Jaxon asked the question niggling in his mind. “Do you think it’s possible he did die in that cave? Like, maybe his body disintegrated or something after I left?”
“No idea. I called several family members in Virginia to see if anyone had any experience with vampires. None of our immediate cousins or aunts and uncles knew a thing, but they were going to ask around and contact some more distant friends and family in Canada to see if any of them had any light to share. If I hear anything I’ll let you know,” Sergius said.
“’Kay. Well, you know where I’ll be. Until Bri comes out of that apartment, I’ll be on constant vigil right here…in my nice, comfortable warm car…in the parking lot…yards away from my mate’s nice warm bed…the one she’s occupying…alone.”
“Good luck with that,” Micah added.
Jaxon sighed and turned the key in the ignition to warm up the cab. Please, God, let my wonderful mate see the light…soonish.
Chapter Twelve
Brianna leaned against the door to her apartment as soon as it snicked shut and slumped down until she sat on the floor. Her hands shook. Her heart pounded. She was more tired than she’d ever been in her life, while at the same time her body thrummed with pent-up energy.
What the hell was wrong with her? What if Jaxon was right? What if she couldn’t stand to be apart from him?
No. She refused to believe all that mumbo jumbo. She was a human for God’s sake. Sure, she’d had to face the fact that humans were not the only beings inhabiting the earth. The world as she’d known it yesterday had expanded exponentially. But surely she could resist the allure of one very sexy man and regroup for a few days in her own surroundings. Nobody could possibly need sex as bad as Jaxon had insinuated after what she’d done in the last thirty-six hours.
God. Has it only been that long? Somehow it seemed she’d met Jaxon months ago, not yesterday morning.
Brianna put her head in her hands and leaned over her bent knees. She was too tired to move, both emotionally and physically. Drained.
And her brain wouldn’t stop running on the fumes left to power it. Her tank had to be almost empty.
She needed a shower, a hot meal and her bed. And she wasn’t entirely sure in what order she was going to put those tasks.
Her stomach took that moment to growl. Fine. Food first, then.
Brianna lifted her head and stared toward the kitchen. It seemed farther away than it had yesterday. She considered crawling the distance but then decided against it. She didn’t know much about Jaxon’s true connection to her right this second, and she didn’t need the added embarrassment if he was spying on her.
It seemed like she was getting better at blocking him. After all, he hadn’t communicated a single syllable since she’d shut the door. But, on the other hand, he could be humoring her.
Would he really sit outside in his truck until…?
Dragging herself to standing, Brianna decided to make the trek toward the kitchen first. Ten or so steps later, she was peering into her freezer as if it might contain items other than the ones she had personally stocked it with.
She didn’t care. All she needed was any random red box of a single-serve meal. Without looking, she snatched the one on top and ripped it open.
Ah, her favorite. Chicken parmesan. About a half a serving of it as far as she was concerned, but it was a start.
Brianna popped the tray into the microwave and wandered down the hall. A quick shower was her specialty when dire situations called for immediate results. She could be in and out in the five minutes it took for the frozen meal to cook and head back to the kitchen to retrieve it before it cooled.
Brianna stripped her clothes off as she walked down the short hall, letting the pieces fall wherever they landed. She didn’t care right now. Hell, she didn’t know when she might care again. Her brain was overloaded.
Shower, eat, sleep. Don’t think about anything else.
By the time she reached the bathroom, she was naked. Without opening the shower door more than the few inches necessary to fit her arm inside, she turned the dial all the way to the left and then stood back to wait for hot water. It needed to be hot. Scalding would be perfect.
A quick glance at the mirror made Brianna pause. God, she looked awful. Like she’d spent the day fighting a forest fire or something. Her face was smudged so bad with soot she could barely discern what her natural coloring was.
Her gaze wandered down to her chest. Her nipples beaded as she watched. Was it cold in here? She knew better than that. The second her eyes landed on her breasts, thoughts of having them worshipped by Jaxon flooded her mind.
Brianna jerked her gaze toward the shower. Steam seeped out the top and clouded the glass door. Heaven.
As she stepped into the decadent stream, Brianna sighed. God, that feels good. She stood for several moments, letting the water stream down her body, washing away more than the grime of the day. She hoped to wash away the stress too. One vampire. Three wolf shifters. Not to mention a forest fire. If not for the rain, she didn’t know how long she could have continued to keep up that pace and fake like she was just as strong as all the men.
Food. Bed. Brianna grabbed the shampoo and lathered her limp hair. She’d feel one hundred percent better just washing the drooping locks. As soon as she finished with her hair, she let her hands roam down her body, gliding easily over her skin and spreading the suds from the shampoo.
With her eyes closed against the onslaught of soap, she gasped when her hands skittered over her nipples. Her knees nearly buckled at the contact, the unexpected friction stiffening her spine and dragging her into a more wakeful state than she would have thought possible.
How could she unintentionally arouse herself? She’d never before been accidentally aroused by her own touch.
Brianna sucked in a breath and ducked beneath the hot water, letting it rinse away the soap until she could safely open her eyes.
With her head tipped down, she gazed at her chest again. Just like moments ago in the mirror, her nipples were puckered, standing out, demanding attention.
Brianna grabbed the soap and tried to divert her gaze, washing her legs instead. She started at her feet and worked her way up. Just leaning over drew attention to her chest. Her breasts felt inordinately full, achy, as they might during sex. Desperate.
As she stood and set the soap back in its dish, she let her hands wander up her thighs and moaned when she reached the apex. Oh God. This wasn’t happening.
She was too tired and hungry right now to masturbate in the shower. It had to be Jaxon’s fault for insinuating she couldn’t handle being away from him. He’d planted the idea and she was just acting on the power of suggestion.
In any case, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt anyone. The last thing she needed tonight was his smug smile clouding her dreams.
And the easiest way to fix the problem was to act on the impulse. Brianna spread her legs as her arousal increased. She ran a finger between her lower lips and over her clit. Her eyes shot open wide. Holy fuck! Her knees threatened to buckle from that one swipe.
Brianna leaned back against the tile wall of the shower for support. The move brought her upper body out of the direct line of the spray. She gripped the wall with one hand. Well, perhaps gripped wasn’t exactly the right term. Could a person actually grip a wet tile surface? She wasn’t entirely sure she could remain standing.