Page 121 of Anywhere

I poked him in the chest. “How are ya expectin’ me ta trust ya when ya so easily trow dose ya claim ta love away from yer heart?” I could picture the pain in Mari’s eyes. “I’za git dat dis has ta be da way it is, but real feelin’s cannie just be turned off like yer fancy taps. Mari said ya only ‘ave honour in her heart, but I be tinkin’ her feelin’s be couldin’ her judgement. ”

He shook his head, his brow pulling down, and I wasn’t sure if he was angry or confused. “Wait….” He held up a hand and closed his eyes for a moment. “Ya be wantin’ me ta still have feelin’s fir Mari? I be so confused.”

“It no be dat confusin’. Da bond I saw in her eyes be dat of someone dat would lay down their life fir da other. Ya seem like ya be wantin’ ta sweep wat ya shared away, and dat be cruel. Now dinnie be mistakin’, I know dat dis wit da three of us can’t be somethin’ she can be part of—she explained dat ta me—but…”

Before I could get out another word, Rhys cupped my face and dropped his lips to mine. The kiss was soft and yet sent a powerful surge through my body, but it was the tears that landed on my cheeks that had me holding still rather than pulling away.

“Ya be so different from Rook,” he said, breaking the kiss with a sad smile on his lips.

“I be hopin’ so. I dinnie ‘ave a peen,” I said.

He stepped away and laughed so hard that he had to lean against the chair.

“What!? It be da truth?” I wasn’t sure why everyone laughed when I spoke the truth. Were they all used to lies?

“Aye, yer right. Ya dinnie have a peen.” He smirked and smiled as he wiped away the stray tear rolling down his cheek. “I’ma gonna tell ya how I feel and what I tink, but I be askin’ we no talk about it again.”

I nodded as he came back to me and held out his hands. Uncrossing my arms, I slowly placed my hands in his.

“I’ma sayin’ yer different, no’ in a bad way. Yer jus very opposite, which be good, jus’ unexpected. As fir yer da question about Mari.” He sucked in a deep breath, and I could feel the air in the room shift as he gathered his thoughts. “Love like what da two of us shared be somethin’ dat never dies. It be somethin’ dat shifts and can change over time ‘cause it must, but it never disappears. So da answer be aye, dere is and will always be something, but it needs ta shift from what it was ta somethin’ different now.” His hands were so warm as they held mine, and I could once more feel the pull to lean into him. “Dis here wit ya and Rook be me new life. I’ma needin’ ta walk forward and no’ look back, or tings become confusin’ and causin’ pain ta everyone includin’ Mari. Does dat make sense?”

“Aye, and me glad ta hear dat once ya be lovin’ me, ya cannie jus be tossin’ me aside when yer feelin’ like it.”

“Yer unusual, Elewyen. Ya tink different from anyone else I 'ave met, but in a good way. Keep dat, and always see da beauty, ‘cause dis world has enough dark already.” I shivered as his hands left mine and softly ran up my arms to cup my face. “I’ma gonna kiss ya again, if dat be all right?”

“Aye,” I said as my heart hammered.

I didn’t realize until now how much I wanted to know his touch. My skin tingled and felt alive under his firm, patient hands. Where Rook brought out a wildness in me, Rhys made me want to melt.

His lips were as warm as the rest of his body, and I sighed as they touched mine. The kiss deepened, and I gripped the front of his shirt. My head felt light, like it might blow away. I moaned into his mouth, and the kiss became more desperate.

He slid one of his hands down to press into my lower back, bringing me closer to him until there was only the feel of our bodies and his lips. It seemed wondrous to me that not long ago, I thought these two men were evil, but now everything was turned on its head. The emotions that Rhys emitted were kind and compassionate. He was full of warmth and understanding, with strength under it all.

The door to the office opened, and I jumped a little when it hit the wall.

“Well, isn’t this heartwarming?” Rook said, and I blushed as I met his heated gaze.

“Ya mind? Ya interrupted a moment,” Rhys said, his lip curled up with a teasing grin.

“You know what you’re doing to me, right?” His eyes were trained on Rhys as he asked the question. “You know I can feel what you’re doing, and now I’m sporting this.” He pointed to where his peen was, and I saw the bulge under the black bottoms.

“Aye, well, as temptin’ as dat is, ya better not be thinkin’ dat we be turnin’ dis into more.”

“You’re going to make me walk around like this? Again?” Rook asked. Rhys smirked. “You really are a sadist under all that nice thing you have going on.”

Rhys laughed as he glanced at the thing on the wall they called a clock. “We ‘ave a schedule ta keep. We have trainin’, and Sam is gonna help Elewyen pick out some new clothes so she no be havin’ ta wear someone elses.”

“You’re really think I’m going to get through training aching like this?” Rook grumbled.

Rhys only laughed. “If ya no notice, it stands up almost as much as da trees outside,” Rhys said, and I smirked as Rook laughed. “I be pretty sure dat we can be gettin’ it up again easy enough later.”

I knew they were talking about laying with one another. I was tempted to join them at night, but even after the amazing time with Rook, I felt nervous joining them in the same room. It was not for lack of trying on Rook’s part, mind you. He came by and asked at least three different times over the past two nights.

“Who’s Sam, anyway?” Rook asked.

“Did someone say me name?” Sam said as he marched into the room and right past Rook like he wasn’t there. “I be preferrin’ ta be called Sammy taday. It ‘as a better ring.”

He introduced himself when we arrived the other day and told me that he was my person. There were so many things that I still didn’t know what they meant. Being my person was one of them, but I nodded as he chatted happily and then forced me to sit while he brushed and braided my hair.