Page 44 of Protected by the Vampire

“Yes, my pet?” I kissed his neck.

“Stop thinkin’ about it.”

No doubt he could feel my emotions from our bond.

“I will try,” I murmured.

Theo didn’t argue. Didn’t joke. Didn’t say any more. He knew it wasn’t possible not to think about how things could have been different. He was just trying to let me know in his own way that it wasn’t worth worrying about or reliving, since he was here, alive and well.

Which was why he simply nodded.

I worked the soap between my hands before setting it aside and placing my palms against his shoulders. He sucked in a quiet breath at the contact.

Slowly and carefully, I began to wash him. The act should have been simple. Routine.

It wasn’t.

Every inch of his skin felt like something I needed to memorize, to reassure myself that he was whole. That he was here. I moved my hands down his arms, over muscle and skin, lingering whenever I found a mark that hadn’t fully healed.

My fingers paused over a bruise along his ribs—faint now, yellowing at the edges where the magic had done its work.

I brushed my thumb over it, my touch light despite the storm coiling inside me. “Does this hurt?” I asked quietly.

Theo shook his head. “Not like before.”

Not like before.

The words settled heavily in my chest.

I moved lower, tracing another mark along his side, then his hip. Each one told a story I didn’t want to hear.

Each one reminded me I hadn’t been fast enough and that if it weren’t for the shifters, there could have been a different outcome.

My throat tightened.

“You shouldn’t have had to go through that,” I said, my voice low, roughened by the still-lingering anger that I couldn’t quite suppress.

Theo slowly turned until he was facing me. Water ran between us, warm and steady, but it did nothing to ease the cold knot inside me.

“Soren,” he said again, firmer this time. His hands came up, and he slid over my arms, grounding me in a way nothing else could.

“Yes, my pet?”

“I love you.”

“Theo—”

“So fuckin’ much, and I was more worried I wouldn’t get to tell you.”

“I still can’t believe you love me even after you saw me rip a head off.”

His gaze held mine, unflinching. “You were protectin’ me.” Theo closed the small distance I’d created. He slid his hand up to my jaw, turning my face back toward him. “I’m not scared of you,” he said quietly. “It was fuckin’ hot.”

The words hit hard and had my next words ripping out of me: “I love you, too, Theo.”

I covered his hand with mine, where it rested against my face, and leaned into it without thinking.

“You matter to me so goddamn much,” Theo added, softer now.