shifted her body as she changed positions to sit facing him again. Wrath had put on loose black boxers and picked up the towel he’d dropped. He gave her a half smile, returned to the bathroom and threw the wet towel over the top of the shower. He stepped back into the room.
“I’m going to grab that sleeping bag and pillow from the hallway where I dropped them when I heard you scream.”
He opened the door and stepped into the room. She saw his back there were multiple scratches with fresh blood running from them. The blood he’d washed away hadn’t just been Vengeance’s. She gasped. He turned and frowned as he stared at her.
“Your back is bleeding.”
He shrugged. “I was lucky.” He walked out of sight.
Lucky? Did he really just say that? What is so lucky about having deep scratch marks on his back? He returned carrying the bedding, used his foot to close the door, and tossed everything on the floor. He crouched and unrolled the sleeping bag.
“Aren’t you afraid someone will open the door and hit you with it? You’re kind of close.”
He shook his head. “Vengeance will leave first thing in the morning but we have a few hours before they’ll be able to transport him. He won’t get past me if he manages to escape from Brass and wants to try to claim you again.”
“Oh. Do you want me to bandage your back for you?”
He tossed down the pillow and straightened to his full height. His dark gaze swept the room before he walked to retrieve the small first-aid kit he’d used earlier to clean and bandage her wrists. He moved closer to her with the box in hand.
“That would be nice if you tend my wounds. Thank you.”
She accepted it when he held it out. He sat on the floor in front of the bed. She scooted closer and put her feet on each side of his hips. Her hands trembled slightly when she opened the kit, placed it on the bed next to her, and removed what she needed to clean and bandage the injuries. One look at them made her wince. They looked painful but weren’t bleeding too much.
“He scratched you badly.”
“It is our way when we fight.”
“What did it mean exactly when he wanted to claim me? I get that he wanted sex but it was more than that, wasn’t it?” Lauren wanted to be distracted from the fact that she was about to touch him and he was so close.
Wrath tensed. “It is always something that should be agreed to by both parties. What he did was try to force it upon you and it’s wrong. He wanted to claim you as his mate.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s similar to your human marriage but in Species’ terms it means for life. You only mate with the one you have strong feelings for. Species commit until one of them dies. After a time we scent imprint our mates. With some it happens very fast while in others it may take a few weeks.”
“What does scent imprint mean? I’ve never heard of that before.” She blew on the cuts she cleaned in case they burned. He didn’t flinch and his voice remained calm when he spoke.
“It is to help form a bond between mates. A male who scent imprints a female will only want her scent around him and she will only want his scent around her. It comforts each of them, smelling like their mate. Once it happens they can’t stand the way others smell.”
“They stink?”
He chuckled. “Not exactly, but others smell wrong or bad to a mated couple. I don’t know how else to explain it. They just need each other and no one else.”
“I read that a few women married a few of your guys. Did it happen to those women? You know, like me? Did they get all weird about the men’s scents?”
He glanced back and flashed her a grin. Amusement twinkled in his dark eyes. “No. They don’t have our sense of smell or memory of scents. We are strongly dependent on our sense of smell. The couple you would have heard about the most is Ellie and Fury. She loves him and he loves her. When we mate we are very caring of our females. He will make sure
“I’m going to grab that sleeping bag and pillow from the hallway where I dropped them when I heard you scream.”
He opened the door and stepped into the room. She saw his back there were multiple scratches with fresh blood running from them. The blood he’d washed away hadn’t just been Vengeance’s. She gasped. He turned and frowned as he stared at her.
“Your back is bleeding.”
He shrugged. “I was lucky.” He walked out of sight.
Lucky? Did he really just say that? What is so lucky about having deep scratch marks on his back? He returned carrying the bedding, used his foot to close the door, and tossed everything on the floor. He crouched and unrolled the sleeping bag.
“Aren’t you afraid someone will open the door and hit you with it? You’re kind of close.”
He shook his head. “Vengeance will leave first thing in the morning but we have a few hours before they’ll be able to transport him. He won’t get past me if he manages to escape from Brass and wants to try to claim you again.”
“Oh. Do you want me to bandage your back for you?”
He tossed down the pillow and straightened to his full height. His dark gaze swept the room before he walked to retrieve the small first-aid kit he’d used earlier to clean and bandage her wrists. He moved closer to her with the box in hand.
“That would be nice if you tend my wounds. Thank you.”
She accepted it when he held it out. He sat on the floor in front of the bed. She scooted closer and put her feet on each side of his hips. Her hands trembled slightly when she opened the kit, placed it on the bed next to her, and removed what she needed to clean and bandage the injuries. One look at them made her wince. They looked painful but weren’t bleeding too much.
“He scratched you badly.”
“It is our way when we fight.”
“What did it mean exactly when he wanted to claim me? I get that he wanted sex but it was more than that, wasn’t it?” Lauren wanted to be distracted from the fact that she was about to touch him and he was so close.
Wrath tensed. “It is always something that should be agreed to by both parties. What he did was try to force it upon you and it’s wrong. He wanted to claim you as his mate.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s similar to your human marriage but in Species’ terms it means for life. You only mate with the one you have strong feelings for. Species commit until one of them dies. After a time we scent imprint our mates. With some it happens very fast while in others it may take a few weeks.”
“What does scent imprint mean? I’ve never heard of that before.” She blew on the cuts she cleaned in case they burned. He didn’t flinch and his voice remained calm when he spoke.
“It is to help form a bond between mates. A male who scent imprints a female will only want her scent around him and she will only want his scent around her. It comforts each of them, smelling like their mate. Once it happens they can’t stand the way others smell.”
“They stink?”
He chuckled. “Not exactly, but others smell wrong or bad to a mated couple. I don’t know how else to explain it. They just need each other and no one else.”
“I read that a few women married a few of your guys. Did it happen to those women? You know, like me? Did they get all weird about the men’s scents?”
He glanced back and flashed her a grin. Amusement twinkled in his dark eyes. “No. They don’t have our sense of smell or memory of scents. We are strongly dependent on our sense of smell. The couple you would have heard about the most is Ellie and Fury. She loves him and he loves her. When we mate we are very caring of our females. He will make sure
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