Torion laughed and passed our daughter to the nurse, waiting for them to leave the room and close the door before crossing back to me, wrapping me in an even tighter embrace.
"You did very well for us, mate," Torion said, purring through the word and nuzzling his face into my hair.
"You don't mind that I did it without asking?"
"No, it's better that way. It doesn't look or feel like it did when it belonged to my parents now. I wouldn't have thought that possible, but it's true. And it's our rightful place in the keep," he said, kissing my temple.
I wondered if that was something you heard a lot growing up in the shadow of an alpha, "rightful place." Torion said it in regards to my place at his side and his place here in the keep. It was a kind of surety I'd never had before in my life. I'd had no rightful place in my father's home, not when he'd replaced my mother with a new omega so quickly. And Malcolm had never really given me reign over his home either, likely knowing that I was only a temporary fixture, as the omegas before me had been.
Torion had given me leave to claim the keep, and himself, from the very start, and then made my place with him permanent, however unconscious the mating bite had been. He'd celebrated the accident.
I wiggled myself in his grip enough to rise up on my toes and graze a kiss over his mouth. "I love you," I said. I still didn't say the words often enough, but every time I did, Torion's face lit up and he would hold tight to me, rewarding the small offering with a great cresting wave of affection. This time, I slipped free before he could sweep me up, catching his rough hand in mine and tugging on it lightly.
"Come with me."
Chapter Thirty-Seven
BRIGID
“Isee you're in an authoritative mood tonight," Torion said, grinning and following my lead through the dressing room. I hadn't lit the candles there, knowing we wouldn't need the room, but there was enough glow from the bath ahead of us and the sitting room behind to make our path clear. "Nowthereis a tub meant to be shared," Torion noted as we arrived in the room, warm from the fire and gently steaming bath.
"In the future, certainly. I've had mine for the night."
"Oh, have you? This feels familiar," Torion said, his eyes heavy lidded and his hand squeezing around mine, thinking of our first union. "I bet I could talk you in with me."
He likely could, but I had a plan and I was fairly sure I could persuade him into letting me have my way. I turned, clasping his other hand in mine and stopping by the bath. There were standing candelabras and a good roaring fire, the roof of the room rising from six points in beautiful stone arches. The curtains were closed to keep out the cold night, and rugs were layered over the floor to keep the stone from chilling our feet. The space was warm and romantic, a cocoon for us to share.
"Your wings need to be oiled, and I know you are sore after flying so much. Let me take care of you, Torion. You would do the same for me. Youalwaysdo as much for me. Let me be the one to look after you for a night," I said, my voice low and coaxing.
His eyes narrowed, and his purr roared in his chest. "Witch," he murmured.
I smiled. Ihadtried to make the words into a kind of spell. There was lavender and rosemary oil in the water to soothe his senses, but there was only one magic word I really needed.
"Please."
Torion laughed, a sound of surrender, and spread his arms wide as I slipped my hands from his. Once, months ago, before I'd fallen in love, before the rut, I'd trembled with nerves as Torion had watched me touch him, afraid of failing to hold a man's interest once more. Now I trembled with an eager hunger. I had more than Torion's interest. I had his love.
Torion and I had touched plenty in recent months, before and after Tylane's birth. He'd washed me when I was exhausted, and I'd held him close as he'd talked about our future, but it'd been a patient affection, the love we shared without the lust. I'd never experienced that before and I'd relished in it, more secure with my mate by the day.
Knowing we would be alone for hours together, that Torion would let me have my way in taking care of him, I felt something between rising lust and bone deep satisfaction. This was my place in this world. This was my man, my mate.
I unbuckled metal and untied leather, unbuttoned shoulder plackets and peeled away fabric. His cheeks and knees were chapped by the cold wind, and there were dry, lightened patches on his wings. Heneededme to do this for him, as much as we would both enjoy the process. He was mine to take care of now. He'd claimed me.
Had I ever really claimed him? I would tonight. I would every day forward.
"Step in," I murmured, circling to his back, positioning the table where I'd assembled more oil and dry clothes and lotions and a little wing wax. There was a comfortable stool for me to work from and a good lamp. The tub was double large, and each narrow end rose up in the middle and dipped at the corners to allow wings to hang out over the edges.
Torion hissed as he stepped into the water and groaned, shivering briefly as he sank into the water. It rose just to the low lip of the edge. I'd learned how he filled the tub perfectly, I realized, with an odd kind of pride.
"You know you always take care of me," Torion said, easing against the cool porcelain that rose up his spine and gave his head somewhere to rest.
His wings brushed my knees as I sat, warming oil between my hands. "I do, but I know my care is often expressed in practicalities. Managing the keep, maintaining our nest, planning dinners. You show me how much you love me with every gesture, Torion," I said, pleased with myself for not stumbling over the words.
"I happen to find your practicalities very romantic, witch," Torion rasped as I dug my hands into his shoulders and wing roots, massaging the knots there. He helped himself to a washcloth and soap, lathering over his arms and chest.
"You should know the very sight of you warms me from the inside out," I said softly, stroking my hands out from his back over the thick spines of his wings. "And that once I have set eyes on you, I ache to inch closer, just to feel your skin against mine."
Torion stilled in the water, head turning so I could see his eyes widen, his lips part.
