CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Elara
Zom skidded on the kitchen floor as I chased him with a towel. I nearly crashed in to the wall as I found Dez sitting at the end of the table with medical supplies strewn about. I crossed my arms over my chest in protest. I was too far away to see how bad it actually was as he gingerly wiped the blood off his forearm.
“I’m not sure what I want you to answer first.”
“Pick,” he grunted as he focused on his work.
Zom grabbed the towel from me and made a nest for himself in front of the fireplace. Caleb had helped me with stoves on the other floors, and it was actually a comfortable temperature in the house.
“How the hell did you get in here? And why does the kitchen table look like a hospital?”
“Hidden key above the door; been there since I was nine. I’m not going to the hospital. I’ve had worse.” He paused in his efforts to look at me. His face was splattered with blood smears, and the dark circles under his eyes had taken on a purple tint since he’d left earlier.
“What the hell were you doing?
“Hunting. Are you going to help me?”
“Hunting? Hunting what? We heard an explosion.”
“Forget I asked. I’ll sew it up myself then.”
I sighed heavily and snatched the suture kit from him. “Tell me what you and Caleb were fighting about, then I’ll sew you up.”
“Thought you said you didn’t want to know?”
“I’m tired of being kept in the dark. What is going on here?”
“I’d rather do it myself.” He reached for the suture kit in my hand, but I took a step back, pulling the med kit just out of reach with me.
“Get out of my kitchen.”
My words had more venom than I had intended, but I meant them. I’d been there only a few days, but everyone kept dancing around something when I was present. I wanted to know what it was.
“Are you like this with everyone or just me, Elara?” His anger boiled just under the surface. “Cause you’re not helping my mood right now. You’re either really brave right now, or hoping that you’re cute enough to get away with it.”
“Both.”
He covered his face with his good hand, that anger slipping away just as quickly as it had shown up. His rumble of frustration made me jump as he slapped the table. “Fine. You want to know why we were fighting? He’s a merman. I hunt Others; things that are not human. He’s slept with my sister. And my ex. He’s stealing my mine foreman to go work with him next season. Can we just leave it at we don't get along?”
“That’s the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard.”
“Look: I don’t have the crayons or the time to explain my life to you in a less blunt way. You want to know how I got all these scars? I hunt things. Things that go bump in the night. Vamps and werewolves mostly, but other things do like to visit Alaska. Right now, I’ve got a bite that I need to get stitched up. Either help me, or get me some damn super glue and electrical tape so I can fix it my damn self and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“You’re being an ass!” I snapped at him. I shoved the med kit back toward him and pulled out the chair beside him so I could have a seat. “I’m going to chalk up you being an ass to the blood loss. Are you going to walk me through this?”
His nose flared as he drew a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. I grabbed his wrist to try to adjust his arm. He didn’t fight me.
“It’s just like sewing a hole in your clothing.”
The bite was a nasty and jagged oval, resembling an animal’s tearing bite. It would fit right in with the rest of his random scars once healed. It took all my concentration to hold my anxiety at bay as I made small stitches in his skin, pulling the edges back together.
“What did I wash off Zom?”
“Blood and ash. He took down a vampire,” Dez replied without hesitation.
My hands froze as I stared at him. “You're joking?”
“No.”
“Fine. Let's try something I can understand.” I tried to go back to work on his arm, but my fingers had started to tremble. I blew out a breath. “When you first kissed me the other night, who did you think I was?”
“My brother-in-law's twin sister.”
“She's your ex?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.
Dez sighed and ran his hand through his short hair. “More like a bad addiction.”
“Then who is this ex from Vegas? She must have been a fun time.” The sarcasm dripped from my tongue.
“He,” Dez corrected with a heavier sigh, settling back in the chair.
I jabbed him pretty deep with the suture needle in my annoyance. What mess had I gotten myself in to?
“He? Does he have a name?”
“Does it matter? You’re not staying.” The disappointment in his voice was evident.
“You're not helping your case.” I jabbed him again. He caught my wrist. “What's his name?”
“Blake. His name was Blake. He was a reaper. Wings and everything. Anything else you want to know before you hit a nerve and I can't use my arm?”
“So is this a thing for you?” I asked bluntly. Why was I jealous?
He shook his head.
“I ran away from my life here after my father died. I was tired of being responsible. I had Koda and Kenai to worry about, and a son that I never got to see. I tried to get away from my past, and ended up hunting there anyway. I wouldn't go back and change anything that happened that month, but I couldn’t stay there. We broke some laws, raised some Hell, and enjoyed our time. That's all. Don't even give me that look like if you stay I've got someone in my back pocket, because I don't.”
“You think I believe that?”
“I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone else. We enjoyed ourselves. End of story,” he snapped. “If you’re not going to finish my arm, I’ll do it myself.”
“Let my hand go and I will finish it up.”
He cursed at me under his breath as I pulled the last stitch tighter than I should have. My mind raced as I cleaned his wound one last time before covering it. I knew the full moon could mess with people, but the things he was saying were a new level of crazy. I’d never heard anything quite this insane, even on my calls at work.
I tossed my hair over my shoulder, letting my eyes roam over the rest of the scars on his bare forearms and poking out the collar of his shirt. They ranged from jagged ovals and crescents to parallel slashes. He looked as if he’ been bitten and clawed repeatedly.
I didn’t know what to do as he rested his head on the table. We should have been having a fun fling, but I was getting sucked in to the lies of a crazy person. Vampires. Werewolves. Mermaids. Those things did not exist. What the hell had actually bitten him? Was he a poacher? That bite was not like any human bite I had ever seen. Whatever he was doing was dangerous. And most likely illegal.
The more my mind raced, the more I realized one thing. I was getting attached to Dez. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t even do it for the few days I had left in Alaska.
“Get out.”
He lifted his head from the table to glare at me, fire burning in those dark eyes. “Fine.”
I heard Zom’s collar jingle as he picked his head off the couch. I was going to miss that pup.
Dez stood, towering over me by nearly a foot. He filled the space before me as he sucked all the air from the room, that overwhelming presence commanded a reaction.
I stood. Men like him didn't intimidate me.
I found myself tracing the line of his jaw with my eyes. Beneath his ever-lengthening beard, the muscles of his cheek moved as his jaw flexed. Those depthless eyes shifted from mine, roaming over my face. He closed that small gap of space between us in one silent step.
“Not fucking worth it,” he whispered.
My heart sank at those mumbled words. I closed my eyes to keep the tears at bay. I waited to hear him call his dog and walk across the wooden floor.
A hand slipped in to the hair at the nape of my neck as his lips met mine. My hand grasped for his partially dried shirt, not wanting to let him go.
Dez pulled me roughly against him, his good arm wrapping around my waist to lift me up to his height. My legs wrapped around his waist of their own volition. I slipped my hand to the back of his neck, dragging my nails against the skin I could touch. His arm tightened around my waist as I licked his lips.
“Shower. Now. You taste disgusting.”
“Only if you—”
I cut off his growling words with a hand across his mouth.
“I don’t even care what it is. Yes. Just shower.”
He nipped my hand, then stole another kiss when I pulled it away.
“Careful what you wish for,” he mumbled against my lips. The chairs were shoved to the side as he carried me up the stairs, pausing only to kick off his boots on the second-floor landing.
The full moon shown through the skylight of the master bathroom. I smacked his hand away from the light switch. He set me on my feet, and I reached to turn on the shower.
“I need help getting out of this shirt.”
I raised an eyebrow, smirk playing across my lips. Buttons skipped across the floor as I tore open the front of his flannel shirt. It was beyond saving with all that blood.
“Watch it,” he hissed as I jerked the sleeves over his arms and chucked it toward the door.
“Watch it yourself, you brute.” I ripped his undershirt, peeling it off and tossing it in the pile with his ruined flannel.
Good arm under my ass, he scooped me over his shoulder, and deposited me under the running water before joining me.
“You are a jerk.” I laughed as I smoothed my wet hair back out of my face. “Those jeans are going to be a bitch to get off you now.”
“I don’t care.” His voice was dark and heavy as he backed me against the wall of the shower.
The water streamed down his back as he ducked his head to kiss the side of my neck. The desperate kisses on my skin made my knees go weak. I popped the button on his jeans then slipped my hand past the wet denim. He pressed his hips toward my hand and nipped my neck.
“How do you turn me on so much?” I breathed in his ear.
He took a shuddering breath against my shoulder as I closed my hand around him. I barely heard his whispered words over the running water.
I kissed his cheek. “Say that again?”
“Too much tonight.” His mood had changed in a matter of moments. “I can’t. Help me get cleaned up, please. I need sleep.”
I smoothed the water off his face, the motion taking some of the grime with it. I wasn’t sure what I saw on his face, but it was masked by exhaustion. He was fighting to keep himself upright, using the wall as support so he didn’t crush me. One thing I knew for certain from the past few days, he wasn’t one to come right out and say he needed help.
“Yeah, Dez. I’ll help you.”