It hadn’t.
His family had known him from birth. They had seen what a good and honorable man he was before the fateful night a vampire had attacked him.
Kayla had not known him for nearly as long.
She rested a hand on his chest. “There aren’t even any scars.”
“There never are,” he murmured as he reached for the shampoo.
She met his gaze. “Do you get injured often?”
“Not to this extent. Hunting and slaying vampires always entails violence. But I’m stronger and possess greater skills than most of my opponents, so I usually fare well.”
“But sometimes you are injured?” she pressed.
“Yes. I heal quickly though. Quickly enough that sometimes the wounds disappear before I even get home.” And he’d always consumed enough blood to ensure they were gone before joining her after work.
When she offered nothing further, he squeezed some shampoo onto his palm and returned the bottle to the shelf. “Will you let me wash your hair?”
Nodding, she gave him her back.
Nick lathered up the thick, soft strands, careful not to get any shampoo in her eyes. The crown of white suds he produced turned pink as they removed the blood that hugging him had transferred to her long tresses. After rinsing them away, he added some conditioner, then applied himself to washing his own hair.
He wished he could draw things out more. Wished he could make this shower last.
For all he knew, he might never have another with her.
Heavy silence returned.
Kayla rinsed her hair and stepped out of the shower.
She dried off on autopilot. Dragged a wide-toothed comb through her tangled hair. Grabbed some clothes. Mismatched bra and panties. More yoga pants. Another tank top.
Her comfy clothes.
She even pulled on a pair of her supersoft, fluffy pink socks that had bunny faces on them.
Then she sat on the bed, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do next.
Nick emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips. He paused a moment when he saw her, then crossed to the dresser. They’d been spending so much time together that she’d cleared out a couple of drawers for him. And he had done the same for her at his place.
As she watched, he took out a pair of boxers, dropped the towel, then drew them up over his muscled ass. No scars marred his back. Or neck. Or chest. Or abdomen.
After adding a pair of cargo pants and a T-shirt, he carried his towel back into the bathroom. When he returned, he held all their bloody clothing and the bathmats wadded up in a ball.
He hesitated. And the uncertainty she read in his handsome features filled her with sorrow. She wanted to reassure him. Wanted to tell him everything was okay. But her mind was all over the place, clamoring with questions one minute and freakishly silent the next. She just needed to take a minute to absorb everything.
He cleared his throat. “I should go downstairs, clean things up, and see what’s happening at my place.”
Right. They’d left quite a mess down there.
Nodding, she rose.
“You don’t have to—”
“I’m coming with you.”
Clamping his lips together, he nodded and strode from the room.
Kayla followed him.
As they tromped down the stairs, she avoided stepping on the crimson footprints he’d left behind when he’d climbed them earlier. They were a creepy reminder of just how much blood he had lost.
Nick’s shoulders stiffened when he saw them. He opened his mouth and drew in a breath, then clamped his lips together once more, obeying her earlier admonition not to apologize again.
The kitchen was gorier than she remembered. The white towel on which Nick had lain was red now. He’d bled copiously enough to stain the tile around it, too. Large, ruby footprints left by Marcus’s and Roland’s boots peppered the floor. Smaller prints left by her led farther into the kitchen from when she’d darted over to grab a knife.
“Shit,” she said softly as she stared at the blood, then looked up at her grim lover. “I’m glad you’re immortal.” If he hadn’t been, he likely would’ve died before she’d even found her phone.
He studied her intently.
A tentative knock sounded on the back door.
Kayla started forward.
Nick shot a hand out to stop her. “You aren’t wearing shoes.”
She glanced down. She would have to tiptoe to get past the mess without staining her socks.
Nick moved forward instead and glanced toward the back door. He nodded at whomever he saw. “Come in.”
The door opened and closed. Oliver emerged from the laundry room.
Kayla stared at him. Hadn’t he been in Cabo when she’d called him?
“Hey, man.” Striding forward, he drew Nick into a rough hug. “You okay?”
Nick nodded.
Oliver stepped back, gave him a quick once-over, then turned to her. “Hi, Kayla.” Stepping around the towel and pool of blood, he surprised her by drawing her into a hug, too. “Thanks for calling. I’m glad you’re both okay.”
She hugged him back. “Thank you for helping. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t answered.”
Backing away, he surveyed the kitchen. “Wellllll shit. This was a helluva way to introduce you to our world.” He glanced at Nick. “Way to go, big guy.”
Kayla laughed, a little surprised she could do so under the circumstances.
Scowling, Nick yanked up the bloody towel and headed into the laundry room. She heard the washing machine lid lift. Seconds later a wash cycle began.
Oliver circumvented the mess, then followed her smaller footprints toward the stove. Swiveling, he caught her gaze and arched a brow. “I wondered where you went after Roland took your gun. You grabbed a knife?”
She nodded.
He smiled as Nick returned. “I knew she could take care of herself. She handled it like a pro.”
Nick’s expression didn’t lighten. “She shouldn’t have had to handle it at all. Is the network crew here?”
“Yeah.”
“Do they know who the bastards are, who they’re working for?”
“Not yet,” Oliver said with a hint of exasperation. “Give them a few minutes. They just arrived.”
“What network crew?” Kayla asked. Hadn’t Nick mentioned something about a network?
Oliver answered while Nick grabbed a mop. “Some of us mere humans are smart enough to understand that we really need these Immortal Guardians. If they didn’t hunt and slay vampires every night, vampires’ numbers would have swelled so quickly that humanity would’ve been wiped off the planet a long time ago. So a worldwide network of us help the Immortal Guardians in any and every way we can. Right now some of our guys are over at Nick’s place, combing through the clues like a police forensic team so we can figure out who attacked him tonight and what the hell they thought they would get out of it.” He motioned to Nick, who filled a bucket with water and a mopping solution. “They can also clean this up. You don’t have to do that.”
Nick shook his head as he set the bucket on the floor and began to mop. “I made the mess. I’ll damn well clean it up.”
Oliver held up his hands in surrender and backed away until he stood beside her. “The network crew will probably want to speak with you, Kayla.”