4. Bloom #2
“That’s what I thought.” I touch his forearm. His skin is soft like velvet. “We’ve been told lies about you.”
His eyes are transfixed on where I touch him. Rhydian plucks my hand from his skin and skims his thumbs over my knuckles. I shiver at his touch.
The ache between my thighs pounds with intensity. I marvel at the size differences of our hands. Stepping closer, I absorb the warmth seeping from his body.
Rhydian releases a shuddering breath.
The emotions clouding his gaze are easy to decipher. What’s important to me is for him to understand that I know these tales of his cruelty are lies. There is only one male to blame for the deception.
“A man in our village, Pyke, collects gold and other provisions from us monthly. He says it is payment for our protection—one that’s always been collected. Those who can’t afford the tithes have their homes burned down in the middle of the night. Forced to flee and start over with nothing.”
A low growl emanates from his chest. His hands tighten on mine as he pulls me closer. I have to lean back to keep our eyes locked.
“I’d never do something like that.” Rhydian’s eyes blaze with fire as he nods towards the living room. “Does this cottage look like that of a male’s collecting monthly riches?”
I chuckle softly as I squeeze his hands, hoping to alleviate some of the tension threading between us.
“I thought the same thing the moment I arrived,” I say. “Pyke is more horrible than I originally thought. Lying to us about you—taking our money. He’s pure evil.”
The callouses on his fingers scrape against my wrists. Our bodies are nearly touching as I crowd closer. His scent invades my lungs with its masculine decadence. I want to trace the grooves of his chest with my tongue and feel every hard inch against me.
“And you came here. Thinking I was this horrible monster.” He shudders. “Capable of killing those who didn’t comply. I can only hope you don’t still harbor those ill feelings towards me.”
“Of course, I don’t,” I breathe. “I knew the type of male you were the moment you healed me. Our time together has been brief, and you are many things, Rhydian, but you aren’t a monster.”
Gratitude swims in his eyes as his large hands continue to trace my bare skin. I’m sure we make quite the picture. My head barely reaches the center of his chest.
Dark hair blows in front of my eyes. Rhydian tucks a strand behind my ear and gently caresses the shell. His touches are shy, unsure.
I lean into him, showing him without words that he can touch me however much he wants to. I welcome it just as I welcome him. I don’t want this to be goodbye. With the truth laid bare, there is a way forward, but I’m not sure he’s going to like it.
“Come back to Dew Hollow with me,” I say in a rush. “If the villagers are able to talk to you—hear your testimony—they’ll have no choice but to believe the truth about Pyke.”
Silence descends all around us. I wish I could pull the words back.
The longing in his eyes frosts over. He drops my hand. I feel the loss of our connection like a physical blow. His fingers dig into the sides of his cotton pants. Anger twists his features as his nostrils flare.
“I will not. Helping you is one thing, Bloom. But I—I—” Rage makes his voice shake. “I hate humans.”
It would’ve hurt less if he struck me.
My knees buckle as I absorb his words. The finality in them. I see the cracks in it. That his hatred is to cover up some larger hurt.
A crack splits down my heart, stealing my breath.
“A human killed my father.”
The words are barely above a whisper.
My bleeding heart breaks anew as the anger in his eyes gives way to sadness. On instinct, I go to him, throwing my arms around his middle. I bury my cheek against the hard ridges of his stomach and hold him tightly.
“Oh, Rhy,” I murmur. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t let the actions of one bad human ruin us all. If you come back with me, you’ll see most of them are kind souls.”
Rhydian’s hands fall to my waist.
They fit completely around me. He strokes my sides with his thumbs. A humorless chuckle seeps from his lips. I pull back to look at him, to show him that I mean what I say.
“What would you have me do there? What would be my role? Lord over the town as my father had attempted to do. He had collected a paltry tithe then, but he had protected the villagers. No doubt, they will run me out for leaving them vulnerable all this time.”
“They wouldn’t—”
“Save it, Bloom. They don’t have your good-naturedness when it comes to my appearance. They will take one look at me, and I pray I go back to whatever hell I escaped from.”
I shake my head.
It’s the isolation talking. He’s been alone for too long. Things are different. Perhaps his father had lived separately from us, keeping Dew Hollow safe from the shadows, but Rhydian could join us in the light. They would understand his absence due to grief.
Besides the tithe, we have suffered no duress that disrupts our way of life. With Rhydian a part of the village, he could keep any unknown threats at bay from inside our community.
“Come live with me and my father. Work in the bakery alongside us until—”
“You married another,” he interrupts.
His words rip the air from my lungs. I pull back and stare at the agony in his face. The despair is more pronounced than when discussing his father’s passing. His hands on my waist tighten as if he can physically keep me with him while his words paint a different picture.
“I made peace with sending you back, Bloom. With knowing that when the morning came, you would go with it. That I would never see you again.” His fingers trail over my cheek. “Even though I want to beg you to stay.”
“Rhydian—”
His thumb trails over the line of my jaw as he lets loose a harsh breath. Rhydian's large frame trembles as if his desire is too great to bear.
The restraint he’s clinging to weakens by the second.
“It is strange. I’ve spent nearly three decades alone. Believed I would die in isolation—perish never knowing the companionship and love my parents shared. But the moment I met you everything changed.” Rhydian flattens a large palm against the center of his chest. “I feel you. In here.”
“I feel you too,” I whisper.
Desire swirls in his dark eyes, but he looks away. My nipples press into his chest as the skin between my thighs turns damp.
“I will not trap you in this lonely existence with me, Bloom. A man awaits you. One who can live peacefully in your village. You believe the others are good, but I’ve seen the very worst in your kind. They wouldn’t welcome me in. More than that, they would seek to poison you against me.”
His hand travels up my side in a slow glide.
“And I couldn’t stand being so close when you realized you meant for another. It would kill me. It is why I have to say goodbye to you while I’m still strong enough to let you go.”
My heart races. I don’t know what to say.
My mind is a mess of emotions. How can I prove to him that it will be safe in Dew Hollow with me? That if they cast him out, I would go with him wherever he chose.
There will never be another for me. I’m more sure of that now than when I first entered the cottage.
“It is the plight I must carry for the rest of my cursed existence. For my thoughts to never be free of you, to wonder how you are, and wish that I could be by your side. Envying the man who gets to enjoy your kind heart and lovely face.”
Rhydian steps back from me, creating space between our bodies.
“Leave me, Bloom. Go back and tell them the truth. I’ll write a statement for you to give them, but I beg you not to return. I won’t have the strength to let you go twice.”
The devastation in his gaze grips me like a vice.
His words replay in my mind. Rhydian’s isolation has corrupted him. He is worthy of love and understanding. Worthy of companionship—of me. I want him more than anything.
We had made the same peace with our fate, but there’s a chance now for us to have what we want. Each other. My place is with him.
In a perfect world, he will join my father and me in the bakery. I have to show him that no matter what the people of Dew Hollow may think, I see him for who he is.
He isn’t a cursed monster but a kind male. The one I want to give my body and heart to.
I would stay another night here, but I must return to Dew Hollow before Pyke makes off with anyone else’s coins. Hopefully, he hasn’t learned the truth of my whereabouts and has already fled to avoid justice. He has serious crimes to answer for.
In time.
For now, I have a minotaur to assure of my desires. If my words will not sway him, then my actions will have to. Tonight, I would’ve been forced to marry a cruel man. Fate gave me the strength to embark on a perilous journey and find Rhydian at the end of it.
My perfect match. My savior.
The one I have no plans on leaving come dawn. Once he is assured of my feelings, I know he will accompany me back to Dew Hollow. He has the look of a male who would do anything should I but give the word. A trait I long to see the depths of in every wicked way imaginable.
Starting right now.
Sliding forward, my hands trail the waistband of his pants. They skim over each harsh contour of his stomach as I lick my lips. I glide them up his chest before pressing up on my toes and wrapping my arms around his neck.
Our bodies are flush as I tip my head back. His warmth soaks through my shift and encourages more arousal to seep down my thighs. The ache there demands to be acknowledged before I combust.
“Then keep me,” I whisper against his lips before sealing our mouths together.