Page 82 of Entombed By Blood
Too late, I realise. Some part of me is worried for the two missing thralls.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I berate myself as Draven carefully extracts himself from my hold and then helps me dismount.
“Who’s this?” Echo asks, his eyes meeting mine for a second before dropping to take in my body.
I half shift behind Draven before I even realise what I’m doing. Using his body to hide from the newcomer.
“Are you particularly fond of your eyeballs?” Draven asks, instead of answering him. He’s drawn a knife from somewhere and starts flicking it between his fingers as he waits for a response.
Echo must believe the threat in his words because he gulps, his eyes sliding back to Frost and staying there.
“A friend,” Frost replies, smirking at the byplay.
Echo frowns. “And how long are your pack and this ‘friend’ going to be in my territory? You're welcome here, Frost, but we’re a peaceful pack. I need to know what kind of a risk you’re bringing with you.”
Frost sighs, running a hand through his hair. “A pretty fucking big one,” he admits. “But we’ll leave as soon as the full moon is over.”
The door to the cabin opens before he can say anything else, revealing a frantic Finn.
“Could you threebeany later?” He glances over all of us before his eyes land on me, leaning against Draven’s bike.
Before I can dodge, the omega snatches me from behind Draven, drags me across the threshold and into the cabin.
“Come on, I already had to endure the alpha-alpha bullshit once between Echo and Gid. I can at least spare you from having to hear the Frost edition. I still can’t believe Draven let you touch his bike. He cut off Silas’s hand once for just brushing against it accidentally. I bet you’re starving. You look pale. How about a bath?”
His words fall over one another in their haste to leave his mouth, and it takes me a second to process. Even then, I have no idea what he’s going on about, but I don’t have time to complain as he tugs me past a scowling Gideon and into a bathroom at the back of the cabin. From there, all I can do is frown in confusion as the omega starts running a bath in the modest-sized tub. He’s buzzing with energy as he moves around the small space, uncapping and sniffing bottles before either disregarding them or adding them to the collection on the vanity.
I open my mouth to say something—I’m not really sure what—but Finn presses a finger to my lips.
“Let me? Please? My instincts are going crazy right now and it’s not going to stop until everyone in the pack is home safe.” He coughs out a chuckle. “None of the others will let me take care of them like I need to, and with Silas and Vane still gone and the pain you felt…”
I bite my lip, hesitant, but eventually nod.
Finn lets out a breath I wasn’t even aware he’s been holding, and his shoulders fall from the hunched, defensive position as he steps closer.
“Bath and blood?” he offers. “If you’re shy, I won’t look.”
“I don’t mind,” I whisper, ignoring the sensible part of my brain which tells me that letting this man past my boundaries will make running from these men so much harder.
I never had much cause to interact with omegas in my old life. I—like Cain—disregarded the pack caregivers as unimportant. Having met Finn, I’m starting to see that disregarding his kind was a huge mistake.
Emotional strength is a rare gift, and infinitely more valuable than physical brawn.
I slip my tank top over my head, meeting his eyes as the fabric drops to the floor. There’s a slow, languid heat building behind his glasses. The kind that makes my nipples pebble against the thin silk of my bra.
I don’t blush and look away. I meet his eyes, hook my thumbs under my waistband and tug my trousers down next, leaving me in just my underwear. I know my nipples have hardened into tiny points, and he can probably scent the evidence of my arousal, but Finn is a beautiful man. I’d have to be blind not to be affected.
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, and I smile softly. He doesn’t try to hide how I affect him, and it lends me confidence as I strip away the last pieces of clothing.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs, awe creeping into his voice.
I press a tiny kiss against the underside of his jaw to thank him for the compliment, and then move past him towards the steaming water.
It’s almost too hot, but I relish the sting against my skin. After spending hours freezing on the back of Draven’s motorcycle, the warmth is a welcome relief. It settles into my bones as I lower my body until I’m completely submerged.
The instant my boobs disappear below the bubbles, Finn seems to snap out of his trance. He takes a bottle from the side and kneels by my head.
“Duck under and I’ll do your hair.” His words are clear, but the tone is gentle, asking rather than ordering.
