Page 57 of Dark Fey Captive

The ache grew. And I began to question how much of what he’d said was a lie or simply to get laid. Finding me a house? That could benefit him. But getting supplies he didn’t even like to eat? What other reason could there be for that except that he’d been honest?

Nav wanted me.

Willing.

He let me touch him, but never asked for it. Meanwhile, he always asked if he could touch me and never tried to take more than I was willing to give. But was he really interested in me, or would he be just as interested if it’d been Gwen or Lettie he pulled from the water?

I straightened in his arms to look at him and felt something…a hint of jealousy. Shit. Was I really starting to like Nav? I knew better than to let myself fall first. Especially for a guy with questionable intentions.

Thinking about today’s mind-blowing wake-up call and how he was quick to comfort me now, I decided to listen to the part of me demanding answers. I needed to know if he cared about me or just having a sex partner.

“Thank you,” I said. Then, determined to see what was real and what wasn’t, I leaned in to kiss him.

He held still as I brushed my lips against his.

“Does that mean you like this?” he asked when I pulled back to meet his gaze.

The uncertainty and hope were easy to see. But were they real?

“I do,” I said. “A lot. What do you want in return?”

He glanced at my mouth.

“Can you kiss me again?”

The second one was just another gentle kiss, but I could see how much he liked it by the way his pupils slowly expanded.

“There’s more,” he said, turning with me in his arms.

He took the stairs two at a time, like I weighed nothing, and veered into the bedroom. I saw the suitcase from the hotel in the closet as he turned toward the dresser.

“I put the clean clothes in there and will wash the dirty ones for you today. We can hang them outside to dry. If you want to bathe, I can wash the clothes you’re wearing too.”

I glanced at him, gauging the sincerity versus the attempt to get me naked again.

He blinked at me, not a hint of slyness or deception in his gaze. Just patient expectation as he waited for my answer.

He was making me want to kiss him again. Dangerous to give in to when I was still so conflicted.

“Can you put me down, please?”

He did so reluctantly, which tugged at my heart a little. To distract myself, I turned to the dresser to check what clothes were clean. On the top, I saw a pair of leather pants and a folded note.

“Whose are those?” I asked.

“Mine. I’ll take them off whenever I’m inside. I promise.”

I almost snorted.

“What’s the note?”

“I think it’s from your family,” he said, making my heart skip a beat in fear. “I left supplies for them at the dock last night and found it there.”

“What does it say?” I asked.

He reached around me, picking it up and offering it to me. “I don’t know. I cannot read human language, only speak it.”

I glanced from him to the note, wondering if he was telling the truth. Did it matter? The need to know what it said was too strong to care.