Chapter 20

Damon and Rayth exchange a look as Killian leaves the room. I can feel the sweat start to slide down the back of my neck as Rayth reaches out to lift my injured arm.

I watch warily as Rayth gently begins to unwrap the bandage. Damon retrieves a large first aid kit from the drawer beside the bed, his movements efficient and purposeful.

As the bandage is removed, a wave of pain shoots through my arm, causing me to wince and sweat to gather along my hairline. Rayth”s touch is gentle, but even so, the sensation of my mangled flesh being exposed is enough to make me light-headed.

Forcing myself to look at it, I take in the damage my stepfather caused. They managed to close up most of the vicious looking cuts but there were some parts where the wounds wouldn’t completely close, like strips of flesh had been completely removed. The sight turns my stomach. They had pulled the sides together with butterfly clips but it would still leave bad scars.

Damon starts to pull out items from the first aid kit while Rayth carefully examines the wounds on my arm. Rayth”s touch is firm yet gentle as he presses against the sensitive areas of my skin, eliciting a hiss of pain from me. His eyes meet mine briefly, and I can see the regret reflected in their depths. ”It doesn”t look infected, just tender where he got a little too overzealous with his knife,” Rayth explains, his tone laced with concern.

A fierce fury ignites within me, and before I can even think, I find myself gripping Rayth”s throat with my nails digging into his skin. His eyes widen in shock, his breath catching in his throat as he freezes under my grasp.

”Overzealous?” I snap, my voice dripping with venom. ”He did this when I tried to escape, and then had one of his men torture me with ice water. And the next day, he reopened the wounds because I refused to submit to his sick demands.”

Fury flashes in both Damon and Rayth”s eyes, their expressions mirroring my own rage. Rayth lets out a low growl, a deep sound that sends a shiver down my spine. It affects me in ways I really can’t look into at the moment. Damon reaches out to brush a calming hand down the arm that grips Rayth”s throat, his voice steady and reassuring.

”I”m glad to see you still have that fire, precious,” Damon says calmly. ”But maybe let go of his throat so he can redress your arm.”

Reluctantly, I release my grip on Rayth”s throat, watching as he takes a shaky breath. He stands there for a moment, his eyes locked with mine, before shaking himself out of his daze and returning his focus to my arm.

Rayth”s hands are steady as he continues to clean and redress my wounds, his touch now even more gentle, as if trying to make amends for the pain I”ve endured. Damon stands by his side, assisting him with the necessary supplies from the first aid kit.

Despite the discomfort, I can”t help but feel a sense of gratitude towards them both. They may not know everything I”ve been through, but at this moment, they”re here, doing everything they can to help me heal.

As Rayth finishes dressing my wounds, he meets my gaze once again. ”All done,” he says softly, stepping away from the bed.

I nod, offering him a small smile. ”Thank you,” I murmur, the words feeling inadequate compared to the depth of emotion swirling within me.

Damon brushes a hand against my forehead again, his touch cool against my feverish skin. ”The fever feels like it”s getting worse,” he mumbles under his breath before resting a hand against the side of my neck and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. His proximity is comforting, and I have to force myself not to curl around him, seeking solace from the ache that permeates my body.

Between one blink and the next, Rayth reappears with a glass of water and more pills. I hadn”t realized he left the room. ”Come on, little dove, this should hopefully make you feel a little better,” he says softly, his voice soothing. Damon helps me sit up straighter when I struggle to lift myself, and they both assist me in taking the pills and drinking the water. But exhaustion weighs heavily on me, and my eyes are already starting to close before I finish the drink. I can vaguely hear them murmuring to each other, but I let my body sink back into the bed beneath me. I”m so tired.

I”m not sure how long I”m asleep for, when I wake up to being lifted from the bed. My whole body is shivering, and as much as I try to stop myself, I can”t. I whimper when cool air hits my skin before someone tucks a blanket or something around my body.

”Shhhh, angel, we”re just moving you someplace safer,” Killian”s voice washes over me, a balm to my frayed nerves. His presence soothes something deep inside me, and instinctively, my body turns into his warmth. It reminds me a little of waking at the cabin, but even back then, my teeth didn”t chatter like they are at the moment.

”Is there a bath? She needs to have a lukewarm bath to help bring down the fever,” I hear Damon”s voice close by, but my mind is too fuzzy to concentrate on what they are talking about. I just want to sleep.

I drift in my mind, seeking comfort from being pressed against Killian”s body. I”m not sure how long I drift for. At one point, I dream of swimming in a large, calm ocean. The men are there too, their movements languid in the water as they surround me. I float in the warm water, their hands brushing against me, reassuring me. I know I”m not going to drown because they are there; they will keep me floating. The sway of the water is gentle, and I watch the ripples move, letting them hypnotize me.

The dream slowly retreats as awareness returns, and I force my eyes open again. I”m curled half on my side, half on my stomach against Killian, our bodies pressed together and both of us fully clothed but submerged in a bath. My injured arm is raised and being held out of the water by Damon. ”Hey, welcome back, precious,” he says softly.

I blink at him a few times, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep before murmuring, ”What happened?”

Damon smiles gently, leaning closer. ”Your fever spiked, so the bath was the fastest way to bring it down.”

Confusion clouds my mind as I glance up towards Killian”s face, only to find him with his eyes closed, lips parted slightly in sleep. ”You wouldn”t let go of him, and while you were like that, he wouldn”t let go of you either, so he had to get in with you,” Damon explains.

Feeling a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude, I close my eyes and rest my head against Killian again. Despite my fatigue, I can admit that I don”t feel as hot or as bad as I did before.

”But I thought it wasn”t infected,” I mumble, blinking my eyes open again.

Damon brushes his free hand against my face, moving strands of wet hair out of the way. ”We said it didn”t look like it, but there must be an infection there somewhere. Rayth has gone to get a supply of IV antibiotics so we can get you better as quickly as possible.”

I nod slowly, absorbing his words. The concern in his voice is evident, but it”s comforting to know that they”re taking care of me. Despite the uncertainty of our situation, I feel a sense of safety and reassurance with them by my side. Closing my eyes again, I allow myself to relax into the warmth of the bath, trusting that they will do whatever it takes to help me recover.

The next time I blink my eyes open, Rayth is crouched beside the bath, and upon seeing that I”m awake, he reaches in and lifts me off Killian and against himself as he stands. Water drips everywhere, and Killian grunts at my weight being shifted away from him. Rayth helps me stand unsteadily on my feet, and I can feel Killian stand up in the bath behind me.

”We need to get you out of these wet clothes,” Rayth says to me, his voice gentle yet firm. ”We didn”t want to strip you while you were unconscious again. We didn”t have a choice last time, but we didn”t want to do it a second time.”

I nod my head, giving him permission to proceed. Killian helps maneuver and strip me of my clothes until I”m naked. It”s not like they haven”t seen me like this before, but when Killian steps out of the tub and walks past me, his nakedness ignites a primal desire within me. I feel a sudden urge to bite him, the sight of his naked ass stirring something in me. Rayth laughs under his breath, and I realize that I”ve been staring when he turns my face to look at him.

”Get better first, and then I”m positive he will let you do whatever just crossed your mind,” Rayth says with a smirk, his fingers tightening on my jaw. ”We all will, little dove. We aren”t good men, but we are your men.”

His words strike a chord within me, and I have to swallow past the lump in my throat. He lets me have my moment to digest his words while he wraps a towel around me and dries my skin slowly. Once he”s satisfied that I”m dry, he tosses aside the towel and helps me into the baggy shirt on the bathroom counter. It falls well past my ass, making me feel small and vulnerable. Then, he picks me up and carries me out and into a bedroom.

It”s not the one I was in before, and I furrow my brows in confusion. ”Whose room is this?” I ask as he helps me into the bed.

”No one”s. This isn”t our apartment,” Rayth explains. ”Our apartment is several floors down. Killian spoke to the person who manages this building and was able to get him to let us use this one. It”s between tenants and will be for the foreseeable future.”

I nod, feeling a sense of gratitude for their efforts to ensure my comfort and safety.