“Are you okay? You’re bleeding. Do you have a first-aid kit?”

It took a lot of inner strength to turn and look into her eyes. He feared he’d see pity but instead she peered up at him with concern. “I’m sorry.” Those two words were difficult to say.

“For what?” She glanced at his bloody arms. “We really need to clean and bandage those scratches. Fingernails are dirty and they appear pretty deep. Is your kit in the bathroom or do you keep it in the kitchen?”

He reached out, unable to resist touching her. “I shouldn’t have lied to you but I didn’t want to admit I lost control. It’s been a long time since I had a female and I hurt enough to rub myself against the side of the bed in an attempt to hold off until you were prepared for being mounted. The stimulation and my excitement were too great.”

“I’m actually flattered.” Her lips curved upward with a hint of a smile. “No one has ever gotten off while going down on me before. That’s a pretty amazing thing in my book.”

He wanted to believe she wasn’t just saying that to be kind. Jeanie had a soft heart. “It wasn’t an absolute lie though. My pants wouldn’t easily have come off until I had a few minutes to recover.”

Color rose to her cheeks but she spoke. “Why? The fact that you were, um, wet should have meant they weren’t as tight…um…”

“Canine males tend to swell at the base of their dicks. I knotted while tucked down my thigh, making the pants too tight, and…” It was difficult to explain to a human, especially her. “It would have been painful if I’d forced them off until the swelling went down unless I tore the material. You being out of sight would have helped me soften.”

She took that information well, not asking more awkward questions.

“We need to treat your injuries. Where is that first-aid kit?”

“In the kitchen under the sink.”

“I’ll get it.”

He hated to let her go. “I’m going to shower first. I need…” He refused to tell her his seed had spilled down his thigh as well as staining the front of his pants. “To get clean. It will wash off the blood and it will help me heal faster.”

“Do you want me to wait or should I just come in there while you’re in the shower?”

His dick began to harden just thinking about her sharing the small stall with him. “You are welcome to shower with me.”

Her mouth parted. “Oh. Okay.”

He inwardly winced. “That isn’t what you meant, is it?”

“I’d love to shower with you.”

He searched her eyes, seeing sincerity. “Go get the kit and wait for me in the bedroom. I’ll hurry.”

Jeanie appeared ready to argue but instead seemed to rethink it when she nodded in agreement. He watched her hurry out of his room. He glanced down at the front of his pants and wanted to howl in frustration. He spun and quickly stormed into the bathroom to start the water. The pants came off and he tossed them into the corner. The stream of water wasn’t as warm as he liked but he was in a hurry to wash away the evidence of his failed control before she saw him naked.

He hung his head, eyes closed, and took deep, calming breaths. It was his responsibility to get answers from Jeanie but he’d wanted her more than he wanted to do his duty. He’d failed to make their first shared sex a success and he’d fought with another male in front of her. It just wasn’t his day.

Chapter Nine

Jeanie’s hands weren’t very steady as she finished taping the gauze around True’s arm. He wore a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else. His exposed chest and arms were a major distraction. Every drop of water from his damp hair drew her attention. The urge to use her fingertips to trace each one that slid down his tan skin was almost impossible to resist. Knock it off. He’s hurt. Stop thinking about sex. Focus on what you’re doing.

The deep scratches were cleaned and bandaged. He hadn’t complained or made a sound when she’d gently cleaned the wounds. It didn’t surprise her. The burning sensation from antiseptic would seem tame in comparison to the extreme pain they’d suffered at the hands of Drackwood employees and Mercile Industries before that. She placed the tape inside the kit and faced him, her gaze finding his.

“All done. Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone to get pain medication? You’re going to have some bruising.” She glanced at the red marks he’d sustained during the fight. “I know you’re tough but there’s no need for you to be uncomfortable when a pill will help.”

“I’m fine.”

She remembered another time when she’d talked to him about pain medication. He’d been chained in his cell at the time after sustaining a brutal beating. It had shaken her up when she’d heard he’d been hurt. Her first instinct had been to go check on him but that would have raised red flags if she had demanded an escort to his room. Instead she’d had to go home and worry all night that he might die. The next morning she’d smuggled in the pain pills from her dentist and taken them to him. Seeing what had been done to him firsthand had been horrifying but pure rage at the ones who’d done it had kept her cool enough to avoid falling apart in front of the camera in the corner.

“What are you thinking about?” He tilted his head slightly, peering at her with curiosity. “You’re paler than usual.”

She wasn’t about to share the memory. “Can I ask why you fought with 712? I mean, Flirt. Don’t you two get along?”

“He wants you and that isn’t going to happen.”

“You mean he feels protective. I just don’t understand why he thought you’d hurt me. I know you wouldn’t so why doesn’t he? Don’t you two ever talk?”

True caught her gaze and his eyes narrowed. “He wants to mount you. He’d like nothing better than to take you to his home and to his bed.”

It stunned her. “I don’t think so.”

“He does.”

“I spent a lot of time with him at Drackwood. He never indicated he was attracted to me that way. We were friends, if anything.”

“Species weren’t friends with the staff.”

She could understand why he’d protest that concept. “I wasn’t exactly like the other employees. I talked to him a lot and kept him distracted when he was healing from injuries. When I wasn’t taking samples, I’d hang out in the treatment center. They were always understaffed and appreciated the help.”

“He wants you.”

She decided not to argue with True. He could be right but she doubted it. Flirt might feel protective of her after the times he’d seen her defy the doctors and properly treat his injuries. “I hate that the two of you fought.”

“I didn’t want to cause you distress.” He straightened his head.

“You could have been hurt.” She studied the bandages and the bruises forming on his torso. “Worse.”

True reached out and clasped her hand. “We need to talk. Sit.”

She liked the feel of his warm fingers wrapped over the top of hers. She took a seat to his immediate left. When she sat too close, his weight dipping the mattress left her no choice but to brace her feet to keep from sliding against his hip.

“The task force team and Darkness need answers. I believe there is a human out there who used you but they want proof.”

“I never deleted the texts on the cell phone. I was too busy reading the messages and typing responses to worry about anything but making sure no one approached me to see what I was doing. I’d shove it back inside the bag and bury it as fast as I could.”

“Where is it?”

She described the area by her apartment where she’d buried it in the loose dirt behind a patch of flowers next to some boulders. “I’m the only one who knew where I hid it. I didn’t even tell Agent Brice. He never asked though.”

“We’ll send someone to retrieve it.”

“Good.” It gave her hope that her story would be substantiated.

“We’ll need a detailed description of this male.”