Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37111 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37111 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Somehow, we ended up in a bathroom. There was a female voice giving instructions, but I couldn’t make out most of it. I was in some kind of twilight stage between sleep and wakefulness. I knew I was naked and that Deadeye had me in his arms, but I couldn’t seem to make myself protest. His body was hot, almost uncomfortably so, but he felt so good against my chilled flesh.
In a way, it was almost worse to be warming up. My skin seemed to prickle with a million needles, the pain going from uncomfortable to nearly unbearable the longer he held me. Also, he took me into the shower with him, sitting on a bench with me in his arms while hot water poured over us in a gentle fall. That was when the pain really set in.
I cried out, begging for him to let me go, needing to get away from the water, but he refused.
“Shh, baby.” He nuzzled my hair, kissing my temple. “I know it hurts. You’re so cold. We’ve got to warm you up. The water’s not that hot. Just lukewarm.”
“Hurts,” I managed weakly, whimpering.
“I know. I’m sorry. I know, baby. Gotta get you warmed up, though. You’ll feel better then.” He rocked me gently, continuing to murmur softly to me. Through the pins and needles over my skin, I thought he probably wouldn’t want anyone to know how he was treating me just now. It certainly didn’t fit with the biker persona I’d gotten used to and expected. Warlock might have given my mother anything she wanted, but that was more because he let her manipulate him rather than any tenderness on his part. At least, that was the impression I got.
Gradually, the stinging subsided, and I started shivering. I actually wanted him to make the water warmer, but was too afraid to ask. Fortunately, Deadeye seemed to be very good at reading people. At least, he was good at reading me. He moved slightly, and the water heated up just a little. I moaned, unable to hide my reaction. The heat felt wonderful. It felt like I would never be warm again, but now I was getting there.
“Better, honey?”
“Yeah.” Even to my own ears, I sounded drowsy. The sigh was as much contentment as it was exhaustion. “Getting warm.”
“Good. We’ll just sit here a little while longer. Then I’ll have Mama check you over good. She says you’re not hurt, we’ll go to bed.”
“But, Iron Tzars --”
“Can wait until tomorrow. At least for us. Once we found you, Data, Zora, and Suzie turned their complete focus to digging into every single member of Iron Tzars, including Warlock and Sting. We’ll know everything there is to know about them by the time you wake up. Now. Just relax and let me take care of you a little while longer. Can you do that?”
I wanted to tell him I could take care of myself, but my abilities in that department were really being called into question. Besides, it felt nice in his arms. For such a gruff man when I first met him, Deadeye was being incredibly gentle with me now.
I took in a breath before letting it out in a little resigned sigh. “Are you angry with me?”
He stiffened. “What? Why would you think I was angry? Have I scared you, honey?”
“No. It’s just… You had to come after me in an ice storm.”
“Oh, it was more than just ice. There was wind and lightning and really, really cold rain. And ice.” I couldn’t tell if his tone was teasing or chastising. My mind was still sluggish, and it was all just too much to process.
I winced, turning my head into his chest. If he was going to put me down, I wanted every possible second in his arms. Because, by God, it felt fucking good. “I’m so sorry.”
“You got nothin’ to be sorry ’bout. You’re scared. I get it. Could your timing have been better? Hell, yeah. But I don’t in any way blame you for this.”
I decided not to examine his words too closely. I needed sleep before trying to figure everything out.
It wasn’t long before Deadeye turned off the shower and carried me out, sitting me on the vanity. He wrapped a towel securely around me before taking a brush out of the pack and working with my hair.
“You’ll need to wash it later, but once Mama looks you over, I’ll help you dry it, and you can go to sleep. You’ll feel more like it tomorrow.”
Once the tangles were worked out, he wrapped my hair, squeezing the excess moisture out through the towel. He lifted me to put my feet on the floor and replaced the damp towel around me with a dry one. It was more like a beach towel, covering me from armpits to knees and wrapping around me more than once.