44. Cato
Cato
Aryn pushes out a long breath, like he could purge the exhaustion from his body by blowing it away.
He steps forward and wraps his arms around my middle, resting his head on my shoulder.
The easy affection hits hard, clicking into place like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this exact weight against my chest. It’s a novel thing, being wanted in this way.
Right now, he wants comfort, and he’s coming to me to get it.
People come to me for strength. They come to me for protection, or to get a job done—when they need something.
No one has ever come to me for soft moments like this.
To just… be.
Somehow, I fall for him just a little harder.
For a few heartbeats we stand there, breathing each other in. “I probably stink,” I say eventually.
“Oh, you do,” he agrees without hesitation.
A soft chuckle slips out of me as I press a kiss to his temple. “Yeah, you’re not exactly a desert rose right now either, darlin’.”
His eyes move up to mine, eager in a way that turns my insides right to mush. “Can I… wash you? I know you’re exhausted, but…” He trails off, clearly fighting the urge to take care of me. I nod, too worn out to argue and too far gone on him to do anything besides indulge him.
We step into the bathroom, and he tilts his chin toward the shower. “Rinse the worst of the road off. I’ll run the bath.”
It takes me a few tries to figure out the taps, but soon the room fills with steam.
I strip out of my filthy clothes and step under the spray with a loud groan.
The warm water is pure mercy on my battered muscles and aching spine.
Dirt and grime form rivers on my limbs, making me cringe as I watch it swirl down the drain.
Soaps that smell similar to mint and honey cut through the worst of it, and by the time I step out, the tub is full and waiting.
Aryn is naked now, watching me with open hunger as I drip onto the rug. “Climb in,” he says, dragging his hand down my arm. “I’ll join you in a moment.”
The water is hot enough to erase the days in the cold, and I sink in until only my face is above the surface. A few minutes later, Aryn steps out of the shower and slides into the tub behind me.
“We’ve been riding like this for days,” I say as I scoot lower and settle back against his chest. “Aren’t you tired of being behind me yet?”
He hums quietly and tilts my chin back so our eyes meet. “I could never get tired of being anything with you.”
His hands are gentle as he washes me, soapy palms sliding over my chest and down my arms. He works shampoo into my hair, raking his nails along my scalp in a way that makes my eyes fall shut.
Then he laughs softly and pushes the soapy strands up into a mohawk.
I leave it there just to keep that smile on his face, spinning around to return the favor.
I kneel in the water to wash his hair and work out the tangles left behind by the wind. He laughs even harder when I duck my head under the water and shake off like a dog, and I decide with absolute certainty I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life.
Once we’re both rinsed, he guides me back against his chest. His hands resume their slow exploration, drifting down my chest until his fingers roll over my nipples. Soft kisses trail along my neck, lingering on the mostly healed bite mark on my shoulder.
“I’ve never bitten anyone before,” he admits as those damn fingers dip lower on my belly.
After a long stretch, it’s obvious he needs a prompt. “You saying I’m special?”
“Of course you are,” he says, but instead of joking, it sounds almost sad. “I have to tell you something.”
My heart ramps up in my chest as I fight to keep my voice level. “Sounds pretty serious.”
He hums thoughtfully, pressing another kiss to my shoulder. “I wasn’t entirely truthful with you. My people don’t use our fangs often.”
“Why not?”
His fingers brush over my navel, teasing the hair before he answers. “It’s a claiming. Some view it as archaic.”
“You already claimed me,” I say with a quiet laugh. “The Fates claimed us both.”
“This is different. If another Dreven saw that bite mark on your neck, they’d take it as a warning to stay away. They might even smell it. In the old days, Dreven would kill someone just for touching their marked shaelin.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t want any other Dreven, then.”
“I should’ve asked you,” he whispers against my ear, voice rough. “I just wanted you so badly.” His hand flattens on my chest, holding me tighter against him as his other fingers trace over my glowing mark. The attention feels… worshipful, almost.
Thankful.
My throat works in a rough swallow, and I wonder if he can feel the heavy thud of my heart beneath his palm. “You know,” I say, “if you’d asked me a year ago where I’d be today, this would’ve been the last thing I guessed.”
He chuckles softly. “What, you didn’t see yourself on an adventure between the worlds? Or was it the whole becoming the hero of the Fates you wouldn’t have believed?”
“Oh, being someone’s hero was already a given,” I respond, managing a grin. “That was always the plan.”
“So being here is the wild card?”
I take a shaky breath and gather my courage, covering his hand with mine and pressing it harder over my pounding heart. “Yeah. Being here. Being with you in this amazing place, trying to figure out exactly how to say what I need to say without chickening out.”
His hand stills for a moment before he resumes tracing the mark. “And what do you need to say?”
Another deep breath fills my lungs, though I don’t dare look at him. “I’ve never done this, Aryn.”
“There are things I want you to know, too,” he says softly. “I could—”
“No,” I interrupt. “No, I want to be brave for you.”
He presses a kiss to my neck that makes me shiver. “You are brave, rha khor. You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah, with fighting and explosions and shit… not with love.”
He hums softly. “Is that what this is?”
“It has to be, doesn’t it? There’s no other way to explain how I lose my godsdamned mind when I’m around you.
It’s like nothing else matters.” I risk a glance over my shoulder and find his brows pinched, almost like he’s in pain.
“My whole life, I’ve told myself not to get attached.
Shit gets taken away too easily, and I don’t…
” I trail off with a sigh and drop my gaze to his chest. “I don’t want you to be taken away. I want to keep you.”
His fingers move from my arm to my chin as he gently forces my eyes back to his. “You can keep me,” he promises.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to love you like you deserve. Fuck, I can’t even say it without turning into a rambling mess.”
“Love has no rules, Cato, and it doesn’t give you any say in the matter. Sometimes a fire-haired human shows up in your path and disrupts your entire world. Then all you can do is hope he feels even an ounce of what you’re feeling.”
“Just an ounce?” I ask, lips trying to lift in a nervous smile.
“That’s all I need,” he responds quietly, “because even that tiny amount is enough. It fills the place inside me that’s been empty for so fucking long.”
“Fuck, why are you so good at this?” I breathe as I turn in his arms. Water sloshes up the sides of the tub as I climb into his lap and let my knees fall to bracket his hips. “I love you. You have to know that, right? I’m in love with you, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
He smiles so sweetly as his hands settle on my hips, holding my body flush against his. “You don’t do anything about it, kitten. You just hold on.”
I lick my lips, staring into those intense golden eyes. “Will you… do you…”
Understanding dawns on his face despite my fumbling, and he guides me closer.
“I have loved you since the first time I woke up beside you and realized I never wanted you to leave. You are mine, and I am yours.” He leans in until our lips barely brush.
“I love you with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take. I’ll love you until my final moment in this life, and then I will love you in the next. ”
He kisses me harder, fingers digging into my hips as he urges me to move against him. Fangs scrape against my lower lip as he nips until my mouth parts, and his tongue finds mine. The relief of getting the confession out is quickly replaced by something much hotter and far more urgent.
“Want you,” I murmur as I grip his cock, thumb tracing over the tendrils floating in the water. I wrap my fingers around us both and rock my hips a few more times. He shudders, then stands and drags me up with him.
Water drips everywhere as we stumble into the bedroom, moving from the slick stone floor to the thick padding of the rugs until we’re standing naked in front of the fire. The sun has set since we locked ourselves away in the bathroom, and the only light now is the flickering glow of the flames.
Aryn guides me down onto my back on the soft furs, firelight dancing across his skin. He crawls over me with slow, deliberate movements, golden eyes never leaving mine. His hands slide up my thighs, spreading them wider as he settles between them, then leans in and takes me into his mouth.
The heat is overwhelming. My head falls back against the furs with a loud groan as his tongue swirls around the head.
He doesn’t tease this time—doesn’t torture me with that endless patience.
Instead, he seals his lips around me and sucks me deep, tonguing along the underside of my cock before circling the head again like he can’t get enough.
The wet heat, the gentle suction, and the way his lips stretch around me are almost too much.
I try to stay in control, fists clenched in the furs, but I’m already losing it.
Aryn is the only one who’s ever reduced me to nothing but pure need like this.
He pulls off with a wet sound and looks up at me with dark eyes and shiny lips. “You’re eager, aren’t you?”
“Please?” I whine.