I looked around the room and sighed. If it wasn’t for the fact we were in the middle of a war, I had a feeling I would be perfectly happy here.With Matthew,my inner voice added. The cottage was small, but it was an open concept and held everything in a single room. There was a certain adorable charm about it, but it lacked the luxury of Matthew’s typical residence. I wondered how he had found this place. Was it his, or had he just stumbled upon it somehow? That was unlikely, honestly, but something this quaint would have been snatched up long ago. It was perfect for a couple or even a small family. I could picture a small raven-haired child running around through the garden as they chased them… I sighed. That was the part of this that made this seem like a dream.
I think the funniest thing about this cottage was it didn’t match Matthew’s aesthetic. He was tall and powerful, always clothed in the deepest blacks. The cottage was all sunshine and pastels, sweet little home décor knickknacks lining the shelves and walls. I half expected little woodland creatures to pop out and sing.
No, definitely not Matthew’s type, I chuckled to myself.
The window was open slightly to let in the cool spring breeze and I could hear the nearby river flowing peacefully. It’d been so long since I’d felt a sense of harmony with not only myself, but my surroundings as well. It didn’t matter what was on my mind or the threats we faced because at this moment in time; I was happy. Actually happy, not some fake smile bullshit. The only thing that threatened to break the happiness was being unsure of how long any of this would actually last.
Matthew stretched beside me as he stirred. As it was a small cottage, there was only one bed, and he had offered to sleep on the floor, but I hadn’t let him. After all, he had saved me and brought me with him when I asked him to, regardless of the risk to himself. I wasn’t sure what would have happened if I had stayed behind in Helia last night, but I damn sure didn’t want to find out. And right now, seeing the taut muscles in his abs as the sun caught them, I wasn’t regretting my decision one bit.
He had been a perfect gentleman and stayed completely on his side of the bed. So much so that our bodies hadn’t touched once during the night. After the moment we’d shared last night, I thought that maybe he would have pulled me in close to him. And gods knew I wanted to feel his arms wrapped around me, but maybe it was something that only happened in the moment, and perhaps I was reading too much into it. I didn’t want that to be the case, and I tried so hard not to think about his lips on mine…
He was beyond beautiful. His skin was almost golden in the early morning sunlight and the light picked up the slightly different hues of color throughout his dark hair. It was the first time that I had seen his face so relaxed, so at ease. I think that made him even more beautiful. I had to physically restrain my hand because I wanted to lightly trace the features of his face and memorize each one. Thankfully, I hadn’t though because his eyes slowly blinked open, no doubt assaulted by the bright sun like I was. I couldn’t help but laugh softly as he looked up at me like he was surprised that I was next to him, that we were waking up together. I had been too, but it felt right, so I tried not to think about it too much.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“Good morning yourself,” he paused. “Did you… Did you sleep alright?” It seemed like he didn’t know what to say. Was this all-powerful man nervous? I’d laugh if I didn’t feel the same damn way about him.
“It was okay, I suppose. Well, to be honest, I think it could have been better if you hadn’t commandeered all the blankets last night,” I sighed, teasing him slightly.
His eyes grew wide and made a move as if he was going to scoot away from me. “Eva, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean-”
I cut him off instantly. “Gods, Matthew,” I chuckled. “I was only joking. I slept wonderfully. To be honest, it was probably one of the best night’s sleep that I’ve had in at least a month,” I admitted softly. I wanted to touch him, to draw him close to me. Maybe my teasing had missed its mark. What if he regretted last night? Nothing irrevocable had happened, but I didn’t want to feel the sting of rejection if he pulled away from me.
His face relaxed, but only slightly, and he looked uncomfortable with our proximity. I sighed as I got out of bed. I was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, but I also had little of an option because I didn’t pack a bag when I decided to run away. My skin was still tinged with blood and dirt, half washed away from the rainstorm I caused. Maybe he didn’t want to touch me because I looked like I just went to hell and back?
“You wouldn’t happen to have any clothes here that I could borrow, would you?”
“I have some shirts and breeches. I suppose I could let you borrow them. They might be a little big for you, but they’ll do until we get your clothes washed.” He went to a small chest and pulled out the clothes to hand them to me. There was a small washing basin in the corner of the room that I could use. “I’ll wash them for you in the stream, if you want to change…” He trailed off, his gaze dragging across my body before he cleared his throat.
“Yeah, that would be great. Do you think you could, you know, turn around?” I threw him my best smile as I drew my finger in a circular motion.
He stood up quickly. “Right! O-Of course.” He cleared his throat again and turned around. The thought of being so close to him and so exposed sent a sinful thrill through my body, but I contained myself and stripped slowly. I folded the clothes neatly and set them down on the bed behind him. I could reach out and touch him if I wanted to, and gods knew I wanted to, but I wanted to tease him just a little. I heard his heart accelerate as I reached past him to pick up a blanket from the bed to cover myself. My hand lightly grazed his on the way back to my body, his hand flexing wide open.
“Thank you, by the way,” I said. I was surprised that he was offering to wash my clothes. For some reason, it seemed intimate in a sense, and he sure as hell didn’t have to if he didn’t want to. But he was doing it to help me and that sent a whole batch of butterflies into my stomach.
“Of course. I’ll just… go.” He nodded his head and rushed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
I sighed as I turned around and walked toward the basin. The water that was drawn was chilly, but it still felt heavenly on my skin. I took my time, even though I didn’t know how long he would be gone. Maybe I was a bit more excited about that than I should have been, but I didn’t honestly care. I washed away the dirt and filth from the events of yesterday and came out feeling like a new woman after I was done. I quickly dried off and wrapped the blanket around my body as I washed my hair.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, Eva,” Matthew blushed. He had just walked through the door, but thankfully, or not so thankfully, I hadn’t been indecent.
“Actually… Could you help me wash my hair?” I stood up and held out the soap for him to take. He looked at the basin, to me, and then to the soap, as if he didn’t know what to do. He slowly nodded, and I watched his eyes slide over my body longingly, which made me shudder.
As he took the soap from my hand, his fingers grazed mine and we locked eyes. He hastily looked away and cleared his throat as he took the soap into his hands and worked up a lather. It was torturous to watch because I couldn’t stop thinking about his skin on my skin. The thoughts were consuming me completely, and I felt heat pooling at my core. I ached for his touch.
“Sit down, Eva.” His voice took on an authoritative tone, and I complied immediately. He could tell me to do anything, and I’d do it. I wanted to please him, and his voice caressed me like velvet. His hands worked their way into my hair slowly and onto my scalp. There were a thousand thoughts running through my mind and every single one of them was regarding him and those magical fingers. I sighed, relaxing like clay in his hands, a small groan escaping my lips.
“Does this feel okay?” he asked, a smile on his lips. He was just being a tease at this point. He knew damn well how good it felt.
“Matthew, it feels amazing.” He chuckled darkly, and I felt his breath caress my neck. Fuck, it was wicked, and I reveled in the thrill of it all.
“If I would have known you were this easy to please…” His voice trailed off, and it held the promise of something dark and delicious. More than anything, I wanted him to finish that sentence.
“What would you have done?” I breathed. Time seemed to move in slow motion. It was agonizing, but every slight stroke of his fingers sent me reeling. Each touch sent shivers down my spine, and I leaned into his touch, wanting so much more than what he was giving me.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I would have offered my hair washing services while you were… staying with me previously.”
“Staying with you? Is that what you’re calling it?” I chuckled. “I would personally call it kidnapping, or perhaps a hostage situation might fit the bill better?” I shrugged.
