Page 76 of Hunted By Fear

“Which way to the bathroom?” he asks, completely ignoring my question.

Asshole.

“Put me down. I can walk.” I insist, but it’s as if I’m talking to the wall.

Ruin goes quiet before turning toward the bathroom, and I get the feeling he just asked one of the others. I haven’t asked, but I’m pretty sure they can talk telepathically or something.

“Ruin!” I start to panic, thrashing around even more because there’s no way I’m not going to make a mess of him, and that’s gross.

“Stop.” His voice is harder than I’ve ever heard it before, and it makes me pause. I look up at him and find his face unreadable as he stops in front of the bathroom door. Without missing a beat, he adjusts to hold all of my weight in one arm, reaching out to pull open the door with the other.

“Let me take care of you. I’m not afraid of a little blood, Sunshine.” He did not just say that.

My cheeks heat, and suddenly I can’t bring myself to meet his eyes even if I wanted to.

“I couldn’t save you from Rome, couldn’t help keep you away from him. I’m not good with research, but taking care of you is something I can do.” He hooks a finger under my chin, forcing my gaze back to him. “So let me, please.”

I can’t speak, but I manage a nod, and the smile I get in return is so fucking bright I fear I’ve looked at the sun.

With everything going on, my period had been just about the last thing on my mind, but with the way Bast reacted, I wonder if maybe I should have been more mindful of it.

Ruin stands with his back to me as I undress, and something about the gesture has me feeling warm and fuzzy.

What a gentleman.

“It’s not a big deal, Aeri. It’s not like he’s a vampire, he’s not going to attack you and drink you dry, but demons can and do drink blood, so the appeal to him is probably there. I can’t say I’ve ever dealt with it myself, but I’ve heard it’s only bad if they’ve tasted the mortal's blood, so you should be fine.”

The way he so casually just mentions a vampire makes me curious, but it’s the other part that really makes me pause—my leggings right below my ass—as my head snaps up to look at his back.

My silence must be telling because he whips around to meet my eyes, his wide with understanding.

How was I supposed to know that him tasting my blood was a bad thing?

He holds my gaze for a moment before he seems to realize that I’m in the middle of getting undressed, shirtless, and damn near pantsless. The only thing that stops me from being fully on display is the fact that I’m bent over, but there’s no way he’s not getting an eyeful of my tits right now.

I see his throat work as he swallows hard, his chest rising and falling much harder than it was a moment ago.

I should probably cover myself, but I can’t bring myself to do it. If he has an issue with seeing me like this, he would turn back around, right?

Only one way to find out, I guess.

With confidence I wasn’t aware I had, I continue to undress, letting my leggings and underwear fall to the floor and stepping out of them before turning and walking around the giant bath. I feel his eyes as they roam over every bit of me. Five minutes ago, I would have been embarrassed, but for some reason, his attention only seems to fuel something in me.

Ruin watches me as I walk down the steps, the water slowly swallowing me up until it covers me up to my neck, and his eyes snap to mine as if broken from a trance.

“I… I’m, um, I should go and check on Bast.” He’s out the door, almost tripping over his own feet as he goes, not so much as giving me a second to respond or a glance.

Well, that will do wonders for a girl’s confidence. I move to the bench on the wall that I only know is there because Bast showed me last time. The water is the perfect temperature, just cool enough not to burn the skin from my bones and warm enough to ease the cramps I get as my monthly reward for being fucking awesome.

It’s nice and relaxing, but it only takes me a few seconds to slump down against the wall with a pout because it’s also super boring all alone.

I sink further into the water, blowing bubbles and kicking my feet because what else am I going to do? I don’t have any other clothes, Ruin said Bast would bring me some along with the painkillers. I also don’t see any soap or shampoo, and mine is in my shower back in my room…

Alone, I get the chance to really look around. The glass dome overhead is beautiful if not a little intimidating, but I get the feeling this castle has been here a long time; I doubt it’s going to suddenly crumble now.

A ripple in the water pulls my attention from the glass, but I don’t see anything.

It could be anything: a jet, a drain, the fire that heats it.