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I pushed the plate away.
There was still plenty of food left, and Galanthia was particularly interested in the fact that I had left it on the plate. She pointed at it with the tines of her fork. Without saying anything else, I pulled the plate tentatively back and started picking through the remaining biscuits.
“It’s to your liking,” Juriah stated. “Good.”
“Yes, it’s…” I trailed off while taking a bite of a glorious biscuit. “Goodgoddess. I can’t even believe it.”
He kept staring down at me. I was already self-conscious about being so much shorter than him, and sitting wasn’t doing me any favors in that department. But my curiosity wouldn’t win me over. I didn’t want to look up. No matter how much I wanted to see his handsome features.
When he took my chin, I squeaked and dropped my fork. His fingers drifted over my jawbone, forcing me to look up at him. “You have a cut.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Here—” He touched my hairline and I hissed. “Yes, it’s still bleeding. One moment, please.”
Pain radiated through my forehead. I cringed against it, feeling weird with the other two watching Juriah prod my scalp. Were they going to do anything or were they just going to keep staring?
Juriah stepped back. He bowed toward me to inspect my forehead, smiling when he met my gaze. “It’s stopped burning now.”
He was right. Ithadstopped burning. But it didn’t quite register until he pointed it out. What had he done?
I touched my head. Warm admiration flooded my body. Things I’d read about in books surfaced, things I’d never thought I would experience. These were feelings that people felt when they were happy, and when they wereloved. It wasn’t possible for me to know these feelings. It wasn’t possible because it had never happened.
Percy had owned me. Rick had claimed me. My mother had abandoned me. My elders were more concerned with my debt, and with the fact that I had tried to run away. Nobody had taken the time to feed me, to bathe me, to clean my wounds. Not a soul on this earth had ever considered it until Juriah came along.
And now that he was here, I couldn’t help wondering when it would be time for him to ditch me. How long would it take for him to realize he didn’t want me around? Three days? Three years?
Maybe that would never happen. Or maybe it would happen soon.
I looked up at him, overcome by the sheer generosity of his abilities and the fact that he wanted to heal me at all. Why was he doing this? What did he want? Because I was having a hard time believing he wouldn’t ask me for something in the future as payment for this sort of kindness.
Tears stung my vision as I struggled to keep my voice steady. “Just what thehellare you, mister?”
Chapter 12 - Macy
Galanthia and Izdor left after breakfast. You know, right after that sensual display of affectionate healing that Juriah had no problem giving me in front of a crowd. But if I had to guess, given the stuff he’d said in front of his friends last night, he probably didn’t mind giving other types of performances either.
Yeah, porn would work for him, I thought with a chuckle.Especially with his skills. Oh my goddess, I can’t believe what he did to me.
I sat on the couch in the living room, running my hands over the symmetrical patched fabric, focusing on the way it felt under my fingertips. “I don’t think I’ve ever sat on a couch that didn’t have holes in it.”
Juriah sat beside me, causing the cushions to dip. Call that a first too.
“Why would a couch have holes?” he asked. “Is that for special occasions?”
I laughed. “No, it’s just…” I sighed. “I’ve never really lived in a place that had things that worked.”
He gave me a puzzled look. Jesus, had this guy ever experienced poverty?
“Percy barely gave me nice clothes,” I explained. “I mean, like I would have to wear things that barely covered me. Even in the winter.”
Azaleas tickled my nose. It felt like I was sitting right next to a bush of them in a garden.
I frowned while playing with one of the throw pillows. “Percy had a couch, but it always had holes in it like he was too good to replace it or something. Nobody really had nice things there. Percy usually put his money into underground stuff.”
“Was he your leader?”
“Yeah, he is—wasmy alpha.”
