Page 21 of Banished Mates
He hoisted me higher onto his chest, fitting his arm under my belly and up to my chest as his other hand cupped under my hind thighs.
Now I was plastered to his body.
Before I knew it, my head was against his chest and I was snuffing out a pleased breath. He smelled so damn good.
His chest rumbled beneath my ear and I lifted my head. I shoved my wolf back and snapped my teeth up toward his neck, which wasn’t much of a threat since my movements were weak.
I remained alert, focusing on any aggressive change in his mannerisms as his steps thudded down the hall. A flash of a bed. My body tensed and he passed it and stepped into a bathroom, opening the glass door and turning the knob so it sputtered to life. A shower. I hadn’t had one in so long I ached to lunge into the water, but held myself back.
He unbuckled his belt and I tensed, kicking a leg out to escape but stilled as soon as he stopped taking off his clothing. My sides heaved. I didn’t want a repeat of what Uggo tried to do to me... but instead, he stepped inside with me, his clothing getting drenched. Water poured into my fur, thawing my flesh.
“Rowan, get one of my shirts and set out bread and juice in the living room.” The scrape of claws sounded and the mate holding me turned his attention back to me. He hoisted me higher into his arms, letting the water soak my fur. Warmth curled around my bones, and I slumped against him. Energy seeped from my limbs as he lowered to his knees and spread his legs to set me between them. He hugged me to his chest, petting my fur in soothing motions.
“Shift,” he ordered, his dominance flowing over my wolf. Although Omegas could sense dominance, I could ignore the push, but weakness dragged my wolf down and she pushed for the shift as he ordered. I cringed from the burning pain stretching my body.
My bones popped, fur receding as flesh took over. Water sprinkled onto my skin, the heat on the verge of burning.
“Who did this to you?” His words accompanied by a growl. I bowed my head forward, hugging myself tighter. His fingertips gently dragged down my side where my ribs were. Fury shook his voice and his palm trembled against my skin.
If he was this mad, then he would have been maddened by the bruises that had bloomed across my skin before my first shift healed them. He stopped over the indents of my ribs, caressing my sides.
“I will kill them.” The barely contained rage wrenched my breath away, and I lowered my head further, turning away from the sneer on his lips. With a hard exhale, he stopped the questioning and reached for the bottle and squirted soap on his palm. I tensed, but he lathered his hands and rubbed them into my hair.
Bubbles washed over my body and I licked my lips, and he gripped my hand before squirting more product into it. He returned to massaging my scalp.
I blinked quickly at the gentle touches, the glaze in my eyes washing away with the water. I rubbed my palms briskly over my body, making sure to get every nook and cranny. Every speck of embarrassment washed away as my flesh pinkened. I was clean.
I shuddered.
“All done, lass.”
I shook my head and he paused, frowning at me. Lifting my gaze, I fixed it on the razor behind him. It was part of my routine... when I had one, and I needed a semblance of normalcy.
“We have to get you fed.”
I shook my head slightly.
He slicked his wet hair back. With his lips pressed together, he handed it over. I scooted back as he watched without moving. I poked my leg out so my foot was between his legs and popped the cap off the razor.
My mate lathered his hands and coated my leg. I watched, throat knotted and body tense. But as soon as my limb was covered, he retreated.
He would not hurt me.
I shuddered and dragged the shaking blade up my leg. A palm pressed over my wrist, and he gently took it out of my hand and raked it up my leg with precision, even with the angle he was at.
His cheek bunched and I focused on his thick lashes fluttering over his green eyes as his brows furrowed. It didn’t take him long to finish and move on to my next leg. I pressed one of my arms over my breasts and the other over my pussy, nerves seeping through now that I felt more myself. Yet, he didn’t look at anything but my legs and eyes.
I leaned back so the spray fell over my hair as he finished. He handed the razor back to me.
“I’ll retrieve the towel for you, lass.”
The glass door rattled as he closed it, and I focused on shaving my armpits and panty line. He halted outside the door for a moment, opening it when I was done, then turned the shower off.
“Shift, if you’d like.” I stared up at him, water dripping from my fingertips. He understood my fear. If I shifted, I could protect myself. I wouldfeelsafer. Tears pricked my eyes so I pushed my wolf forward, needing to hide the waterworks building up. A burn worked through my limbs and I held back a whine.
He wrapped a towel around my body and lifted me, moving down the hall. We passed another dark room I couldn’t see inside before he was rounding the corner into a living room with a fire crackling. As soon as he was past the threshold, heat from the fire seeped into my muscles. They helplessly trembled as my limbs became limp.
My mate dropped to his knees and a wet nose nudged my cheek, and I shrank away from Rowan as he got in my face.
