
And my face hurts …
Oh god.
I scramble from the bed and dive for the bathroom. Flipping on the light, the glare leaves me squinting, but not enough to block the ugly purple and yellow markings spreading across my cheek and over my nose.
A loud groan rips from me.
The door to the room bangs open and the doorway crowds with familiar male frames. Caine turns to them and rolls his eyes.
Ruin peers at me from over his shoulder. “You okay?”
I gesture frantically at my face. “Does this look okay?”
He winces and backpedals a little. “Onyx—”
I turn back to the mirror and stare. Tears blur my reflection. “God. I’m hideous.”
Caine slips into the room and leans against the wall behind me, his arms crossed and his jaw flexing. “Not even a little.”
My eyes raise to his. There are some soft masculine murmurs and Ruin mutters, “We will leave you guys alone. You need anything, Onyx, yell—”
Caine snaps. The door slams, locks, and red light glows through the doorway. “Like a bunch of damn mother hens,” he rumbles.
“They mean well,” I say, turning and leaning against the counter.
He watches me for a beat. “So did Hitler.”
“Caine.”
His eyes glint in the lights. “And we both know how bad that turned out.”
“Caine,” I say, horrified. “Baddoesn’t come close to how fucked up the Holocaust was.”
He pushes from the wall and veers right as he gets to me. “True.” He walks to the shower and reaches in. Water pounds from the round rainforest head in the ceiling. “But if they keep interfering, it may get just as bad here.”
“That was not interfering,” I say. “That was making sure you weren’t having your nefarious way with me.”
His eyes roil with red light. “If I was, they would know the difference.”
My heart flies into my throat. I try to swallow it back down, but it doesn’t help.
He checks the water and straightens. “You need help getting undressed?”
“Caine.”
He grins. “Just checking.” He brushes past me. “But I’m right outside if you do.” His laughter is wicked.
I reach and close the door.
But I can’t stop the smile that pulls on my lips as I slip the soft silk from my body. It makes my cheek ache even more.
As I climb under the warm spray, I can’t help but find it odd that when Caine is with me, my face doesn’t hurt at all.
