Wild and Free (The Three #3)(33)

“Yeah, do I…I mean, am I bleeding?”

He looked from my neck to me. “No, Lilah. Your wounds are already closed. By the time your dad gets here, they’ll be gone.”

I blinked. “What?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Something else I can do. Odd, but useful.”

“Whoa,” I breathed, then I felt my eyes get big and I cried, “How cool!”

He looked into my eyes for some time, seeming strangely surprised and somewhat puzzled, before he replied in a way it sounded like he didn’t quite mean his words, “Yeah. Cool.”

I decided not to get into his reaction and instead noted, “Your eyes have both turned brown.”

“Yeah,” he replied.

“What is that?” I asked.

He dipped close and slid his temple along mine like he did when he’d first found me, like he did to Jian-Li the day before.

My belly melted and he whispered in my ear, “Magic.”

He was full of it, but still, his answer was sweet so I let him have it.

He lifted away and was drawing random patterns on my neck that I could (unfortunately) only vaguely feel, seeming lost in thought, his eyes drifting from my neck to my lips, my jaw, my hair, so I took that opportunity to lift my hand in order to start tracing the wicked, but hot, scar on his face.

Before I even touched him, he jerked his head back and focused on me, his fingers at my neck stopping, and the moment was broken.

“Sorry,” I murmured, feeling like an idiot, looking to his shoulder and dropping my hand.

“Happened a long time ago, Lilah,” he said gently. “And still do not like shit near my face.”

That made sense.

I still felt bereft. Like we’d shared something, come to an understanding, moved to a different level, and he’d taken it all away.

Suddenly I wanted him off me and I wanted to shower. Get some food. Go upstairs and be with Jian-Li and the boys, just so they could act as a buffer.

“I don’t scar.”

My gaze slid to his face when he said this.

“What?”

He dipped closer and his voice dipped lower. “I don’t scar, *cat.”

“Okay,” I whispered, knowing what *cat meant and liking that he called me that.

“Don’t scar, heal fast,” he carried on. “Was out at a bar.” He got even closer, putting his nose alongside mine, his eyes staring into mine. “To find a meal,” he said super-quiet.

I rolled my eyes, and when I rolled them back, his were grinning and he pulled a bit away.

“And some bitch roofied me.”

I stared.

He read my stare and said, “Yeah. Totally freaked me. Drugs don’t do shit for me, not that I need them. Don’t get headaches, muscle pain, colds, shit like that. But I haven’t lived a choirboy’s life. Tried some shit. Did nothin’ for me. Whatever she gave me f*cked me up.”

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

“Felt it,” he went on. “Stumbled outta the place. In the parking lot, she was on me. Took me to my back.” He shook his head, his expression turning preoccupied. “Saw her straddling me, the crazy-as-f*ck look in her eyes, the weird-ass knife she had. Also saw and felt her carve into me. Couldn’t move. Was totally at her mercy.”

His jaw clenched as my stomach did.

“Abel,” I forced out, and he came back to me.

“Last thing I knew, she was raising it over her head. Thought she was gonna embed it in my heart.”

“She didn’t?”

He shook his head. “Have no clue. I passed out.”

My brows drew together. “Wouldn’t you know?”

“Heal fast, Lilah. By the time I came to, was still lying close to that parking lot, but someone had dragged me into some grass away from the lot, the cars, the lights. Felt a sting in my face but knew it was healing. Felt nothing else. Got myself home, confused as f*ck. I healed, but it left a scar. Had my share of dings and dents, nothin’. But whatever she used on me f*cked me up.”

“That’s insane.”

“It…” he started, but stopped and I felt every inch of his big body stringing tight.

But he said no more.

“Abel?”

He blinked and looked down at me. “It happened a week after Ming died.”

“Ming?”

“Jian-Li’s husband. We were in Dallas. He was stabbed during a mugging. They took his wallet. A week later, that shit happened to me and it was too much for Jian-Li. We moved. The boys were young so we were all gone in a day.”

“Okay,” I started hesitantly, “but you just had a moment.”

He nodded. “Bad luck can come at any time. It doesn’t discriminate. But Ming gets dead and some bitch at a bar knows how to roofie a werewolf vampire and uses a blade on him that scars, never thought about it. She did not smell like me. She was human. I just thought she was a cunt. But now…” he trailed off.

“Holy shitoly,” I whispered, understanding what he was saying to me.

“She sunk that blade in me, I’d be gone.”

I slid my arms around him and held tight. “Baby.”

He looked over my head, muttering, “Why would they go after Ming?”

“Are you sure they did?”