Chapter 10
Holy. Elemental.Headache.
“Ugh...” I groaned, rolling over in bed. My body ached in protest, and I fought to open my eyes.
This... wasn’t the hut I had woken up in this morning.
The space was larger, filled with someone’s personal belongings. Books were piled on top of a sturdy dresser, one drawer left ajar to reveal neatly folded sets of dark leathers inside. Beside it, several pairs of well-worn boots sat lined up on the floor. The space smelled like cashmere sandalwood and…
My brows furrowed as I scanned the rest of the room, trying to piece together where I was—and, more importantly,whosespace I had somehow ended up in.
My eyes landed on beautiful destruction.
Rhodes was slumped in an armchair beside me, fast asleep. His head rested against the back of the chair, his damp black hair messily strewn across his forehead. He had bathed and changed out of his usual rugged leathers, trading them for a black lounge set I’dnever seen him wear before. The thin, soft fabric clung loosely to his body, outlining every dip and ridge of muscle beneath.
For a moment, I just stared—taking in how handsome he was. My fingers itched to tangle in his soft, dark hair. My body begged to curl up against his warmth, like the night of the thunderstorm, when he scooped me from my room and held me all night to keep me safe.
Before the storm hit, he told me I’d know where to find him if I needed him. At the time, I thought he meant the thunderstorm, but now I knew that wasn’t his only reason. From the moment I met him, Rhodes had been there every time I felt like falling apart.
And the truth was, it was never me searching for him in those moments. Somehow, Rhodes always knew how and where to find me when I needed him most.
Of all the cruel things I’d done to myself, pushing him away was the one that cut the deepest. But I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let him become another piece of my collateral damage.
But then again...
I glanced down at myself beneath the sheets. Someone had wiped away the dirt from my fight with Fallon, but not entirely. My matted hair was proof enough of that. I wore an oversized black shirt that was clearly not mine. My bruises from the fight had already formed.
Once again, Rhodes had picked me up from the ground and brought me to safety.
So, for now, I’d call a silent truce with myself.
I channeled a small tendril of air under his shirt, letting it wiggle against the ticklish spots around his ribs.
Rhodes jolted awake instantly, his body tensing as if startled by unseen danger. His eyes, half-open but sharp, darted around the room before landing on me.
His defenses eased as he sat back down in the chair and stretched. His muscles flexed beneath the thin fabric of his shirt, and he dragged a hand through his messy hair.
“Did you just tickle me?” he muttered, his voice gravelly with sleep.
I smirked, shrugging innocently. “Technically, no.”
Rhodes resisted a smile, rubbing his jaw. “How are you feeling?”
I sighed. “My head feels like it’s about to explode.”
Without a word, he stood from the chair and crouched by a crate on the floor, rifling through its contents. A moment later, he pulled out an ice pack and snapped it to activate its instant-cooling magic.
He returned to my side and kneeled by the bed, his movements careful and deliberate. With a gentleness that caught me off guard, he pressed the ice pack against the side of my face where Fallon’s knee had connected.
I flinched at the cold and groaned softly.
“Hold still,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing, his fingers brushing against my jaw as he adjusted the pack.
I glanced down at him, catching the flicker of concern in his eyes, but I looked away quickly before he could see the softening in mine.
“This feels familiar,” I said sarcastically, a smirk tugging at my mouth.
Rhodes’s gray-blue eyes flicked to mine, a faint glimmer of amusement in them. “I won’t throw it at your head when I leave, though,” he deadpanned.
