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Eloise shook her head. “My brother does not own me, despite what you might believe.”
He smiled slowly, a dimple appearing in his cheek. Lord, he was beautiful when he smiled. He licked his lips and grimaced. There was a coat of ointment Grace used on him to prevent his lips from cracking. Eloise imagined it didn’t taste good.
She dropped his hand and walked to the bedside table to pour him some water. She sat on the corner of the bed and handed the glass to him. Keyon sat up against the headboard and accepted the glass of water. He took a few sips, then rotated the glass in his hand, looking into it thoughtfully.
“Your brother might be right,” he finally said.
“He is not.”
“I’ve done some questionable things, unpardonable things, awful things.”
“I know what you’ve done.”
“You don’t know all of it. If I tell you… I am not certain you will feel the same.”
Keyon gripped the glass tightly in his hands, and Eloise carefully extricated it from his fingers lest he break it and cut himself.
She thought for a moment before answering, “I might not know your past, but I know you. I do not care about who you were and what you’ve done. All I care about is who you are now and who you can still become.”
Keyon cleared his throat and shook his head. “I do not know if I can change,” he said quietly.
Eloise put her hand to his cheek and caressed him softly. Keyon leaned into her touch, his eyes full of entreaty.
“I am not asking you to,” Eloise whispered back. “I only ask you to act the way you were meant to from the start. To become the man you were always supposed to become.”
Keyon’s eyes closed. “I don’t know if I can.”
Eloise leaned forward until her forehead met his. She nudged him with her nose and smiled. “I shall help you.”
Keyon leaned forward and kissed her lips. It wasn’t a passionate kiss—it wasn’t the scorch her insides, ignite her soul kind of kiss that he usually gave her. It was a simple nudge with his lips, but she felt it to her fingertips.
“There’s one thing I need to ask of you,” she said.
“Anything for you,” he said.
She licked her lips. “This is very important to me.”
Keyon nodded without hesitation. “What is it?”
Eloise took a deep breath. “You have to make peace with my brother.”
“Eloise.” Her name was a painful groan.
“He might not be my master. I do not have to beg him to let me stay with you. I made this decision all on my own. But he is the only family I have. I want him to be comfortable with our arrangement or as comfortable as a thief-taker can be with a criminal for a brother-in-law.”
Keyon grinned that dimpled smile again, and Eloise’s insides melted. “Do I have to ask for your hand in marriage from him?”
Eloise chuckled. “I just want there to be a truce. And I want my future children to have an uncle they know and love.”
Keyon raised his hand and caressed her cheek. “Anything for you,” he repeated. “Although, I know for a fact that you would have stayed with me even if I didn’t agree to your conditions.”
“Do you, now?” she asked cheekily.
Keyon nodded. “The pomegranate,” he said, looking smug. “You ate the seeds, and according to you, this binds you to me for life, whether I accept your pain of a brother or not.”
Eloise let out a chuckle. “That is true. But I already knew then that you’d agree to my very reasonable terms.”
“Reasonable.” He snorted.
Eloise’s smile widened. “No matter how much of a scoundrel you think you are, you are my scoundrel. And you told me before that you’d do anything for me. All I have to do is ask.”
