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"Ready for that bath now?"
"Nmg."
"Nmg? Is that some new language I'm unaware of?" he deadpans.
"You broke my brain. So you're to blame for my new form of communication."
He kisses my shoulder and tugs at my nipple. "So yes? We'll wash up and we can have waffles on the back patio."
"Nmg," I say again.
Laughter spills from his lips, tickling the inside of my ear. "I'll take Nmg as a yes."
Before I protest, he climbs off the bed and walks around to lift me in his arms. He struggles less this time, making it seem effortless. Confused when he passes the bathroom and carries me into the kitchen, I glance behind us. "You're aware the bathroom is back that way, right? Or do you typically bathe in the sink?"
Spurting a laugh, he shakes his head and his grayish-blue eyes light up. "I thought we'd take a rinse in the water today." Balancing me with one hand and both arms, he opens the door and steps outside. The air is cool today and the sky is so blue, it nearly matches the water.
"If you're expecting me to swim right now, it's not going to happen. My limbs are not fully working yet."
"Don't worry. I'm not ready to let you go yet anyway." He presses a kiss to my lips, looking at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world. Slowly entering the water, he treats me as such too, holding on to me the whole time. His grip tightens when he's waist deep in the water and he lowers us enough to where we're both mostly submerged in it.
"Someone already needs a nap and we haven't been awake for very long."
I don't realize I'm closing my eyes until he says that. "You sure? I feel as if I've been awake for days."
"It's okay, lovely. Go ahead and close your eyes. I have you. You're safe with me.” His words wrap around me like a blanket of hope. His promises sound so good and believable. So did Theon's though, and look at how that turned out. It's funny, I was prepared to have him on my mind the whole trip and to struggle to find ways to drown out our memories together. I’d also planned to be alone.
Rory changed everything. The only time Theon pops up in my head is when Rory has me wanting to trust again. What I'm feeling for him in such a short amount of time terrifies the fuck out of me. Never mind him being a demon from hell. Of course that would be the number one issue for normal people. I was never good at being one of them before so why start now?
Warming up and splashing into my side, the water feels good against my skin. It feels even more glorious with the sun hitting me just right and Rory stroking my back. I planned on experiencing this all alone. Lying in the sand with no one to talk to. Reading on the couch, snuggled up with a pillow instead of someone else. Swimming and holding myself up in the water. I'm glad things don't always work out the way they're supposed to.
Burying my face in his neck, I breathe in the combination of salt water, smoky campfire, and me. I can't help but want to always be one of the scents lingering on his skin. He kisses my nose and then lips, swaying us with the water. Not knowing how much time has passed, I open my eyes when the cool air of the house hits my skin. We're back inside. He closes the door shut behind us with his foot and smiles down at me.
"Have a nice nap?"
"How long was I out for?" I look around, horrified by how much water we're dripping all over the floor.
"Don't worry. I'll clean it up while you sleep some more. The sheets in my room too. And I'm not sure. Not too long. Boats were driving out too close to us and I didn't feel like being a new discovery for someone to take back to their lab this morning."
My chuckles are cut off by my shivers when he sits me on the cold bathroom counter. My body tightens up and I wrap my arms around myself.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's hard for me to think of any surfaces being cold since nothing ever is to me."
"Nothing ever?" I ask, tilting my head.
"No. As soon as I touch anything, it turns warm beneath my touch."
"It makes sense why you're the perfect blanket then."
Smiling, he reaches for two towels under the sink. He wraps one around me and ties the other around his waist. He assists me in drying off and lifts me from the sink. We look so odd in the mirror's reflection. My large body looks like it's crushing him but he takes me to the bed so effortlessly and lays me down, treating me like delicate glass.
"Do I not get any clothes?"
"No. I'm going to keep it like this the rest of the trip."
"I hope you don't plan on taking me to that bakery then. Don't think I'll meet their dress code."
"You're not mad I pretended to be someone else?"
