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He nodded, grabbing my pouch of leaves and the other woman’s too. He tossed hers back, then tucked mine into my dress like I had earlier. My face warmed at the brush of his knuckles on my breast, but he withdrew quickly before taking my hand and slipping his fingers through mine.
“At least this nightmare is almost over,” Eisley said quietly, as we slipped out of the room.
“For that, we can thank the veil,” the other woman agreed.
Kierden’s shoulders were heavy as we walked back to his room. I didn’t ask if he was okay; clearly, he wasn’t. Some things were far too terrible to ever be okay with.
“Are we moving down to your farm after this ends?” he asked me as he pulled the door to his room open. I got the feeling he was just trying to lighten the mood a little, but he didn’t need to do that for me. I was used to dealing with the darkness, and it hadn’t overwhelmed me yet, by some miracle.
Or some amount of strength, as silly as that seemed.
“I don’t know. Are we?” I glanced at him.
“Perhaps we’ll just keep both homes, so you have somewhere other than the tavern to run to when I inevitably screw up.”
My lips curved upward a bit. “You didn’t screw up in the pool. You just took me by surprise, and I didn’t react well. Being defensive seems like my automatic response. I don’t think either of us handled it perfectly.”
He nodded, and I noticed him eyeing the bathing pool. Though we’d only just been in the water and some of my hair was still damp, I tugged him toward the bath. He’d used it to relax after long days on a few different occasions, so I thought it might calm him. I wasn’t hoping for a repeat of earlier—I just wanted to help him feel a little better.
“Haven’t you had enough water for the day, little human?” His voice was tired, but slightly playful.
I flashed him a smile as we reached the edge of the bath. “Not yet. Take your clothes off and get in.”
He gave me a small grin. “You just want me naked.”
“I won’t deny that.”
After a soft chuckle, he stripped completely, then slipped into the water.
Rather than following his lead, I sat down right behind him with my legs on either side of his arms as he leaned back against the wall of the pool.
He flashed me a curious look as I set my hands on his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Attempting to give you a massage. I’m sure I’ll be terrible at it. The last massage I even saw was one my father gave my mother when I was eight or nine, and she looked absolutely miserable. He did too.”
His expression morphed to surprise. “I’m sure I wouldn’t know the difference. I’ve never had a massage before.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Really? But you’ve had sex before. We always spend a little time in bed together, touching each other a bit, so I assumed it might’ve happened before for you.” I lightly pressed my thumbs into the thick muscles at the base of his neck.
He groaned at the pressure, and I moved my thumbs around a bit. “Veil.”
“It’s okay?”
“It’s incredible.”
I grabbed the soap and rubbed it over my hands, so they’d be slicker. He groaned again, even louder, when I set them back on his shoulders and resumed the motions.
“I told you, the sex was only physical. There was no emotion involved. I didn’t smell the female’s hair, tell her she was beautiful, hold her, or particularly care if she climaxed, just as she didn’t care if I did. For the fae, sex is always very selfish. I’ve never taken pleasure from making a woman unravel the way I do with you—and I’ve certainly never wanted one’s hands on my skin like this before.”
I liked that a lot, though I wasn’t sure I should admit it. “When have you ever sniffed my hair?”
He groaned again when I slid my hands a bit further apart to massage the tighter parts of his muscles. “Every chance I get.”
I didn’t bother asking if it felt good, since he was so clearly showing me that it did. “Do I smell good?”
“Better than anything.” His words sounded almost reverent.
“And you really think we’re fated?” My words were soft, but I wanted to hear him say them aloud.
