I swallowed hard. “I just need to tie the bandage around your back.”
He arched a perfect eyebrow. “Is that right?”
Already, his wound seemed to be healing—probably some of his own magic at work.
Without another word, I tightened the bandage with both hands, then reached around his back to try to tie it—only, I could hardly reach around the width of him, and—
A cold gust of air swept over my bare skin, tightening my nipples.
Oh god, the blanket.
It took me a long, horrified moment to realize that I’d ended up completely naked, my breasts just inches from his muscled physique.
I dropped the bandage.
Adonis’s jaw had dropped, his attention completely rapt as he stared at me. His arm muscles twitched, eyes burning with pale light.
The cool of the castle’s drafty air raised goose bumps on my arms. A low growl escaped his throat. His expression shifted—no longer remote, angelic serenity, it was now pure carnal lust. He looked like he was about to throw me on his bed right then and there.
At the sound of his growl, at the promise of his hands on my body, heat shot through me. My chest flushed.
Finally, I mustered the presence of mind to bend down, snatch the blanket off the floor, and hastily wrap it around myself. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
Words seemed to have deserted him.
Distraction. Distraction. Let’s pretend like nothing happened. I nodded at his chest wound, trying to think of something to say. “You know, it looks better already. The bleeding has stopped. Maybe it doesn’t need the bandage.”
After a moment, Adonis broke his silence. He crossed his arms with a wicked smile. “Never apologize for appearing naked before me. And certainly don’t wear that blanket on my account. I prefer you without it.”
Heat prickled over me, and I pulled my blanket tighter. “Can you ask your ill-tempered demon friend for those clothes now?”
“I’ll send Drakon for her.”
I shivered. “I don’t suppose you have a shower in here, while I’m waiting. My room had a bathroom but no shower.”
“Bath is in there.” He pointed to an arched doorway, and I nodded, scurrying away from him with the blanket clutched tightly around me.
As I crossed into his bathroom, Adonis purred instructions to Drakon in an ancient language. Phoenician? Sumerian? I had no idea, but the angel probably knew more languages than I could count.
In his bathroom—a round, domed space—candles burned in iron sconces. A circular stone bathtub stood by one of the walls. Next to it, dry towels lay folded in a stony alcove, along with a few bars of soap.
I turned on the tap, and warm water rushed from the faucet, steam rising into the air. When I dropped the blanket once again, the castle’s drafty air whispered over me. I stepped into the hot bathwater, watching it redden my legs, and slipped down into its welcoming embrace.
I rubbed the anemone-scented soap over my skin, cleaning my neck, my chest. I couldn’t quite get Adonis’s carnal expression out of my mind, or the promise of what might have happened if I hadn’t pulled that blanket around me again.
He was Adonis—a creature known for his beauty. Of course I reacted that way to him.
Before the Great Nightmare had begun, Marcus and I had the perfect relationship. There were no questions, no mysteries. When he was upset, he told me, and he told me why. I knew that blood-hunger made him cranky, that sometimes his own snoring woke him up, that—despite being a vampire—clowns terrified him.
Adonis was the opposite. All mystery. Granted, I’d been learning a little more about him—that he hurt himself to stop the curse from setting in, that he dreamt of a great rebellion against the angels who controlled him. But he kept most of his secrets buried deep. What was that strange necklace he wore around his neck? What were those intense flashes of pain I sometimes saw in his eyes? What was his whole history with the fae?
I couldn’t deny the allure of the unknown. Maybe there was a strange sort of power in that mystery, of things unspoken and unnamed. But danger lay there too.
A clicking sound on the floor pulled me from my thoughts, and I turned to see Drakon prancing into the room, tail slicing through the air. He clutched a bundle of clothing in his teeth. He dropped it on the floor, then cocked his head to stare at me, tail thumping expectantly.
I glared at him. “Off you go, hellspawn.” So I might smell a bit like reptilian spit, but at least I wouldn’t have to walk around naked under a blanket.
I stepped out of the bathtub, water dripping down my body—keenly aware that Adonis’s bathroom had no door, that he could pop his head in at any moment. Not that he’d see anything new at this point.
I grabbed one of the towels from the alcove and quickly dried myself off. Frowning, I eyed the clothing on the floor—an extremely short black dress, some thigh-high boots. Tanit, it appeared, had enjoyed the 1960s. Not exactly my style, but I wasn’t afraid of a little dark glamor.
Surprisingly, the boots fit well enough, and the dress hugged my body.
I wasn’t about to ask her for underwear. Maybe one of those magic books in the library could summon some into existence.
When I crossed out of the bathroom, I found Adonis waiting for me, leaning casually against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. A dark, fitted shirt now stretched across his broad chest. His bleeding must have stopped quickly, because his shirt looked completely dry.
A sensual smile. “You do look amazing, though I preferred the previous outfit. When you’re ready, Drakon will show you to dinner. Kur is desperate to meet the Bringer of Light.”
Drakon. My favorite little monster.
Without another word, Adonis slipped into the hallway. But my mind wasn’t on this new person—my mind was on the memory of Adonis’s face when his pale gaze had roamed over my naked body.
Chapter 15
Through Adonis’s windows, silver moonlight washed over the horizon. Just as in my room, I had a view of the slate-gray ocean, and the waves breaking on the jagged cliffs below.
Like its owner, the entire castle was breathtakingly beautiful. But it wasn’t the peaceful, gentle beauty of the forests. It had an edge of terror, of brutality. I didn’t belong in a place like this. I belonged in a simple cottage in the woods—just Hazel and me, and whatever the Old Gods would provide for us.
My stomach rumbled as I crossed the room. When I opened the door, Drakon was waiting outside, his head cocked. His tail cut through the air. Then, he rose and rubbed against my legs, scales sliding along my boots. I shuddered, suppressing my bile.
Of course Adonis couldn’t choose a cute little puppy as a pet. Or a kitten. No, he wanted a red-eyed hellbeast with scales.
“No need to get too friendly there, Drakon. Care to show me where the others are?”