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“I think I need some face kisses,” I said, tiredly closing my eyes.
He lightly pressed his lips to my eyelids then methodically covered every inch of skin from forehead to chin. Each kiss soothed a small portion of my bruised soul. And, when he finished, I sighed, letting out some of the hurt and hate for Nat and everything he ever did or made me feel.
“I saw you fall then noticed Vorx had passed out, too. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Nat’s face. Nothing made sense when I came to, but I remember him admitting to drugging us. I’m guessing it was in the food we ate. Then he reached into me and pulled out my IUD. It was the birth control I had put in when I realized I’d married a monster. He pulled it out and said he was going to put a baby in me. But he didn’t get the chance. You both came.”
Vorx wrapped me in a towel from behind, and I felt him set his forehead on the back of my head. His shuddering exhale warmed my shoulder.
“He’s gone,” I said. “He can’t hurt us again. Tell me what happened. To me, it seemed like everything happened so fast. Like no more than twenty minutes had passed. But I know that wasn’t the case since he’d somehow gotten me outside of Tolerance.”
“We woke up, and you weren’t here,” Turik said. “We looked for you, and when we knew you weren’t in the house, we asked our brothers if anyone saw you. No one did, but Eitri saw men go over the wall. Men who were supposed to be helping collect supplies for the new community. Men who others saw near our house. They were carrying a large rug between the two of them as they left.
“You warned us that Nat would come for you, so we followed them. We reached the house when you told him—” He swallowed hard, and Vorx lifted his head.
“You said he would rape you, and you would never stop trying to escape, no matter the cost,” Vorx finished.
I nodded slowly, understanding how much hearing that had scared them. But there wasn’t anything I could say to take away the sting of the truth that I would have died trying to get away from Nat.
“Any chance we can snuggle in my bed for the next few days?” I asked instead.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
For the next several hours,we simply lay in a tangle of bodies, touching in subtle ways as if to reassure each other that we were really there and okay. I fell asleep with my head on Turik’s chest and Vorx’s arm over my waist.
The next morning, I woke to fingers in my hair and another touch trailing along my arm. I felt cocooned in a blanket of safety and comfort. The terror of the day before no longer crawled under my skin. It seemed more like a memory that belonged to another life—a life before Vorx and Turik and happiness.
While I was feeling better, I wasn’t sure about my guys. Usually, they were careful not to do anything that would wake me.
“Are we better today?” I asked without opening my eyes.
There was a moment of silence, and Turik exhaled heavily.
“Not yet,” Vorx said. “But soon.”
“Talk to me. What’s still bothering you?”
“Nat took you. Vorx and I were both there, and he still took you. We promised to keep you safe. Always,” Turik said, a hint of anger in his tone. But I knew it wasn’t directed at me. It was self-loathing.
Frowning, I idly traced patterns over his skin and tried to come up with something to say that would help them move past yesterday.
“Nothing that happened is either of your faults.”
“You warned us,” Vorx said.
“I did. But not so you would feel guilty when something happened. If I hadn’t warned you, would you have known to look for me when I disappeared, or would you have maybe thought I’d left on my own? After all, that’s your biggest fear, isn’t it? And sometimes, our biggest fears have a way of changing the way we would normally think.”
They both grunted.
“Nothing that happened is your fault,” I repeated. “And I’m glad you came for me. This time and the first time.
“Thank you for feeding me, protecting me, and holding me while I sleep. For giving me little kisses when I’m sad and watching me smile when I’m happy. It turns out I wanted all of that as much as you did. As much as you both did.”
I leveraged myself up so I could kiss Turik. A real one that conveyed everything I felt for him.
Easing away, I looked him in the eyes.
“I love you, Turik. Today. Tomorrow. And every day of my life. Forever.”
He closed his eyes and hugged me tight, momentarily pulling me from Vorx’s hold.
