The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(52)

I accepted the warm towel Shaz held out to me with a smile and turned so that he could place a cloth filled with ice against the wounds on my back. I sighed with relief as it eased the burning. Shaz’ energy grew to mirror the aggressiveness that Arys was putting out, but he didn’t so much as antagonize the vampire.

Arys seemed to avoid my gaze purposefully, and I knew why when he blurted out,

“So, are we going to go hunt down this son of a bitch or what?”

My mouth dropped open, and I stared in shock at Shaz when he met the other man’s eyes and said, “You read my mind.”

They stared at each other because neither of them had the balls to look at me.

Swiping the ice-packed cloth from Shaz, I spun around to confront him. “Excuse me?”

“Well come on, Lex, you have to be serious here. Independence is one thing, but this is my place as your mate. You can’t handle everything yourself.” Shaz shrugged and a glimmer of pain passed over him. “You don’t have to.”

I made a noise of disbelief and wiped my neck wounds with the warm towel. “You two, together? You’re more likely to kill one another than that werewolf.”

Arys snorted and chuckled. I ignored him and stared at Shaz. He looked incredibly uneasy, and by the way his eyes darted around, I knew it was because of my eerie blue eyes. Sighing, I turned to wipe the bloodstained skin of my back. I was unable to reach, and Shaz took the towel from me, cleansing my tender skin with a loving touch.

“I wish you wouldn’t be so uptight all the time,” he admonished. Arys met my eyes and gave me a wink and a nod, as if in agreement with Shaz. I wanted to pout and stomp my feet over the fact that he was saying this stuff in front of the cocky vamp, but I huffed and puffed in silence as he continued. “If we don’t take him out now, he’s just going to keep coming after you.”

I hated that he was right on that count, but it wasn’t worth it to me to risk him for anything. However, I also knew that he was right about one thing. I couldn’t keep treating him like the kid that he used to be. Shaz was nothing if not a man. I just couldn’t help but be protective of him.

“I know that. I just don’t like it.” I scowled when I caught Arys smirking like a cat with a mouse. “And, I don’t like the idea of the two of you running around in the dark together.”

“What are you afraid of, Alexa? That we might actually get along just fine? I think that would scare you more than if we were trying to tear each other apart.” Arys ran his tongue lightly along the metal ring in his lip, drawing my eyes to it. I had the sudden urge to tug on it with my teeth.

What really sucked was that I couldn’t deny that he was right. A part of me didn’t much enjoy the idea of my two men alone together without me. I guess I didn’t trust them, or rather, I didn’t trust Arys. I didn’t think he would hurt Shaz, but I didn’t trust him to keep his opinions to himself, either.

Shaz looked frustrated. “I just want to get this guy before he makes it out of town. I can get Tawnie to take over the bar for awhile. Let us do this, Lex.”

The thought of him going out there without me turned my stomach. “Not without me.”

“Out of the question,” Arys piped up. “You smell wounded, like prey. You will only endanger yourself if you go looking for him.” When I stared hard at him, willing him to shut up, he shrugged and said softer, “We’ll have each other’s back, alright? No harm will come to your wolf.”

“You can’t go back out there.” Shaz nodded, but I could see in his eyes that he hated agreeing with Arys. “We’ll be fine. I promise. Why don’t you head home?”

I gritted my teeth, fighting back the urge to lose my temper with both of them. I didn’t want to feel like the wounded female, dammit. I was the Alpha in this town.

“Julian and Kylarai are there. I could have torn his face off earlier.”

Shaz immediately perked up. “Julian is there?”

“Don’t even think it.”

Arys watched our little exchange with mild amusement. I think it intrigued him, the aggressive side of Shaz that rarely surfaced. I seemed to be seeing a lot of it lately. But, what could I really do? Put up a fight and tell him he wasn’t going? That wouldn’t end in my favor.

I sighed, the exasperation authentic. “I don’t want you going after that wolf. But, I won’t try to stop you. You’re both big boys.”

Relief washed over Shaz, and it was so obvious he’d been expecting a fight that I felt foolish. Arys glanced between us, turning toward the exit. “Shall we then?”

A lock of platinum hair fell in Shaz’ eyes as he pulled me close. With a quick kiss, he whispered, “I love you.” Before I could reply, he had turned to follow the vampire, striding smoothly for the door.

I watched them go, wishing I could call him back. Why was this so hard? I wasn’t used to having someone willing to step in on my behalf, let alone two of them. As long as they refrained from turning on each other, maybe, just maybe, they would be ok.

Chapter Eleven

Pouting made me feel like a child, yet I felt justified in doing so. It greatly wounded both my pride and my ego to have my two lovers hunt down the werewolf that had attacked me. I should have been able to handle it myself. And, the fact that they had gone together, united in a cause, had me beside myself with discomfort.