Chapter 85: "It’s the power of youth, Cap,"

"I’m not a kid, Cap."

"I know," I said, my lips curling into a smile. "After all, no kid can do the things you do to me."

​I chuckled and took my hand back, but the moment the words left my mouth, I felt a sudden spike of heat flare in the room.

Reid’s eyes darkened instantly, his gaze dropping to my lips with a sudden, heavy intensity that reminded me of exactly what he was capable of doing.

​I cleared my throat, forcing my captain’s mask back on before the atmosphere could warp into something dangerous again. "Right. Since you’ve eaten and your fever is down, we need to get you cleaned up. You’re completely covered in cold sweat."

​"A bath sounds good," Reid muttered, the rough edge of his voice returning as he glanced down at his damp t-shirt. "But moving is going to be a pain in the ass."

​"I told you I’d help," I said, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt. "Come on. Let’s get you to the tub."

​Since he didn’t have an open wound, we didn’t have to worry about waterproof bandages or keeping the ankle dry from infection, but the sheer swelling meant he still couldn’t risk putting an ounce of weight on his left foot.

I walked around the table, carefully getting under his massive arm again, and hoisted him up. He leaned heavily into my side, his solid frame radiating a comfortable, deep warmth now that the violent fever had finally broken.

​We made our way slowly into the bathroom. I managed to guide him over to the edge of the deep, porcelain soaking tub, letting him sit down carefully while I turned on the faucets.

I tested the water, ensuring it was a soothing, lukewarm temperature to relax his strained muscles without raising his temperature again.

​Once the tub was filled, I stepped back, turning my head as he stripped out of his sweatpants and shirt, bracing himself on the grab bars to lower his massive, muscular frame into the water.

A low, long sigh of pure relief escaped his lips as the water swirled around his chest.

​"You need help with your back?" I asked, keeping my voice strictly clinical as I knelt down on the tiled floor beside the tub, picking up a loofah and the bottle of body wash.

​"Yeah," Reid rumbled, his head leaning back against the edge of the tub, his smoky grey eyes half-lidded. "Don’t skimp on the shoulders, Cap. Moving with a busted leg makes everything tight."

​I poured a generous amount of the soap onto the mesh, working up a rich lather before pressing it against his broad upper back.

I used firm, deliberate strokes, moving in smooth circles across the heavy muscles of his shoulders and down his spine. The scent of his expensive body wash began to mix with the rising steam, but beneath it, the comforting, steady notes of his frozen pine pheromones were still humming softly.

​But as I moved the loofah down toward the side of his back, the water shifted.

​I glanced down at his front, through the clear, soapy water, and my hand instantly froze.

Despite the lingering exhaustion, the fever, and the agonizing ache in his ankle, a very distinct, heavy protrusion was pushing up beneath the water’s surface, thick and completely unbothered by his physical state.

​My face instantly flushed, and I ripped my hand away, glaring at him in sheer disbelief.

"Are you serious right now, McCoy? What the hell do you even eat for you to be this active? You already did it today and you were literally dying of a fever three hours ago! How are you hard again?"

​Reid didn’t look embarrassed at all. He slowly opened one eye, a lazy, thoroughly amused smirk stretching across his handsome face as he looked down at himself, then back up at my reddening cheeks.

​"It’s the power of youth, Cap," he rumbled, his voice dropping into a deep, wicked vibration through the steam. "Can’t blame a guy for reacting when a pretty Omega is kneeling right next to him, taking care of him so thoroughly."

I went silent.

​I sat back on my heels on the cold bathroom tiles, the loofah dripping soapy water into the tub.

This habit of calling me pretty... When did he even start? It felt like it had slipped into his vocabulary entirely unprompted, turning from a rare, mocking tease into a casual, automatic reflex.

It was a dangerous word—especially coming from an Alpha to a team captain who was supposed to be a regular, nondescript Beta.

​"McCoy, don’t let that word slip out when we’re with the team," I said, my voice dropping its casual tone and sharpening into an explicit warning. I pointed a soapy finger at him. "If you make it a habit now, you’ll never be able to control it on the ice or in the locker room. People will start questioning things."

​"Oh yeah?" Reid opened both eyes now, leaning his head back further against the edge of the porcelain.

His smirk widened, full of that classic, infuriating confidence as his smoky grey eyes traced the tense line of my jaw. "I’m sure I can control it just fine, Cap."

​"I’m serious," I muttered, turning away from him to rinse my hands under the sink faucet to hide the small shudder his intense gaze was causing. "The guys already talk enough garbage about you being my ’favorite’ just because you played nursemaid for my ribs. If they hear you calling me pretty, the rumor mill is going to explode."

​"Let them talk," Reid rumbled, his chest shifting under the water, making the surface ripple around his hardened length.

He reached out, his wet, heavy hand suddenly clamping around my wrist before I could stand up. He didn’t pull me down this time, but the warmth of his skin was an absolute brand.

"They don’t know shit anyway." He said. "Besides, I only say it because it’s true. You’re a lot prettier when you’re looking at me like you want to kill me instead of hiding behind that generic captain face."

​I stared down at his grip on my wrist, my heart doing that stupid, irregular pitter-patter again. I ripped my arm back with a sharp click of my tongue, ignoring the quiet chuckle that vibrated out of his throat.

​"Just wash your own front, pervert," I snapped, tossing a fresh washcloth right onto his chest to cover his view. "I’m going to check on the bedroom. When you’re done, call me. Don’t you dare try to climb out of this tub alone."

"Aren’t you going to get into the tub and bathe with me?" he tasted and I gave him my middle finger.

"Sure, if you want to get the other leg broken. I’ll jump right in." But I didn’t wait for him to respond to that, listening to his deep chuckle as I made my way out of there.