21. Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Leena
I hummed in satisfaction, reveling in the beauty of our connection—of the bright heat and dancing sparks still skating through me. My arms stretched lazily above my head. Bare and relaxed, I delighted in his touch as he outlined my form with his fingers, tracing every curve.
“Your body is incredible,” he said, leaving a slow trail of kisses from my chest to my stomach. “Delicious,” he grumbled against my navel, and if I weren’t so satisfied, I’d have begged for him again. His large hands grabbed hold of my hips, kissing the hollow beneath the bone. I loved that my body was his and that I could be vulnerable and completely open to someone. Especially someone I felt such a strong connection with—a strong, inexplicable bond.
“Yours isn’t too bad either.” I winked at him, squealing with laughter when he grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me and rolling me on top of him until my hair fell around his face. His gaze was warm, searching me in a way that made me feel even more bare than when I was sprawled out on the floor .
His hand slid up the side of my face. “Leena.” His eyes still searched mine. “I’m so glad you’re mine.” For the briefest moment, my heart stopped.
It had been such a short period of time. Just this morning, I couldn’t stand this man, but now, I couldn’t deny my feelings or the overpowering bond between us. I should have thought sensibly, but instead, I whispered the truth. “I am wholly, completely yours.”
His lips turned up before sinking into mine, and he held me until I fell asleep in his arms, content and on top of his strong, hard body, warm and enveloped in the heat of the crackling flames.
***
When I awoke, I was still on top of him, but he was asleep. I thought of staying there, but my back hurt, and I wanted a decent night’s sleep, especially if he was intent on taking me again in the morning, which I’d gladly accept. I tip-toed upstairs, the floor cold beneath my bare feet.
I hadn’t reached the top before I heard a hiss and felt a cold scrape against my shoulder blades. The sudden shock made me choke on my own breath. I spun around, searching the dark, but there was nothing. A sick chill coiled my stomach. I must have been more tired than I realized. I’d been through a lot, and I was more convinced than ever that I needed to get a good night’s sleep. For over a decade, I’d been worked half to death by my uncle and often forced to sleep outside, sometimes after he’d hit me until my ears rang. But never had I hallucinated.
I shuffled to the bed, tucking myself into the sheets that were still in disarray from this morning. Surprisingly, I wasn’t that tired; I was weary but wide awake. It could have been from adrenaline, but I at least needed to try to sleep. Resting even without falling asleep was better than nothing, so I wrapped the soft duvet around me and closed my eyes. I let out a long sigh, my head growing heavy as if to remind me that I was tired.
And then I heard it again. Louder this time. A whispered creak from the corner of the room. Fear skated up my back. I tucked myself deeper in the blankets but couldn’t resist looking toward the sound, especially as it returned louder. And louder.
There was nothing but darkness. But for a flicker of a second, there was movement, like a black snake sticking its tail from its hiding place before slithering back into its hole. I wished I was braver—that I could call out and ask who was there—but the fear that it was nothing was almost worse than anything answering back.
Swallowing, I turned around and squeezed my eyes shut. It’s nothing. It’s just exhaustion. Nothing’s there.
Before I could so much as turn, a cold, searing pain clawed down my back. I tried to scream, but my voice was gone. The pain intensified, the weapon sinking in deeper, but still, I couldn’t cry. When the blade, or whatever it was, retracted, I looked back. But nothing was there.
My body shook. The agony was unbearable, and I wailed silent tears as the room went black.
***
“Leena?” Bratan’s deep voice roused me from my sleep. I blinked up, clearing my vision to see my husband’s worried face hovering above me. It relaxed slightly. “Leena. I thought you were hurt.”
My head was throbbing. Had I been dreaming? I looked at the corner of the room, but nothing was there. Not even a shadow. Bratan said something, but I couldn’t process it, and when I sat up, I let out a cry. The pain was there.
It was real.
“What’s wrong? What is it?” His hand quickly found my back, but at the sight of the slick, ruddy blood that painted his palm, his eyes widened. “What happened?” Fury flashed across his face, pupils dilating, his eyes going black. “Who did this to you?”
“I-I don’t know.” The words came out cracked, and I burst into tears. He quickly gathered me in his arms, and I let myself cry against his chest. “I heard a hiss, and then it got louder…there was something black in the corner, and then I felt pa in, and then nothing. And then I woke up.” I burst into harder sobs, and he stroked my back, avoiding the gash.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’ll be okay.”
I was trembling; I couldn’t stop feeling the claw ripping through my flesh or seeing a slithering black tail from the corner of my eye. Bratan’s arms squeezed around me, and it was oddly soothing. My heart rate slowed, and my body gradually stopped shaking. When I looked into his eyes, where once was worry was now a darkness—a determination rimmed with anger. But there was something strange about the way he was staring off like he was figuring out his next move.
I thought about asking him, but the thought of a deep conversation left me exhausted. I didn’t want to talk, and I’d already decided to trust him. He’d take care of this. I laid my head back down, burying my face in his chest.
“I’m scared,” I said.
His large palm glided down my back, dodging the scrape until he placed his hand softly on the gash. That healing power he’d sent through me the day we got married pushed through me. This time, it was a steady pulse beneath my skin until the gouge closed up. “Don’t worry, little dove. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” Wrapping me in his arms, he kissed my temple and whispered low. “Stay by my side, and you’ll be safe.”
“Okay.” The word was barely audible, but my throat was too dry to repeat it. But by the gentle squeeze he gave me, I knew he’d heard me. Smiling against his chest, I leaned into his embrace. Being in his arms made me safe. Protected. I never wanted to leave his side. It was strange. Less than a day had gone by since I’d been bent on hating him, but the pull to him was strong. And now that I’d given in to the feeling, everything had clicked into place.
It was like I’d been resisting fate, and now that I’d embraced it, all was right and how it should be.
I was so sick of living my life in fear, and in this new realm with threats lurking in the shadows, I was okay asking for help. I’d basically been on my own since my parents died, but I didn’t have to be anymore. That in itself was worth it.
As if knowing exactly what I was thinking, he held me tighter.
“Distract me,” I said.
“What would you like to talk about?” The question opened a door with no walls. There was so much I wanted to know. “Actually,” he said, “there’s something I want to clarify.” I looked up at him. His fingers stroked down my newly healed back. He paused, then sighed. “I didn’t know you were forced into our marriage.”
I pushed back to look up at him, my eyebrows practically shooting into my hairline. “What?”
He looked away, scratching the back of his head with a pained expression. “I was told you wanted to wed me to bring our two worlds together. To offer peace through our union.”
My raised brows turned quizzical. “You told me there was no escape for me. That I belonged to you. ”
His eyes squinted with his deepening wince. “I know this sounds ridiculous, but I was also told that human women liked to be treated that way by their romantic partners as part of sexual foreplay.”
“Foreplay?” I couldn’t help the laugh that burst from my lips. “You didn’t get the hint when I slapped you?”
“I thought it was part of the foreplay.”
I laughed even harder, and soon he joined me. Maybe it was due to the quick shift from the fear that had just racked my bones, but I was now laughing so hard my sides hurt. “I now realize how absurd it was that you’d be interested in that.”
“Who says I wouldn’t?” I said, still smiling as I looked up at him from beneath my lashes.
“But…you didn’t like it…” The look of confusion on his face was adorable.
“I didn’t then, but I think that in the right context, in the right time and place, I just might. For example,” I lifted myself up, stretching my back to look up at him, my nightdress conveniently pulling down in the front, “if I knew it was a game… and we were together like this…I might entertain the idea.”
Understanding flashed in his eyes. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against mine and pushing against it until I fell on my back. “Like this?” He wrapped his fingers around me, and I felt claws form as they pinned me to the mattress. The ripping sound of the cloth beneath me sent a thrill shivering up my spine.
“Yes,” I said, the air leaving my lungs., “but I think we should save this for another day. I’m tired, and I’m still a little shaken up.” As much as I hated putting a halt to this before it began, I knew that if we engaged in this right now, I wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy it. His lower lip almost formed a pout as he released me. “I’m sorry.”
He vehemently shook his head as he gathered me in his arms again. “You have nothing to be sorry for, little dove. Would you like to sleep, or did you want to talk?”
I had so many questions for him, but I probably wouldn’t retain the information if we did that, either. “I need to rest, and I think I’ll be okay as long as you’re with me.” He squeezed me as I kissed his chin, and then I let myself drift away in the comfort of his arms, not knowing what the future would bring.