Spirit Bound - Christine Feehan [152]
“You’re so bossy,” Judith complained, making a face at him as she stepped into the steaming water.
“Your teeth are chattering and if you shake any more you’re going to break something.” She was understandably upset, although he still wasn’t entirely convinced of Levi’s “truth under any circumstances policy,” but if she wanted him to, he’d give it a try—as long as she wasn’t in any danger. Of course, she’d handled herself very well and she’d probably use that as an argument. It wouldn’t fly with him, but he’d listen.
“What did you mean when you said Ivanov drove his car off the cliff?”
“I doubt he was in it.” There. That was the truth. Her face went white and he cursed his brother under his breath. “Go under the water and get your hair wet with hot water. You’re still cold, Judith. And don’t worry about Ivanov. If he’s still alive”—and he had no doubt in his mind Ivanov was alive and nursing his wounds somewhere—“we’ll find him.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “By drugging me and going out every night to search for him?”
He caught up a towel and stood behind her until she did as he’d asked and dunked her long hair under the hot water. He waited until she wrung it out, and threw the thick mass over her shoulder with a careless gesture and a smoldering glare. He towel-dried the long, silky strands, rubbing and massaging her scalp to get her warm.
“I admitted that was a mistake, Judith,” he said quietly. “I’ve never been in a relationship before, and my first instincts are always to protect you. I thought I was doing that. Apparently I was wrong.”
She started to turn her head but he held her firmly, preventing her from moving while he dried her hair thoroughly. He realized he was vaguely angry. He wasn’t used to acknowledging emotions and at first thought he was sharing her anger, but he had to admit, this time, the anger was all his.
“Is there still a doubt in your mind, because you don’t sound sure?”
“Of course I have doubts. You could have been killed tonight. A million things could have gone wrong, Judith. I won’t take chances with your life.”
He didn’t try to prevent the edge to his voice. His belly was in tight knots and he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Since the moment he had realized she was there in Sea Haven and there was nothing he could do about it, he’d felt anger at his lack of ability to control the situation. He needed her safe and she wasn’t. He obviously wasn’t like his brother who could watch his wife dive under the sea and put herself into harm’s way. He had spent an entire lifetime alone and now that he’d found Judith, he found he couldn’t handle her in danger.
His hand bunched in her hair in his hand and yanked her head back, taking her mouth before she could protest. The moment his mouth settled on hers, the moment his tongue swept inside that soft, hot haven, his world righted itself. He’d been off-kilter, but even anger tasted a lot like passion when he was kissing Judith.
“I know you’re cold, angel. And you’re angry with me, but I need you. Right now. Right here.” He murmured the words against her soft lips and kissed her words away. He didn’t know if she protested or acquiesced, nothing mattered but the feel and taste of her, the knowledge that she was alive and kissing him back.
He slipped one arm around her bare, wet back and lifted her, wincing a little when his arm protested. He didn’t care that blood was still leaking from the wound and running down his arm, or that she was soaking wet. He needed her.
She turned in his arms, leaning over the back of the bathtub to reach him, feet still in the water, sliding her arms around his neck as she pressed her wet body against his. “I’m really angry with you,” she whispered into his mouth, even as her lips moved over his, kissing him over and over.
He felt that edge of anger in her kiss, the sizzling passion rising with a needy demand. “That’s okay, Judith,” he whispered into the heat of her mouth. “Be angry with me later.”