Chapter Twenty-Nine
I t was late morning when Rowena woke.
She still wasn’t used to the luxury of sleeping in a bed. Sometimes it seemed entirely too soft, but last night, she’d fallen into a blissful stupor. Without reciprocating as she’d promised.
Slay didn’t seem like the type to hold it against her, at least. Carefully, she rolled over in his arms. He had been spooned up behind her, his face buried in her hair again.
His eyes were closed, lashes thick and black against his cheeks.
Dark stubble lined his jaw, giving him a rugged look.
His chin was strong, his cheekbones carved like masterful stonework, but she liked his thick brows most of all.
When she first met him, his head had been shorn like every other new prisoner.
It had been long enough that his hair was growing back in unruly curls.
Carefully, she brushed the strands away, smoothing them between her fingers.
Light as a feather, she dusted her fingertips down the slope of his magnificent nose, then grazed his full lower lip.
He truly was so beautiful that her heart ached just looking at him.
Snuggling against the pillow—another unfamiliar comfort—she delighted in gazing at his face.
As Ro drank him in, Slay opened his eyes suddenly and touched his nose to hers, finishing with a kiss on her chin. “Can’t get enough of me, huh?”
“Not even slightly.”
“We’re not locked up together anymore,” Slay said quietly. “You could go anywhere or do anything.”
A chilly feeling settled into her soul. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“What? No! I was just saying, you’re not tied to Golgerra anymore and I’m not the second in Ash Valley. No limits, no obligations. Have you thought about the future at all?”
“I just woke up. The only thing I thought about is how much I like your face.” A sudden thought struck her. “You resigned! How did they take it?”
“Dom protested and said he can’t do without me, but honestly that’s more because we’re friends than because I’m particularly good at the job. I told him I’d help him pick some candidates as my successor before we leave.”
“Where are you going?” Ro asked.
“That’s what we need to figure out.” Slay sat up and stretched, rubbed the grit from his eyes. “By the way, I have a favor to ask.”
Ro didn’t even need to think before answering, “Anything. Name it.”
He aimed a lazy grin in her general direction. “I could get used to this.”
“Please do. What do you need?”
Sobering, Slay explained, “There’s a guy named Eamon, friend of Pru’s more than mine, but I’m concerned about him too.”
She could tell Slay was struggling to get the words right, so she covered his hand with hers. “Don’t worry about my reaction. Just explain what you need from me.”
He relaxed, wrapping his fingers around hers, a gesture that always moved her.
“Eamon was held by your people for a long time, taken in a skirmish when he was young. He hasn’t been home that long, relatively speaking.
We got him back in exchange for some tech that Tycho really wanted before the conclave exploded. ”
“Oh,” she said, suddenly understanding a lot more than he’d articulated. “I’m so sorry.”
“You and I have both been through it, gotten out of the undercity. But Eamon, it’s like he never left. He’s still trapped there in his head. Last I knew, he was afraid to leave his flat, and I was hoping you’d go with me to talk to him.”
Ro closed her eyes, aching for the wounds this man had suffered.
She could imagine all too well what Eamon had experienced as a prisoner.
The injuries inflicted by Tycho’s regime would take a long time to heal, if they ever did.
Truthfully, it was nothing short of a miracle that Ash Valley had successfully negotiated Eamon’s release, as the tyrant had hated relinquishing anything once he grabbed hold of it.
“I’m happy to go with you. After breakfast? I would like to try making you some food, though I haven’t used a stove too often. Most of what I made was in the field as we marched.”
“The fact that you want to cook for me is already incredible.” Slay seemed to mean those words, and the warmth permeated to her bones.
She rose onto her knees and kissed his nose again. “Take a shower, my love.” Was that too daring? “I’ll see what’s in the cupboards.”
Slay’s eyes flashed molten gold, maybe over the endearment. “Probably not a lot. The fridge was empty last night, and I wasn’t sure how long we were staying, so—”
“No worries. Let’s discuss that after we visit your friend.”
Slay kissed the top of her head and rolled out of bed, offering an excellent view of his bitable ass.
Ro admired it until the bathroom door closed behind him, then she put on one of his shirts and headed to the kitchen.
As he’d predicted, there was nothing in the refrigerator except ice in the freezer section.
The cupboards yielded better results; she found a box of powdered milk, a tin of oats, and a packet of dried fruit.
Happy with her find, she got out a pot and measured the water and oats, two to one ratio.
She’d made this on a tripod over a fire before, so it should taste okay.
Dried fruit, pinch of sugar, a few spoons of milk powder…
By the time Slay finished washing up, she had steaming bowls of oatmeal ready, and she was happy with how it turned out, creamy and sweet, not bad for a meal created from almost nothing. He seemed amazed as he joined her at the table.
“I honestly didn’t think you’d find anything. You’re incredible!”
“How is it?” she asked, feeling unaccountably shy.
He ate the first spoonful with apparent relish. “Creamy. Sweet. Would you hit me if I added ‘just like you’?”
Ro grinned. “Try it and find out. But I know you didn’t just compare me to a bowl of oatmeal.” She raised her spoon in a mock threatening move.
This is how life should be, laughter at mealtimes over silly things.
“Thanks for breakfast, Ro. I’ve never woken up with someone like this before. And…I’m really into it.”
Startled, she paused mid-bite. “I thought you were with Pru for a long time. Or that’s the impression I got. She didn’t sleep over or cook for you?”
He grimaced a little. “Yeah, I did a lot of shit wrong back then.”
“Everyone does,” she said, returning to her breakfast. “And they learn from their mistakes. I don’t know how you were before, but I’m awed by the person you are now.”
Slay reached across the table, took her hand, and pressed a kiss into her palm. “If you don’t stop being so irresistible, I’m taking you back to bed and licking this oatmeal off you.”
Ro raised a brow and shook her head. “That doesn’t sound remotely enticing.”
He sighed. “I keep trying to make oatmeal sexy, but it can’t be done. I’m sorry.”
“Porridge is not seductive, but it’s filling and nutritious. Eat your breakfast!” Pensively, she added, “I feel like I should tell you that I’m not interested in bringing food into our sex lives. I find it disgusting and so wasteful. Is that disappointing?”
Slay laughed. “I can live without smearing stuff on you, I swear.”
“That’s good,” Rowena said firmly. “Because it’s a line I’m not crossing. Let me eat, shower, and then we can go see Eamon.”
Slay loved watching Ro get dressed.
Not because he wanted her body covered up, but she took such pleasure in picking her next outfit that he basked in that vicarious joy.
Today, she had on white dress with lace sleeves.
When she moved, it offered tantalizing glimpses of skin.
She tied her hair up, revealing the graceful nape of her neck.
“You look gorgeous,” he said, when she sent him a look entreating his opinion.
Ro tilted her head, seeming startled. “How’d you know?”
He paused. How did I know? The mate bond suggested itself as an answer, but he had a certain order in his head dictating how he approached their future. He wouldn’t declare his love impulsively like so many of his other moves.
So Slay lifted a shoulder. “Dunno. I just did. Eamon lives nearby.”
He led the way, but Ro held onto his hand, swinging their arms like she couldn’t be happier, even though this wouldn’t be an easy talk. Hell, her scent might freak Eamon out, but Slay hoped that her Eldritch aspect would let the man cope long enough to hear her out.
Really, he had no idea if Rowena could do any good, but she said the right things to Slay. So why not give it a shot? If Eamon showed any distress, they’d book it out of his space.
“You’re thinking hard,” she said, as they climbed the steps to Eamon’s floor.
Unlike other flats nearby, Eamon’s door was reinforced with metal bands. It would take heavy machinery or a battering ram to break it down. Well, that or a rhino demon shock trooper like those that laid waste to the inner gates of Golgerra.
“Just hoping that I made the right call.”
“I’ll leave if he doesn’t want me there,” Ro promised.
Nodding, Slay knocked briskly, then called, “Hey, bro! Don’t know if you heard, but I’m back. Do you feel like letting us in for a bit?”
With Slay’s sharp ears, he caught movement inside, the other man approaching the door with his customary caution. “Us?”
“I wanted to introduce you to someone special,” Slay said.
She spoke without being prompted. “My name is Rowena. It’s fine if you don’t want me to come in. I realize that I’m a stranger.”
“I’m having a good day, and I haven’t seen Slay in forever. Everyone thought—”
“That I was dead?” Slay supplied.
“Pretty much. Caio suggested having a funeral for you, but neither Dom nor Pru were having it. To hear Pru tell it, there was quite the dustup.”
“You stay remarkably in the loop for somebody who never leaves home,” Slay said, as multiple locks and bolts turned on the other side of the door.