He grinned. “You will.”
“Um, no. There are currents and sharks and who knows what else in there.”
“I’llbe there.”
“Then I’ll pray for you.”
He laughed, then surprised her by planting a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll discuss this later.”
“No need, my mind won’t change.”
He smiled, his eyes tracing over her face. One hand was curved around her side, but his free hand rose to hook a stray curl behind her ear. “You are utterly beautiful.”
The unexpected compliment caught her off guard. Heat suffused her. “So are you,” she whispered.
Amusement sparked in his eyes. “I’m beautiful?”
Her mouth curved. “Yes.”
He shook his head, his gaze fixed on hers. “I’m too scarred for that, I’m afraid.”
She frowned, because despite his soft smile, she sensed his seriousness. Her eyes fell once more to the scar on his chest. She felt his swell of self-consciousness. Hating that, she impulsively leaned down and placed her lips against the rough mark.
Surprise rippled through him, and from the corner of her eye she saw his ridged abdominal muscles flex.
When she lifted her eyes to his, her cheeks were once again filling with heat. But she ignored that as she moved to the next scar she could see. This one was high on his ribs.
When her lips brushed his skin this time, he sucked in a breath.
Moving with deliberate care, she found another scar. Then another.
Carver was barely breathing when she found a thin scar that wrapped around his waist. She couldn’t see the end of it. Her stomach knotted when she realized it had been made by a whip.
With a gentle touch, she urged him to roll.
There was momentary hesitation, then abdominal muscles rolled and flexed as Carver sat instead. His eyes were trained on her for a suspended moment before he twisted, exposing his back to her.
She’d seen the lash marks many times before—even felt them in the darkness last night—but in the light of day, and after all they’d shared, she felt like she was seeingthe horrible web of scarring for the first time. Her heart beat too fast. Fury and pain filled her. She reached out and traced one of the long, thin lines. She hated how many others intersected it. The agony each raised stripe represented.
She wanted to close her eyes, but she refused to look away. She would see and touch every mark his captors had given him. Carver had endured them—the least she could do was acknowledge them.
Carver’s dark head lowered at her exploring touch. He braced his hands against the mattress, the muscles in his arms tensing beneath bronzed skin that also bore scars.
Her finger stilled. “Is my touch hurting you?”
“Never.” The undercurrent of vehemence in his voice surprised her. But the absolute trust in it—trust inher—nearly undid her.
The air between them was charged, almost heavy. His sandalwood scent was all around her. His shoulders, broad and powerful, were tense, but not hunched. His sides expanded and contracted with every deliberate breath he took.
Amryn shifted closer, though she only touched his ruined flesh with the tips of her fingers. The powerful slope of his back, the dip of his spine . . . it was all marred by the lash marks that crisscrossed over his back, so many they blurred indiscriminately together in the center. Her eyes burned.
“I’m sorry they hurt you,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “No—I’mfuriousthat they hurt you.” She wasn’t a violent person, but in this moment, she wanted vengeance. “I wish Iwasa harpy, and I had the ability to rip them apart for what they did.”
“Amryn . . .” Tenderness rolled through him, but before he could turn, she leaned in and began to trace kisses along every scarred inch of his back. Every kiss was gentle, but somehow felt incredibly bold, as well as achingly intimate.
His breathing thinned at the first brush of her lips, and each breath came faster than the last as she continued, but he didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
When she laid a last kiss on his warm shoulder, at the very tip of a trailing scar, she whispered, “I would heal every single one of your scars if I could. But I need you to know that they aren’t a mark of failure or weakness. They are a testament to your strength.”
