Page 80 of Lion Conquers All
A week later…
CONNIE
Connie propped herself up on a pillow in her bed and sipped the coffee Aarav had left on her nightstand. It was like heaven in her mouth. And her mouth felt like two-week old guacamole that’d been shoved into the back of the fridge and forgotten. Furry didn’t even begin to describe the terrible sensation. She needed to brush her teeth, but the coffee could happen first.
Coffee could always be first.
There could be more coffee after the teeth brushing too.
She put the paper cup from Lily’s back on the nightstand and sniffed. The scent of sweat filled her lungs and nearly made her gag. She needed a shower and her whole room needed to be deep cleaned. Possibly with bleach. She could smell sweat and dirt and someone had sprayed her perfume somewhere. And not one bottle. She could smell every single one of them mixed together and it was terrible.
Also, she was naked in bed.
Sex with Aarav came to mind, but currently she felt like she’d been run over by a tractor. That wasn’t from sex. That was from something else. There was also this vague memory of feeling sick. She remembered Aarav holding her. And maybe some other people in her bedroom. But nothing was clear.
Her body felt strange too. Even though she was exhausted, she felt lighter. Stronger. Her back didn’t ache like normal either.
Connie climbed out of her bed and walked over to the bathroom. The need for a shower outweighed all other things right now. She had to get that rank smell off of her body at least. Bed next. Then room.
She flipped on the light and a quiet yelp escaped her mouth. Her hair looked like a family of rats had made a nest in it.
Last week.
She shuddered and prayed no one had seen her like this—meaning Aarav. He wasn’t ready for this hair. Or this smell.
She sniffed herself again and almost retched. Again. How did she smell this bad after one night? It had to be morning. He’d left her coffee. It was fresh. Still had ice in it.
Connie turned on the shower and climbed in. The sensation of getting clean was amazing. She grabbed her shower brush and started on her arms and then her shoulders and then she froze. She dropped the brush and put her the palm of her hand on her shoulder where she’d been scrubbing.
Was she that tired that she’d forgotten where the giant scar was that came over one shoulder?
She climbed out of the shower, soapy and dripping and turned around in front of the mirror. Peering over her shoulder, she stared at her back. A back she didn’t recognize. A back without a single blemish or scar.
There was nothing.
Nothing but smooth skin where crisscrossing stripes of pain had once covered her like a web she could never escape. And now they were gone.
Shower.Food.
An unfamiliar voice in her head pushed at her conscience.
She did want a shower. And she was hungry.
Connie peered over her shoulder a few more seconds and then climbed into the shower again. Several rounds of shampoo and conditioner later, she finally felt more alive. And she smelled acceptable. That was the most important thing.
Damn, she had smelled so bad. Like boy socks in a gym bag that had been forgotten in a hot trunk for a week bad.
She ventured back into her room and tried to breathe through her mouth. Pulled on some clean sweats and a t-shirt. She needed to call the sheriff’s office and let them know she was taking a day. They could page her if there was an emergency, but otherwise she was taking some vacation.
They’d found the kids.
She dropped her hairbrush. It clattered on the wood floor very loudly.
They’d found the kids. She remembered the women—the magick-benders—healing them. Had they done something to her? Was that why her scars were gone?
But when had it happened?
After sex last night? Amazing sex. Sex she would never forget with the best man she’d ever known.
