Lion's Dangerous(Kings of the Jungle #1)(66)

Alexa wrapped a warm towel around her hand and forearm. Lily looked down at herself for the first time and shuddered at the sight. "Jesus."

Clumps of gluey strands clung to her clothes. She lifted her hand to check her hair, but Alexa stopped her.

"Don't do that. Come into the back with me. I have something you can wear."

They walked into a room that had a washer, dryer and shelves heavy with towels and nylon capes. On the way, Alexa grabbed a pair of scissors. Lily cringed. "Is it really that bad?"

"These are for your clothes. I have a feeling this isn't something we should touch." With that, she grabbed a pair of latex gloves and moved behind Lily. Starting at the hem of her dress, Alexa began slicing. For several minutes, the only sounds were the scissors' snick as Alexa worked through the thick fabric and lining. When the fabric fell away, Alexa's harsh, indrawn breath broke the quiet.

"What is it?" Lily twisted to look over her shoulder but couldn't see anything except Alexa's pinched, pale face, her gaze focused on Lily's back.

A bang on the door outside made them both jump. Springing to her feet, Alexa grabbed a black cape from a stack. In a matter of seconds, she'd palmed a handful of clips from a basket and secured the cape around Lily toga-style.

The knock came again, a sharp, impatient rap.

"Go on before Jude breaks down the door. I need to wash my face."

Alexa left to save the glass and Lily ducked into the employee bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she flipped on the light and faced the mirror.

The damage wasn't as bad as she'd expected. Her makeup was mostly intact. If mirrors could be trusted, this one gave no indication that she'd suffered anything worse than a spill that necessitated a wardrobe change. However, she'd long ago learned that mirrors only offered partial truths.

Heart pounding, she made sure the door was locked and



       
         
       
        

then she unclipped the cape. With her back to the mirror, she took a good long look over her shoulder. At first, she didn't see anything, but when she stood on tiptoe, it came into view. There, above the triangle back of her thong, were a pair of angry red bumps. They sat on either side of her spine. Hands shaking, she wrapped herself back up and headed out into the salon.

She'd expected Jude, but it wasn't the golden lion who stood close to Alexa, dwarfing her petite frame. They were speaking in low voices but stopped when Lily appeared. Ares looked her way without acceding any of the territory he'd claimed.

"Jude?" Lily asked.

"He's finalizing clean-up arrangements. It's time to go." Finally, Ares stepped away from Alexa and pushed the door open. Jude's SUV idled right outside. Ares blocked the exit long enough to form a visual sweep of the lot, and then he opened both the front and back passenger doors.

Alexa didn't move. "I have my own car."

"I need it," Ares said. "Jude will take you both to the Jungle."

Lily expected Alexa to argue but her friend swallowed once and then edged past Ares. There was a moment when they pressed so close, their clothes whispered with the friction. Lily caught Alexa's quick breath, which Ares answered with a barely audible rumble that Lily had heard before, from Jude.

Then Alexa climbed into the back, Ares handled Lily up into the front, and with a command to lock the doors, he left.

This time, she knew there would be no convincing Jude to take her home. After seeing the bite marks on her back, she wasn't even going to ask.

"Can I use your phone?" She turned to look at Alexa, who gave a start and then looked down at the slouchy leather tote on her lap, as though surprised by its presence.

Shaking herself, Alexa nodded and handed it over.

Lily stared at the front of her shop while waiting for Rhys to pick up. When it went to voicemail, she tried again. After the fourth unanswered call, she sent a text identifying herself, hoping he was just ignoring an unfamiliar number, but a knot grew in the pit of her stomach, pulsing in time with the throb that had started up at the base of her spine.

Alexa's voice interrupted her mounting panic. "What's going on?"

"I can't reach my brother." Something held her back from saying more. She'd tried hard to protect Rhys's dignity in the wake of his disability but her hesitation wasn't about that.

As she stared at the storefront trying to put her finger on the root of her reluctance to talk about Rhys, Jude strode from the shop. Ares stalked a pace behind them. On the sidewalk, they fanned out shoulder to shoulder, a wall of strength, equals in their power. They varied greatly in appearance, Jude golden to Ares's dark, Jude tall and strong but physically just smaller than Ares, who was built like a-