Yelena turned her head to smile at him. "So you gently brush everyone's hair after sex?"
"No. I usually pay and leave," he replied honestly.
"Then I'm honored to have the special attention," she said without any judgment. "It's a new experience for me."
"It's...new to me too." Valentine didn't know what to say or do because it was the first time he had hung around after sex at all. He only knew he had to take care of her.
"I'm sure we can figure it out together," Yelena said.
Could it be that simple? Valentine made overthinking an Olympic-level sport, but he didn't want to overthink whatever was happening between them and ruin it.
"Thank you again for the hand. I have a feeling that Midir isn't going to stop, and I want to be able to fight back," Yelena said, changing the subject.
"I ate your other one, along with Cathal. I felt like I had to make sure you had a good replacement."
Yelena giggled. "Gods, I wish I could have seen his face when you charged in there."
"He was trying to shift out of my grip. I had to make sure he was dead and not just a bug or something," Valentine replied, and it only made her laugh more. "Everyone else has been really disgusted by that, so I'm glad you are laughing."
"That's because it makes perfect sense. It was the only way to ensure he was really dead. Midir is going to be howling over the loss of him, and it makes it funnier," she said, leaning back against his chest.
Valentine put his arms around her waist. "I won't let Midir or his warriors hurt you again."
"I know, but he is going to come for us. His pride is too great to let it go," she said, her laughter dying away.
"We will be ready for him," he replied.
Valentine knew he had to face what truly lived inside him if he was going to protect them all from Midir's interest. For the first time, with Yelena in his arms, he wasn't afraid of finding out what he was made of.
22
Valentine couldn't remember falling asleep the night before. Or had it been morning by that point? He opened an eye and tried not to panic because he couldn't remember where he was.
Yelena was asleep facing him, her silver hand curled around his and holding it close.
Oh. That's where he was.
He took a moment just to stare at her shamelessly. The dark circles under her eyes were almost gone, and color flushed her cheeks. Valentine would never forget the way she had looked half-frozen, her lips blue as death.
Logically, he knew she was impossibly strong and could handle anything. His dragon didn't feel logical things.
He had never had an overabundance of emotions and had thought it was just how he was built. He was reassessing everything. He had bound his dragon when he was a teenager, and maybe it was his dragon side that was emotion and passion.
Yelena would help him free it. She would make sure he didn'thurt anyone. He had never seen her dragon, but he had felt her magic and knew without a doubt that she could take him in any fight.
Valentine had never slept with anyone before, and he wasn't sure why he had stayed. They had bathed, and he had tucked her in. Yelena had taken his hand and pulled him down beside her, and there he had stayed. There had been no asking or argument.
His head had hit the pillow, and there was nothing. He never went to sleep that quickly.
The soul-destroying orgasm might have had something to do with it. Or the huge amount of magic he used. Or both. Either way, he hadn't been so clear-headed in a long time.
"Overthinking already?" Yelena murmured sleepily.
"No," he replied unconvincingly. "How are you feeling?"
Yelena opened her blue glacier eyes and stretched like a well-fed cat. She flexed all of her fingers. "I feel good. Whole. Curious to see what I can do with this hand, magic-wise."
"Want some company while you practice?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.
