Page 84 of Deadly Cravings
I couldn’t see Ren’s reaction since my cheek was pressed to Asher’s silk encased shoulder, but I would bet my foot Ren smirked at the threat.
“Why so tense, Asher? Did the human crawl under your skin?”
“How about you tell us what you were doing getting captured by Calliope.” Asher’s chest rose once sharply.
“I allowed her to catch me. There’s a difference, but she knows nothing about the sudden uptick in infections.” So he let her put him in that situation? “Her mouth doesn’t get loose unless she feels like she’s got something over me.”
“And what about killing her children?” Tobias said, steps clipped as he approached.
“He shouldn’t have gotten in my way.” Ren shrugged.
“She’s exhausted, she can hardly keep her eyes open.” Tobias crouched before me, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Let’s get you comfortable.”
Asher resisted passing me to him for a beat, and I grunted at the sharp squeeze to my stomach. He finally let go and Tobias was making his way up the stairs with me in his arms.
“I need a bath,” I croaked.
Tobias frowned down at me, gray eyes roving over my blood-stained chest. “What happened?” I didn’t even have the energy to respond to that. I set my head against his bicep and my eyes fluttered shut.
Tobias jostled me and the spout to the tub powered on.
I stifled a yawn and he tugged the blanket off me.
“Catalina,” he hissed, eyes fixed on my body. I blinked slowly and looked down. Crusted dried blood flaked on my skin. My wounds were pretty much healed. The vampire blood Ren forced down my throat must have started the healing process. He set me in the bathtub and water sloshed over the sides of the tub. The clear water swiftly turned pinkish.
I leaned against the back porcelain, zapped of energy. The water lapped against my waist, and I straightened my legs until they were fully submerged.
Tobias reached over to pull the plug so it could drain as it filled. Then he grabbed a small towel underneath the sink and knelt beside the tub. I blinked as I watched him, a thick knot incrementally growing in my throat. He carefully rolled the sleeves of his cable knit sweater to his elbows.
I couldn’t stifle my groan of pleasure at the pressure of the water seeping into my bones and spreading through my body. The heat was heavenly and the view was... I shivered, watching Tobias smooth the carefully rolled sleeves. There was something incredibly sexy about his forearms. The muscle bunched with each flex, emphasizing the veins through his pale hand.
Concentration marred his brow as he wet the cloth and brought it to my neck, and in swift swipes across my skin, he cleaned away the dried blood as he inched down my shoulders.
The soft rasp of his ministrations combined with the attentiveness constricted my chest and pressure ballooned as I watched him. Goose bumps pebbled my flesh. Each rasp across my skin stoked a heady heat through my body. This wasn’t what I should be thinking right now. Such a bad idea to be lusting after the celibate vampire priest.
He ran the towel under the running water, drenching it. My gaze stalled on his profile as he wrung the excess water from the material. My fingers twitched to lift and graze down the bridge of his nose to the slightly upturned tip.
Tobias’s eyelids lowered, his lips softening. He paused with the cloth at my clavicle and his Adam’s apple bobbed. I could hardly hear the plunk of the towel sinking into the tub. The material grazed my thigh. I followed Tobias’s gaze to my breast where a drop of blood had beaded. It slowly dripped and plunked into the water.
Where Ren had opened me.
“Ren,” Tobias bit out. His jaw twitched.
I lifted my hand to swipe the blood away, but Tobias caught my wrist, his throat bobbing.
“I will heal you... if you would like.” His words were rough and red hinted in his irises before it disappeared.
I nodded hesitantly, unable to make a sound.
Tobias kept my gaze as he leaned over my breast, eyes unwavering from mine.
My breasts rose sharply with every pant. Pinpricks of anticipation crackled over my skin as his lips neared until finally his tongue flicked out and laved across the skin. My lips parted on a breathy exhale.
The line of his neck tensed, the column tightening enticingly. He lunged forward, pressing into me so my back dug into the lip of the tub. I could hardly feel the pinch since ripples of pleasure danced to my clit.
My fingers speared into his hair, curving into the strands tightly. I whimpered, and the water sloshed as I wiggled needily. His grip became hard—unyielding—delicious.
His lips fastened around my nipple, encasing it with his warm mouth. Tobias tongued my breast, sending electricity throughout my limbs. My thighs quivered and I detangled my digits from his hair. There was no feeling in my arms as they boundlessly slipped into the water to rest on my thighs.