Crimson Moon

Nineteen

I'm so incredibly sorry for the delay in posting this chapter! It was a terrible combination of writer's block, being extremely busy, and no inspiration. That combination does not a good author make. But, I found my inspiration and now here is this next chapter, finally. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy it.

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Lou couldn't help but stare at the sculpted, entirely bare chest as water streamed across the tattooed skin. Her eyes stared in awe at the tattoos that covered the right side of his chest, which happened to be a silhouette of mountains and a pack of wolves running beneath a full moon. It was an incredible piece, and the subject was unsurprising. She couldn't pull her gaze away.

She'd never been one for chest hair, but the light spattering across Cain's pectorals had her fingers itching and her wolf panting. Though, as she discreetly ogled the Alpha, she tried to ignore the red tint to the water as the leftovers of the rogue were washed away. She was unsuccessful in this. She forced herself to look away as the bile rose in her throat at the thought of the gore that covered Cain, herself, and the garage. She glanced toward the building, wondering if she'd ever get the image of the man's head exploding out of her mind. She didn't think so, but view she had of Cain's chest was certainly helping. At least until Ryland threw a bucket of water over her head.

"Ryland!" she yelped as the cold water gushed over her body.

"What?" he asked, pulling the hose from Joey's hand and spraying her in the face. "I can't hear you over the water."

She squealed, turning to shield her body from the cold blast. "Ryland, stop!" she laughed. The spray of water ceased and she turned back to him, glaring playfully at the blond Lycan. She knew what he was doing; he was try to lift her mood and distract her from the carnage she had just witnessed. And though she was aware of his efforts, she allowed them to work.

The warrior's cheeky grin as he lowered the hose had her rolling her eyes. "Am I at least clean?" she asked, holding her arms out to the sides. Her t-shirt now clung to her skin, and while Joey and Ryland were laughing, Cain's icy focus was squarely on her body. She blushed deeply once she realized he was looking at her and wrapped her arms around herself. It was difficult to decipher if the blush was from lust or embarrassment, but she thought it was probably both because her insides clenched in anticipation at the heat in Cain's gaze.

Her wolf growled in approval as they met the Alpha's eye quickly. Somehow, Lou managed to hold his gaze long enough that he was the one to look away. She knew it was her wolf's doing; Lou was too aware and unsure of herself around the massive Alpha to hold his gaze when he was looking at her like that, but her wolf wanted the Alpha to know that she was his equal and entirely worthy of his attention, so long as it was on her terms.

Lou still hadn't forgotten their encounter in his office the day before, hadn't forgotten the ice-cold fear that had come over her, but she didn't blame Cain. She blamed the Lycans before him that had made her afraid, and she blamed herself for being afraid at all. She knew intuitively that Cain, no matter how big and bad he looked, would never hurt her. Physically, at least. He was able to cut her deeply with carefully chosen words. And yet, she continued to lust after him and sneak peaks of his wonderfully sculpted upper body. Once again, she felt incredibly insignificant standing near someone who looked like him.

Lou ran her hands through her brown hair, trying to tame it despite how drenched it was. As her hands encountered a chunk of... rogue... she had to force herself not to gag. She tried to forget she was covered in pieces of person, but that was difficult when she kept finding them.