Chapter 46
We’re back in the bedroom before I can even blink.
He closes the door, locks it, and then turns to me.
I suddenly don’t know what to say or do or even think.
He doesn’t give me time to stay stuck in my head.
He steps forward and cradles my face in his hands.
“I thought about you every minute while I was stuck in that bed trying to heal.”
“I was there,” I suddenly feel the need to make sure he knows. “I came to see you.”
“I know. Jespar told me.”
“You were so still, and I thought,” I pause. Suddenly the fear I had comes roaring back with a vengeance. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it.”
His eyes soften. “I know. I’m sorry. I never want to put you through something like that again.”
“What happened to you after the fight?” The soft expression on his face fades. He takes a step back, and I miss his touch immediately. “It’s okay; we don’t have to talk about it.”
“I want to.” He takes my hand and leads me over to the bed but stops right in front of it. “Do you want to put more comfortable clothes on? Then we can talk.” He walks over to his wardrobe.
I eye his back a moment. “Is that code for something?”
He looks at me over his shoulder. “What?”
“Is that like a code to get naked?”
His lips turn up into a slow grin. “If that’s what you are proposing, I will not stand in the way of that.”
Even as my face heats, I can’t stop my laugh. “No, seriously. What did you mean?”
He laughs and shuts the drawer. “Nothing but what I said. Here, how about this?”
“One of your shirts.”
He nods. “Yep. I think you’re most relaxed when you wear one of my shirts.”
“Riiiight.” But I take the shirt from him. Or I try, but he doesn’t release it.
“But if you want to get naked for me, I will not object. Not in the least.”
I grin and snatch the shirt from his hands, shaking my head as I do. “Forget I said that,” I call out over my shoulder as I head into the bathroom.
“Never gonna happen, Angel.”
I slip inside the bathroom, still smiling.
I pull my hair down while I’m in there and brush it before changing into his shirt.
When I leave the bathroom, he’s already sitting on the bed.
Shirtless. My breath catches in my lungs, even as I act like it’s no big deal.
He pats the bed next to him, and I walk over and climb onto the bed next to him.
“Is there a reason you’re not wearing a shirt? ” I ask as casually as I can.
He lifts an eyebrow. “My mate’s orders. Remember?”
I do remember then. I settle next to him against the headboard, but he puts his arms around me and he pulls me closer to him.
If I were any closer, I’d be on top of him.
His arms stay around my side and his fingers brush over my hip.
“You saw the start of the fight, I’m assuming.
” I nod. “And did you see the part where the guy we were fighting transformed into a guivre?”
“Yes.” My voice is soft as I remember.
“It was almost impossible to fight like that. It was so close, and we just weren’t prepared for it.
His surprise shift was just too much, and it nearly cost us both our lives.
At one point, I thought we had it. But then everything changed.
I’m still not quite sure how it all happened.
But one minute, I was on my feet, fighting.
The next I'm soaring through the air with its claws digging into my shoulders. We flew forever. I fought for a while, but I couldn’t do anything more than give myself more wounds. ”
“How did it finally drop you?”
“Honestly, I think it got tired of carrying me. I don’t really have any other answers, other than that.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t break your bones on impact.”
“Yeah, I don’t really remember a whole lot by that point. I remember it flew low to avoid something, maybe trees and then suddenly, I was falling. I thought it would come back for me, but it never did. I managed to walk for a little while, before I passed out. I guess Rysden’s soldiers found me.”
“They did.”
It’s quiet between us for a few seconds, and we’re both lost in our own thoughts. I turn to look up at him. “Did you hear there was a sighting of a dragon here?”
He frowns. “Really?”
“Yeah. It happened while I was with you. Zarreth told me about it. What do you think about that?”
He continues to frown. “I have no idea.”
“Have you ever had dragons here before?”
“No. They never come this far south. Actually, they never leave the Dragon Kingdom. Period. If we see it again, we’ll have to see about contacting Rauk, King of the Dragon Kingdom.”
“You don’t sound very thrilled about that,” I point out.
“I’m not. Rauk’s not exactly,” he pauses. “He’s not the nicest guy.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, for starters, there’s the fact that he killed his father in cold blood.”
I swallow. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Like I said, not a nice guy. I haven’t actually been around him all that much.
They keep to themselves up there in the North.
I find it really odd that a dragon was flying around down here.
” We’re both quiet a minute, lost in our own thoughts.
“Anyway, there are much more important things than talking about a dragon sighting.”
I turn to him. “Yeah. What did you have in mind?”
He tugs me closer to him. “I had a lot of time to think.”
I frown. “You weren’t gone that long.”
“Yeah, but it was long enough. Lying in a bed for even a day is torture.”
“Did you heal that fast?” I ask.
“Once I woke up, I was good to go. Jespar’s healing is pretty strong.”
“Then why didn’t you come back sooner?”
He scowls. “Rysden and Farrah.” I smile because I can only imagine. “Farrah wouldn’t let me leave until she was sure I was a hundred percent. And once she decided it, Rysden and Lox and everybody there just backed her up.”
I can’t help my smile. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s how it goes now.”
“Anyway, all I could think about while I was lying in that bed healing was you. More than that, was this consuming thought that I want to get to know you, like really know you. I want more than a few minutes with you here and there. I want hours, days, uninterrupted.”
“That’s a little hard when you run a kingdom,” I say softly.
He runs a hand down my cheek. “You’re my mate, and I respect you so much.
I know I love you even, but I don’t feel like I know you as well as I want to.
The entire time we’ve known each other has been during stressful, chaotic, even dangerous times.
So, I talked to Rysden.” I lift a brow, and he smiles at me.
“When we get past some of this, I want to do just that.”
“What?” My voice is breathless.
“I want to go away for a few days, just you and me. Get to know each other, more than we already do. I want to spend time together, just the two of us.” I don’t say anything, and he continues.
“Rysden offered us a small house that he owns outside the kingdom. It's in the woods, out in the middle of nowhere. I guess it was his father’s, but it’s his now.
He said it’s private and quiet. What do you think? ”
I don’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
His face brightens. “Yeah?”
I smile. “Yeah.”
He palms my cheek again. “Let’s do it.” He leans forward and kisses me softly. “I have to tell you.” He kisses me again. “I have plans for this getaway.” Another kiss. “Lots and lots of plans.” I sigh against his lips. He tugs me closer and deepens the kiss.
I’m not sure how long we kiss, but it’s enough that I lose sense of anything else, except him. Finally, he pulls back, and his intense eyes lock with mine. “We’d better get some sleep. Tomorrow will come fast.”
My body is still buzzing with heat and adrenaline. “You should have thought of that before you kissed me senseless.”
He chuckles and pulls me towards him and pulls the blankets over us. I’m not sure how I’m gong to sleep with him this close, but after a few minutes, my body relaxes against his. Sleep tugs me under faster than I thought it would.
We’re awakened the next morning with somebody knocking on the door. My eyes fly open, and I try to make sense of what woke me up. Kaldar doesn’t move from beside me. “I gave strict orders for us not to be bothered,” he says in a low, sexy voice still laden with sleep.
“You’re going to need to see this. It can’t wait.”
Kaldar’s hand tightens on my hip, and I glance down. I hadn’t even realized that his hand was there until the warmth is removed, and I miss it. Kaldar sighs and leans forward, kissing my temple. “Who was that?” I ask, still trying to wake up.
“Evren.”
That wakes me up right away, and I roll towards him. “What do you think he wants?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know, but if he’s waking us early and Jorren gave his permission after I told him that we weren’t to be bothered, then it’s probably not good.”
I start to roll away, worry tugging at me now. But before I get far, a hand on my hip stops me. I look over my shoulder at Kaldar, and he leans towards me. He gives me a kiss on the lips. It’s not long, but it’s deep. I blink when he pulls away. “Morning, Angel.”
My smile stays with me while I get ready. Kaldar changes in the room, while I change in the bathroom. When I finish, I expect him to be gone; but he’s not. My eyebrows rise in surprise. “I thought you’d be gone.”
He smiles softly. “I was waiting for you. Ready?” He puts out his hand to me, and I put mine in his as we head out to the living room. When we get there, Evren is standing at the window, staring out. His body is tense, and I wonder what’s happened now.
He turns around as soon as we enter the room. He looks between the two of us, his sharp gaze missing nothing. “What did you need that was so important this early?” Kaldar asks in a voice that suggests it’d better be a good reason.
“I was going through my dad’s belongings.
” He pauses, and my heart tugs. I may not have liked his father, but I know what it’s like to lose a parent.
He doesn’t say anything else but reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a silk cloth.
He unwraps the cloth, and I feel Kaldar go still beside me.
I take a step forward to see what it is.
It’s a ring, a beautiful one. I recognize the jade right away, but I’m not sure what’s so important about it.
When neither of them say anything, I finally ask, “What is it?”
Evren glances at Kaldar but doesn’t say anything. Kaldar reaches out and picks up the ring and studies it. “It was my mother’s.”
I take this in and then look back at Evren. It takes a moment before it hits me. Oh. Kaldar’s mom’s ring was found inside Vaelor’s home. Oh boy.