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Just then, a loud clatter came from the quaint kitchen outside my room, followed by a hushed admonishment from Ozias. Calem’s answer—a barely quieted response full of tease and instigation—was intentionally loud enough for Gaige and me to hear without being a full-on shout.
The burn of Gaige’s words was doused with reality, and I sighed. The last thing I wanted to experience was a round of incessant teasing from Calem if he happened to hear anything raucous from Gaige and me.
Turning into Gaige’s touch, I placed a swift kiss on his fingers. “Later.”
He relented with a heavy, strangled exhale, but rolled to his side so his glorious chest, lightly peppered with faint hair, was on full display. I allowed myself one wayward touch as I ran my fingers over the tantalizing contours of his muscles.
Catching my hand, he ran his thumb over my knuckles. “You sure about that?”
“Later,” I reiterated, to convince both myself and him. I let him thread our fingers together, and my heart threatened to leap from mychest. His grip was so warm. Safe. It was terrifying to allow myself to feel such things after I’d spent decades barricading myself from such possibilities, but when it came to Gaige, it seemed there was no construct solid enough to keep him out.
“How did you sleep?” I asked, veering the conversation toward safer territory.
Discomfort flickered through his eyes. “Not particularly well. I had another nightmare, and I didn’t fall back asleep after that.”
I frowned. “You weren’t asleep when I woke up?”
“I waspretendingto be asleep.” A mischievous grin tugged at his lips. “I didn’t want to interrupt your viewing experience.”
A tingling sensation swept up the back of my neck, no doubt resulting in another round of pink ears. “Yes, well, tell me about your dream.”
He flopped onto his back and pressed his head deeply into the pillow as he gazed at the ceiling. “It’s the same one I’ve had for days now. I’m in a grayed-out world until I come to a beach and meet a twisted version of myself cloaked in shadows. Nothing really happens, and in typical dream fashion, he speaks in riddles that make absolutely no sense.” He paused as he fingered the sheets and then turned his head toward me. “All I know is that after I meet him, I’m filled with this horrible sense of fear and dread.”
Propping myself up on one elbow, I studied the tired, puffy bags beneath his eyes. I’d missed them earlier because of my own lust. But now, I could see the aftermath of days without solid sleep. His heavy eyelids threatening to close, but too hesitant to do so. The slow, almost laborious way he tugged at the sheets. I’d passed it off as being satiated from sex, but it was something else entirely.
And it frightened me to my core. “I didn’t notice any shadows in the night.”
“There haven’t been since that first time you woke me up in Cruor.”
A cool wave of relief washed over me. “That’s good. Perhaps you have more control than either of us realized. We just need to find a new way of harnessing it.”
His long, burnished lashes nearly covered his somber stare. “You’ve been right this whole time. About the attacks. If I’d done something sooner…”
For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to be right. I hated the way he collapsed in on himself at his words, the look of total defeat marring his beautiful face. He’d been through enough. I didn’t feel vindicated by his acknowledgment. In that moment, the only thing I could think about was finding a way to bring that charming smile back to his face.
Leaning over him, I slanted my lips across his. He relaxed beneath me, his soft exhale a release of all he’d been feeling for gods only knew how long. I didn’t know the answer yet, but I’d always been proficient at strategizing new paths forward and finding solutions where others fell short. Together, we’d find a way to stabilize his shadows and quell the Kitska monsters.
Breaking our kiss, I brushed my nose against his. “We’ll figure it out.”
An obnoxiously loud knock sounded from the door. “Are we taking the day off?”
“For the love of the gods, Calem.” Ozias’s words were muffled, as if he’d palmed his face in exasperation. Indeed, it was the same emotion I experienced—that and an unruly amount of irritation—and my whole body tensed.
“I will be with you momentarily,” I seethed.
There was a quiet pause, followed by a snicker. “You meanwewill be with you momentarily?”
A sharp yelp crested through the otherwise quiet house and then thundering footsteps. Calem shouted a slew of vulgarities as he let out a strangled grunt.
“We’ll be outside. Training,” Ozias said loudly. The heavy shuffling of their feet lasted all of a minute as Ozias likely dragged Calem outside by the collar of his tunic, and then the house was once again blissfully silent.
“I despise him,” I hissed beneath my breath as I rolled off Gaige and out of bed.
“No, you don’t,” Gaige said. I could feel the heat of his stare as I searched for my clothes on the floor, but I didn’t dare turn around to confront his gaze lest I fell back into bed with him. And I very much wanted to do that.
“Just when I thought you knew me,” I mused, finally yanking my trousers into place. I braved a look his direction, and just as I thought, I nearly returned to his arms. The sheets had been pulled to his feet in my sudden departure from bed, exposing his body entirely. He laid on his side with a knowing, lax grin and one leg propped up. One arm rested on his knee, and his other hand cupped his face. Gods, he knew what he was doing. He knew I barely stood a chance, too, because my eyes immediately roved down the trim lines of his broad chest, to his hardened abdomen, to the pleasing thickness of his thighs. And of course, to his fully erect cock. He’d tasted me last night, and I hadn’t the opportunity yet to return the favor.
My mouth dried with want, but I forced myself to stare at the ceiling. “Get dressed.”
