Shadow Touched: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (A Touch of Vampire Book 1) by Becky Moynihan (great reads TXT) 📕

flash of silver, but Kade did. He blocked the dagger’s trajectory and punched Lochlan square in the face. Gasping, I lurched forward. Kade whipped around and shoved me back. I slipped on the tub’s slick surface and fell hard, striking my head against the tiles.

Lochlan bellowed. Glass broke with a splintering crash. I blinked to clear my vision, spotting Kade climbing off the vanity where Lochlan had thrown him. Groaning softly, I touched the tender bump on my head. Distracted by the sound, Lochlan didn’t see Kade barreling toward him. The impact sent them both careening into the hallway, where they resumed fighting.

Woozy from the blow to my head, I slumped against the tub and simply listened to the violent brutality mere feet away. I cringed with every pained grunt. Squeezed my eyes shut when plaster cracked and crumbled from the force of their hits. Clutched my aching head when a door flew off its hinges and banged against the wall.

The blow had knocked some sense into me, and I no longer wanted them to fight—especially over me. I just wanted the throbbing to stop. In my head, between my legs, and throughout the rest of my body. Moaning, I curled into a ball and lay flat in the tub. I shivered from the shower’s cold spray yet continued to burn up inside.

“I’m not a werewolf. I don’t need to change,” I whispered. It wasn’t the same without Lochlan.

The fighting lasted long into the night, until eventually, the crashing sounds faded. I strayed in and out of consciousness, crying out when waves of fiery pain and need shot through me. Lochlan hadn’t entered the bathroom once—not from lack of trying though. I could hear the way he responded to my pain, cursing Kade and threatening him bodily harm. But Kade never let him reach me.

I suffered alone, trembling so hard that I remained in the tub, too exhausted to move. I knew that I should warm myself, but that would mean getting up. I even left my clothes on. The sodden material helped cool my boiling skin. Tears burned my eyes and I let a few of them fall.

Hours later, when only running water broke the silence, I succumbed to my exhaustion. Darkness dragged me into a restless slumber.

* * *

No mouth-watering scents woke me from sleep this time. Rather, it was the feel of fingers working at the buttons of my shirt that had my eyes flying open. The fingers stilled. I rubbed my gritty eyelids, struggling to see clearly.

The room I’d slept in last night gradually came into focus, bathed in soft early-dawn light. I glanced at the dresser and sluggishly blinked in surprise. The solid oak was tipped over, its attached mirror smashed. I peered down to where I’d felt the fingers and found them still there, gently grasping a shirt button. I noted the gloves, realizing my upper body was cradled in a pair of arms. I followed a clothed arm upward, expecting to find Kade at the end.

When I found Lochlan instead, his features cast in shadow yet unmistakably human, I merely stared. Emotions warred for my attention, but I was too tired to process them. When I didn’t pull away from him, he continued to unbutton the shirt, watching my face closely the entire time.

I fleetingly wondered where Kade was, even worried for a split second that Lochlan had killed him. I wondered about his own injuries too and wanted to check that he was okay.

Before I could inquire though, he quietly said, “All is well.”

The tightness in my chest loosened. I still had so many questions, but was quickly distracted by the careful way he undid my shirt. There was no aggression in his movements, nor seduction. Only gentleness. When the last button came undone, he slid the damp shirt off my shoulders. Cool air hit my bare skin, and a shiver racked my sore body. I bit back a groan and he paused, then proceeded to remove the shirt, his movements painstakingly slow.

The way he tended to me now almost felt like an apology. I didn’t know what to think, only that my body sank into his careful ministrations, completely at ease with his presence. The heat I’d grown to expect when near him didn’t flare up. In fact, the heat had vanished entirely, leaving me chilled to the bone. The shirt fell away, exposing my red bra and bare abdomen, but the urge to cover myself didn’t come.

Not when he was looking at me with nothing but attentive care.

He reached for the waistband of my pants, and I didn’t stop him from lifting me to tug them off. When I was naked before him with only a few scraps of lace covering me, he leaned forward to pull the bed covers back. Neither of us broke the silence, continuing to wordlessly watch each other while he tucked me in.

When he was finished, exhaustion pulled at my eyelids again. They drifted closed. He remained on the bed for a few moments. Then slowly stood and stepped toward the door.

My body tensed in protest and I murmured, “Don’t leave. Please.”

He paused. No doubt debating the wisdom of staying. I didn’t press further, letting him decide. When I heard him toe off his boots though, my heart fluttered with relief.

The bed dipped as he laid down beside me, but he kept his distance. Minutes ticked by. I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. Finally, Lochlan sighed and rolled toward me. Reaching out, he turned me to face away from him and settled an arm over my waist. I snuggled back against him, releasing my own sigh as the restlessness eased.

Eventually, his stiff body relaxed against mine and he whispered, “Sleep, McKenna.”

I felt the tug of his thrall, and gratefully followed its pull. Within seconds, I drifted into dreamless nothing.

22

By the time I woke up again, Lochlan was gone. Not out-catching-a-deer gone, but gone gone.

I unfolded the note he’d left me