He only knew that the next thing he remembered was Kyle and Dr. Marone ripping open the car doors, pulling out bodies and taking them into the house.
The doc had examined Kaine first and declared her injuries superficial, unconsciousness her body’s way of healing. The eteri had also been out cold by the time Duke got them to Kyle’s. No one had been too worried about him.
But the doc had examined Nic and his entire vibe had changed. Duke had scented anxiety pouring off the veteran lucani doctor.
That had been bad. Tira walking in with Tam had almost been worse.
Duke had wanted to howl.
Her overwhelming fear for Nic’s life had made him sick to his stomach. He’d wanted to comfort her but his default asshole had kicked in. Combined with coming off the adrenaline high, Duke felt like he’d just ended a ten-day bender.
Tired, angry, aching all over and terrified that his best friend was about to kick it, Duke had latched on to Tira’s fear for Nic and her anger at him and let it fuel him.
He felt like he was gonna fall over at any second but he needed to wash the dirt and grime off his body. And since she was handy, she’d have to suck it up and do it for him.
Didn’t matter that she hated him, that she thought he was demon spawn and the root of all evil.
Or that he wanted her hands on his body so badly he shook with it.
He could just imagine her reaction if he pulled her close and kissed her like he was dying to do. She’d freeze in his arms then pull away. Her gaze would go cold and she’d hightail it away from him as fast as she could go.
And he’d only have himself to blame for her reaction. The way he’d treated her since her vision…
Shit, he was crazy.
He hadn’t had the strength to close the shower stall door and when he heard Tira moving around, he figured she was leaving.
So when she stepped into the shower with him, he nearly fell on his ass in shock.
Shorter than him by almost a foot, Tira’s white-gold curls looked like moonlight against her pale skin. Wearing a white lace bra and plain white cotton bikini panties, she didn’t meet his eyes as she stuck the washcloth in her hands under the water.
“If you fall, I won’t be able to get you back up,” she snapped, her tone cold.
Duke couldn’t help himself. He nearly laughed at her unintentional sexual undertone because she sure as shit could get him up.
Hell, he would’ve bet the house, the farm and his life that he wouldn’t have been able to get an erection right now but he would have lost that bet. He knew when she started to rub that wet cloth on his skin, his cock would start to harden and she’d have even more reason to think he was a prick.
“I won’t fall. Just hurry up.”
He braced for her touch but still wasn’t prepared when she brushed the cloth against his back. A lightning charge of electricity shot through his body, making every hair stand on end.
Her strokes were tentative at first, but became firmer as she washed his shoulders and back.
Uni’s ass, he could stand here forever if she continued. His shoulders dropped from their hunched position as the tension eased out of them and the pounding in his temples dialed down from excruciating to merely mind-numbing.
She moved in ever-widening circles down his back until she reached his waist, where she hesitated for several seconds before finally sweeping the cloth over his ass.
Desire for her bare hands on his body raged through him, but he knew he was reaching the end of his strength when his cock barely gave a twitch.
He had his mouth open to tell her to hurry the fuck up when she bent to take care of his legs.
She moved faster now, as if she wanted to get this over with.
“Can you turn?”
Good question. He was barely holding himself up now. Still, he wasn’t about to fall in front of her.
And he had to admit he wanted her to put her hands on his chest. And lower.
Yeah, he was a son of a bitch. A pathetic son of a bitch.
Praying for strength, he forced himself to turn, ignoring the dizziness in his head and the weakness in his knees.
Now the water fell on his nape and shoulders, making his eyes close for just a second. When he opened them again, he saw an emotion on Tira’s face that caught him off guard.
For a second, he thought he’d seen something hot and dark in her eyes. A yearning. For him.
He must be close to passing out.
He shook his head, spraying water droplets all around them. Tira quickly dropped her gaze and started to wash him again. Her left hand settled on his ribs, as if to brace him. The other swiped the washcloth as quickly as she could across his chest and stomach, then down his legs, carefully avoiding any contact with his balls and half-hard cock.
Vaffanculo, he hoped she didn’t make some smart-ass or offended comment about his state. Because in the frame of mind he was in right now, he’d want to press her against the wall and kiss her. Show her just exactly how he felt about her.
Gods damn it, he was sick and tired—
He swayed on his feet, his head feeling like he’d just taken a blow.
As if from a distance, he heard her gasp. His arms and legs started to shake and he had three seconds to think, Holy shit, I’m going down.
Then her arms wrapped around his waist and her body pressed full length against his.
Holy shit became Aw, fuck as every one of his senses lit on fire.
How many times had he dreamed about her like this? Okay, maybe not with the bra and panties but this was closer than he’d ever thought he’d get to those fantasies and his body leapt to attention as if he wasn’t about to fall on his face with exhaustion.
He felt her every breath, felt the lushness of her gorgeous breasts against his upper stomach. She was so much smaller than him, her head fit under his chin easily, which nestled his cock against her soft stomach.
He sucked in a deep breath as his naked cock rubbed against her naked skin. Jesus, he was completely fucked up. He wanted her until he throbbed but he could barely stand.
If he didn’t have his hands planted on the stall walls, he’d be lying on the floor.
He groaned.
“Duke? Are you okay?”
Huffing out a laugh that made her stiffen against him, he knew she thought he was going to say something stupid and offensive. Like he always did.
“No, I’m not. If I don’t get out of here soon, I’m gonna go down hard. I don’t want to hurt you, Tira. I never want to hurt you.”
Shit, his tongue was coming loose and that was dangerous. He had to get out of here and away from her. Now.
But his body had finally decided it’d had enough. The muscles in his legs shook like cooked noodles, his head swam in a fog. But damn if he didn’t have a hard-on.
Tira took a deep breath and he nearly groaned as her tight nipples rubbed against his chest. “Okay, let’s get you on the floor and then I’ll go get Kyle to help you out of here.”
He was too used up to argue with her. Instead, he let her maneuver him until his back was against the wall and he could slide down the slick tile until his ass hit the floor.
His eyes had closed for the trip down but when he reopened them, all he saw were her breasts.
She was bending in front of him, trying to free her arms trapped between his back and the wall. Her pale skin gleamed, the mounds of her breasts nearly falling out of that lace bra, which no longer hid anything at all. The water had turned it translucent.
If he could have, he would have leaned forward and sucked one of those pretty pink nipples into his mouth. Fuck the consequences.