12. Lovette
Chapter 12
Lovette
I shouldn’t have been so pleased to find Gaius’s gift sitting outside my apartment door after my late dinner.
Admittedly, my initial response was suspicion, but my heart softened the moment I found the letter inside. If nothing else, the gesture proved he wasn’t as indifferent to our situation as he claimed to be. Inside the basket was sufficient cheese and bread for a week’s worth of midnight snacks, not to mention a variety of dried fruits and my favorite chocolates from a candymaker in Revalia. He’d even included some pastries and muffins, along with an assortment of loose teas and coffee beans from one of the bakeries.
By all accounts, it was a very thoughtful bounty, not to mention expensive. I was glad nobody—namely my sister—was around to see me blushing fiercely and making excited cooing noises as I dug out one fantastic treat after another. I couldn’t wait to sample everything.
It was a good apology, too. The letter was thoughtful and genuine, though I did still want to hear the words. How he’d managed to select such perfect items was beyond me. It was almost like the grumpy Gaius I thought I knew and this one, the one I worked quietly beside in his hut, were different men altogether.
A ball of heat knotted in my chest. I was hopeful. The Gaius I’d known to this point had a very difficult time admitting when he was wrong in any capacity, so I took this gesture as quite a leap in a new direction.
Invigorated by his generosity, I went around the conclave, searching huts one after another, intent on finding a chair that was wider, deeper, and much more comfortable for sitting than the one he had. I had no idea if he’d take the gesture as I meant it—a way for him to not be perpetually causing himself more discomfort—or if he’d be insulted.
For larger-sized beings, we’d certainly collected a lot of furniture that accommodated smaller human bodies instead of our own. While many dwellings boasted only cushions, nearly all of the ones that had chairs contained the skinny, straight-backed wooden abominations I was trying to replace. It took me over an hour of tromping in and out of unoccupied huts to find a single chair that I considered a decent candidate for my purposes, and another hour to decide that of the three I’d found, my first was, of course, the best option.
Slightly miffed, and already designing something better than any of them in my head, I hauled the chair to Gaius’s hut. It was late, and I knocked, fully expecting to hear his footsteps grumpily thumping toward me, but it was quiet inside. I peered around the building, finding the windows were dark, as well.
My bright mood quickly turned to deep suspicion, because if he wasn’t here, where was he? I had several guesses, and none of them were good.
After knocking a third time, I turned the handle and swung the door open wide. “Don’t mind if I do,” I muttered to myself, hauling the chair in before lighting one of the oil lamps.
After a quick look around, impressed at the progress he’d made in my absence, I installed the chair where he normally sat, moving the terrible chair to the other side of the small table. I found myself smiling, thinking of us sitting across from one another while we worked. Though, honestly, I’d much prefer the softness of the bed.
I knew I should leave quickly, I was invading his space in the worst way, but I couldn’t make myself go without spending at least a few minutes with the jewelry. I sat in the newly acquired chair, pleased with my choice, as I picked one full necklace from the nearly finished bunch. Hanging it on the board of pegs before dampening the lamp, I then returned to my apartment… with the remaining tangled nests of chains.
It was beyond late when Gaius pounded on my door.
I’d fallen asleep on the sofa after pulling no fewer than fifteen necklaces out of one of the knots. I hadn’t been waiting for him, not exactly, but the later the hour I got, the more I worried about what kind of trouble he might have gotten into. I’d decided while doing a thorough sampling of the treasures in my basket of treats that I’d likely be woken to the sound of the infirmary bell. It was rare I was so happy to be wrong.
“Lovette? Open the door.” His tone betrayed annoyance, but he was also not nearly as loud as he could have been, which seemed unusually polite.
“Coming.” I yawned as I crossed the room, heart pounding in anticipation of which version of the man I might find on the other side of the door.
“You took the necklaces?” he asked, worry pulling his features into stark lines.
“Yes.”
His shoulders sagged in relief, but a scowl quickly formed. “I told you they were not to leave my hut.”
“They’re right over there. Would you like to come in?” I gestured to the low table between my two sofas.
Gaius grumbled something under his breath as he limped over, doing inventory of what I’d taken at a glance. He spun. “You brought me a different chair?”
“I did. The one you had was doing you no favors. Would you like some tea? I was gifted a lovely assortment recently.” I raised an eyebrow. He was stunned into momentary silence. “Thank you for that, by the way. I love everything. The letter… well. I appreciate it very much.”
He opened his mouth and closed it again. “You’re welcome. And no to the tea. What exactly are you wearing?”
I glanced down at the oversized tunic I used for sleeping and observed how it brushed my knees like an oddly designed summer dress. “A tunic? Have a seat.”
“I shouldn’t stay,” he said, suddenly uncomfortable. “I just wanted to be sure nothing had been taken. You’ll bring them back tomorrow?”
“If you like. I made some good headway tonight. I was only trying to be efficient.” We both knew I was lying. I’d taken them to provoke him, left evidence it was me even. “Were you out causing trouble? Anything I should know about?”
He sat stiffly on the opposite sofa, one hand reaching to rub at his achy leg the moment he was off his feet. “Nothing noteworthy, just a visit to a tavern with… an old friend,” he said.
“Mmm.” Heat bloomed in my cheeks, an unexpected flare of jealousy that took me by surprise.
Gaius rubbed at the space over his heart with the heel of his hand, the same place that was now burning in me, as well. The bond didn’t care to be ignored, especially when we were in such close proximity.
“I am truly sorry, Lovette.”
“Your letter was very sincere, but I appreciate you saying it, as well. I could certainly have said some things differently myself.”
He looked up, gaze tortured. “You spoke the truth, nothing more. For what it’s worth… you were right.” He swallowed, as though the words scratched his throat on their way out.
“That’s … Thank you.”
He gave a gentle nod, and I saw it again, his exhaustion. The scent of hoppy ale and salty tavern stew lingered on his skin.
“Let me see,” I said as I traded my seat for the one next to him. He stiffened as my shoulder brushed his arm. “Your leg. Let me see.”
“I’m fine.”
I sighed, boldly reaching out with my hand and gripping his jaw. “I’m too damn tired to argue with you, Gaius. I can tell you’re hurting. Let me see your leg. Now. Please.” Eyes wide, he swallowed again, turning to the side as he allowed me to pull his calf over my knees. With my fingers, I probed the tight muscles and made sure the bones and ligaments were where they should be. “You need to use your cane,” I said, returning his foot to the floor.
He scowled. “It makes me look weak.”
“ Not using it will actually make you weak, stubborn man. It’s a tool, much like your sword, nothing to be ashamed of. Didn’t Imogen make it for you? Is that not enough reason to use it?”
He actually snorted a laugh. “Fair point.”
“It’s good for balance, support. You need it.”
“Doctor’s orders?” he teased, good humor sending a rush of heat through me.
“Damn right. I'm no physician, though.”
“Close enough, healer. And who am I to argue with such an authority.” His sigh was deep and long-suffering.
I laughed outright then, appreciating how his entire face changed when he smiled in response, becoming younger somehow. “You’d argue with me on principle, no matter what I said.”
His grin widened, and my pulse sped up to the point of leaving me lightheaded. “Perhaps.” His voice went breathy and low. “Maybe I like the way you fight with me, Little Dove. Not many are brave enough to face me down the way you do. It does something to me.”
“Oh?” My face was on fire as he stared at me, the tension between us a thick cloud of lust and uncertainty.
I had no idea how to do… whatever this was. Everything was new, thrilling. Terrifying. The bond smoldered hot under my ribs, my heart thumping so hard I was surprised I couldn’t see it through my shirt.
“Why do you have this effect on me, Lovette? I can’t think past you. You’re always there, in all the places you shouldn’t be. My head, my sheets. Your little tools hidden among the drawers in my armoire. Even tonight, I was with your father, of all people, and all I wanted to do was see your face. I wanted you to be proud of me for doing the right thing.”
“You were with my father? He’s the old friend?”
“Yes.”
“What right thing were you doing?”
“We both apologized.”
“You did?” I nearly squealed the words, they came out with such enthusiasm.
“The rift has been mended, I daresay. And I’m very pleased to see that look on your face for real, make no mistake. But I don’t want to talk about him right now. Not after you grabbed my face like that.”
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked, but my words disappeared into breath as he raised a hand, running his fingers down my cheek, across my jaw. He used his thumb to pluck at my bottom lip, his eyes slipping closed as he released a heavy breath.
“I should go,” he whispered.
I said nothing and literally bit my tongue so I wouldn’t beg him not to. My chest ached to the point of pain. I wanted him to touch me more. To kiss me, to seal this thing between us, to make it real.
“Tell me to go, Lovette.”
“I wouldn’t have invited you in if I wanted that. And I am proud of you, Gaius.”
He groaned, the sound wounded and harsh. Then several things happened at once, my spinning head and pounding heart too slow to respond until it was done. His arms slid around my waist and he leaned back, which left him reclined across the sofa cushions with me astride his lap, a glazed look in his eyes and a very obvious need pulsing between us.
Especially because there was nothing under my tunic.