“You’ve been lying with her for hours. Why don’t you go and have something to eat. I’ll stay with Bree for a bit.”
He shook his head. “No mama. I won’t leave her again.”
Avery bent and kissed his forehead. “I’ll have Laura bring you a plate of food.”
He shifted on to his side as Avery left his bedroom, pulling Bree close until her entire body was pressed against his. He studied her face, brushing her hair away from her cheeks and tracing her smooth skin with his fingertips.
He hesitated and then pressed his mouth against her lips. She didn’t stir and he kissed her twice more before laying his head next to hers.
When he had ran into the guest room and seen her dying body, a howl of panic and sorrow had burst from his chest. His shock had been so great he had nearly shifted. Only Nicky’s voice had kept him in his human form.
“Help her James! Keep it together so you can help her!”
He had collapsed on the floor beside her and pulled her into his lap. Afraid that even moving would kill her, he had stayed on the floor of the guest room for nearly two hours. The smell of death permeated the room and once she was in his arms, the poison had run out in a steady stream from the swollen, pulsing wound on her back. It hadn’t taken long before they were both covered in the foul-smelling liquid. Bree was burning up in his arms, and Avery had helped him strip off her clothes and suggested he climb into a cool bath with her.
“She is not going to die my sweet.” His mother had said reassuringly as she examined Bree’s back. “Her wound is no longer dripping the poison, and I believe it will not be long before the fever starts to break. But the cool water will help, and you should wash the blood and the poison from her skin.”
He sighed heavily and rubbed her back. He wished she would wake. He had been surprisingly hurt by what she said the day she had been cut by the sword, and his hurt and anger had made him cold with her. He could see it upset her but had continued to ignore her. She had run away because of his anger, and was forced to defend herself and his brother from the faeries. She had nearly died because he was an idiot.
He sighed again and kissed her bare shoulder. Gods, he wanted her. What had started off as a physical need had quickly turned into an emotional one as well. She had only been in their home for a few weeks, but he was fascinated by her. He wasn’t the only one - both his mother and Leta had grown very fond of her.
Bree loved his mother. He could see it in her eyes every time she looked at Avery, but even that love was not enough for her to share her secrets. Even after a month, they barely knew anything about her. She was kind and sweet, but she grew nervous and clammed up the moment anyone asked her a question about herself.
He had argued with his mother about allowing Bree to work but she had insisted, reminding him that if they didn’t let her work in their home to earn money, she would leave. He knew his mother was right, but doing chores around the house had kept her too busy to get to know him better.
Not that it mattered. Bree might be attracted to him, but she had made it perfectly clear she wouldn’t sleep with a Lycan. And even if he had been able to change her mind before, it was too late now. She had left his home because of his cruelty to her, and she had chosen to die from the faerie’s spear instead of asking him to heal her.
What if she hated him when she finally woke? What if she tried to leave again? He pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck. He couldn’t let that happen. He would convince her to stay with his family even if it meant never touching her again.
Feeling tired and depressed, he burrowed closer to her warm body and closed his eyes. The warmth of her skin and the steady rise and fall of her chest comforted him, and he slipped into a light sleep.
* * *
When he opened his eyes she was staring at him. Her light blue eyes regarded him solemnly, and he blinked and gave her a tentative smile.
“Hello little one.”
“Is Evan okay?” She whispered hoarsely.
“Yes. He’s fully healed.”
Her eyes slipped closed and he stroked her long hair. “Bree?”
“What?” She didn’t open her eyes.
“Why did you not ask me to heal you from the faerie’s spear?”
She sighed. “I wanted you to stay with Evan. He was hurt so badly and the wound on my back was shallow. I did not know the spear carried poison on it and by the time I did...” She trailed off.
“You should have called for me.” He said quietly. “It was almost too late when Sophia and Nicky found you.”
She opened her eyes and stared steadily at him. “You made it clear that you thought I should die.”