To the left of the open floor plan was her dining room. The table in there was glass as well, matching the coffee table, and surrounded by four black, wrought iron chairs with padded cushion seats. A geometric curtain in varying shades of blue and black covered a sliding glass door, which Sean, when he looked, saw opened onto a small empty balcony.
Von’s kitchen was small, galley style with everything laid out in easy reach. Off the living room was another opening with three doors. One, he could tell instantly, opened to a closet. The center door concealed the bathroom and the left one, Von’s bedroom. A room he hesitated to enter.
Marketta said to wake her every hour, but neglected to tell him how long she’d been asleep. Wanting to see her, to assure himself that she was okay, Sean walked slowly to the door and eased it open.
She lay on top of the covers in a soft spill of golden light from the bedside lamp, wearing a long, white granny gown decorated with small purple flowers. Sean’s gaze traveled over her, beginning with her fine boned narrow feet and slender ankles revealed by the raised hem. Then centered on the small line of buttons running up the middle, tempting him to loosen each one with his teeth. Glanced over the small ruffled collar encasing her swanlike neck, and came screeching to a halt at the ugly bruise that marred the left side of her face.
The rage that infused him when Derrick hit Von rose again, tempting Sean to return to Derrick’s apartment, regardless of the consequences. With extreme difficulty, Sean managed to shake it off. He drew closer and removed the towel from her slack fingers. She stirred and he waited to see what happened.
Von murmured something indistinct and rolled onto her right side, bringing her knees up to her waist and her hand to her mouth. A lock of wet hair fell forward obscuring her face and Sean gently pushed it behind her ear. Despite the bruising, she looked so at peace, he wanted to curl up behind her and curve his body protectively around hers.
Instead he took the damp towel into the restroom, wrung it out, and hung it on the shower curtain to dry. He found a clean washcloth and saturated it with hot water, squeezed out the excess and took it into the bedroom to rest on Von’s face.
“Ketta?”
Sean knelt by the bed so he wouldn’t loom over and possibly frighten her. “It’s me. Your cousin said to tell you she had to leave.”
“Sean?”
“Yeah.”
One deep, dark eye focused on him. “Why are you here?”
“Where else would I be?”
Her gaze darted away. “About earlier,” she began in a soft, hesitant voice, “I’m sor—”
Sean pressed a finger to her lips. “No. You don’t get to apologize for one of the best moments of my life.”
“What?” she mumbled around his finger, and that one eye widened as her gaze shot back to his.
He lightly traced her lips with his fingertip. “I’ve dreamt of making love with you for years. On this last mission, it was only the thought of you that kept me sane.”
Von pulled away from his touch. “What are you saying?”
Sean knew it was too soon to admit the truth, but he wouldn’t get a better opportunity and he was tired of hiding how he felt. “I’m saying that I love you.”
Von shook her head.
He nodded.
“I...you...I love Derrick,” she protested weakly.
He arched one eyebrow. “Do you?”
“Yes!” Her voice was firmer this time.
Sean leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her. Von responded instantly. He kept the kiss gently, careful not to hurt her while still managing to convey all the love and passion he felt for her. He tightened his hands, fisting the covers between clenched fingers to keep from touching her and giving more than she was mentally prepared to receive. Their tongues rubbed together the way he wanted their bodies to and Sean pushed closer, breaking away when a growl rose from his throat and his gums began to itch.
In a low, gravelly voice, he said, “Get some rest. I’ll come in later with more ice.”
He walked out the room, fighting his wolf the whole way. In the living room he sat on the couch, then shot to his feet when he caught the scent of Von and Derrick mingled together. Shit! Hooch may not have penetrated Von, but he’d loved her, touched her, on this very couch.
He went over to the glass sliding door, parted the curtains and stood looking out. The light over the stove, the only light on out front, cast its dim glow onto the glass. He couldn’t see much out the window besides his reflection and a few lampposts illuminating a wooded path winding through the rear of the apartment complex. Then a ghost-like, Victorian figure in white joined his image in the glass.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Sean spoke to her image instead of turning around.
“You can’t make a statement like that and then walk off,” she announced.
“Are you sure you want to talk about this now?”
Her reflection plucked with the folds of her gown. “What happened on your last mission?” she asked instead.
Sean withheld a sigh, somewhat disappointed that she was avoiding the issue now that it was out on the table. “We were captured. I lost over half my team. We barely made it out alive.”
Von gasped.
He turned to face her, noting she’d taken the time to secure her hair in a braid. “I promised myself if I made it out of there alive, I’d come and tell you face-to-face how I feel. See if we had a chance.”
Her gaze dropped to the carpet. “What happened between us was a mistake.”
Sean crossed over to her, stopping when they were toe-to-toe. “Only if you want it to be.”
She lifted her head, her expression one of concern, for him. “I don’t want to hurt you, but my heart belongs to Derrick.”
He cupped the uninjured side of her face and she leaned into the caress. “That’s what your mind says, but your body is saying something different.” Sean nodded, indicating her body posture, the way she unconsciously inclined toward him.
Von jerked back self-consciously. “I didn’t mean...I don’t know why...” She shook her head.
Chapter Eight
Hugging herself, Von walked into the kitchen, took down a cup from the cabinet and filled it with water. More for something to do than a desire for something to drink. Her body’s response to Sean confused her. She needed to distance herself somehow.
Sean followed and leaned one shoulder against the fridge. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be in bed?”
“I took pain reliever earlier. It’s helping. In fact, other than a little tenderness, I feel fine. I doubt I need anyone to stay with me.” It was the closest she could bring herself to asking Sean to leave.
He sauntered over to stand behind her, caging her in with his hands on the counter. His breath stirred her hair. Von stiffened. The cup from which she drank trembled tellingly before she slowly lowered and set it aside. “Sean...”
“Von...” Sean mimicked. He bent his head and ran the tip of his nose down the side of her neck. She could hear him inhaling her scent. “Are you wearing anything under this gown?”
“Don’t do this.”
“Do what? This?” He nuzzled his way to her ear. “Do you have any idea how fucking beautiful and sexy you are?”
His words, the vulgarity of them, should have turned her off. Instead, it excited her.
He moved his right hand and rested it on her stomach. With his thumb, he played with a button. “I want to open these, one by one, with my teeth.”
It should have felt like a repeat of the night before with Derrick, but it was totally different. She’d never responded to Derrick the way she instinctively reacted with Sean. The thought troubled her. Derrick was her future, or he had been. She was in love with Derrick. She shouldn’t be capable of responding sexually to anyone else. She never had before.