“Yes!”
I locked eyes with him and the anger in me swelled. A warmth grew in my chest, and I pushed back on it, refusing to give him what he wanted.
“You know now,” he said, shrugging his broad shoulders. “You’re asking why you should trust me, but you already do. You were waiting for me in lower Elysia. While in a collar and cuffs, you allowed me to fuck you. You sit naked in a tub inourhome. These are not actions from a woman who distrusts me.”
Swiping my arm through the tub, I aimed the water at him, but it fell short, only soaking his feet.
“Ouch,” he deadpanned, looking from his feet back to me. “I’m melting.”
“I hate you.”
“Have you convinced yourself of that yet? Or are you hoping that I’ll change my mind and decide to stop loving you because you keep declaring such nonsense?”
My cheeks heated as I remembered the last conversation before coming up to Elysia. Gray admitted he loved me before Ethan turned up.
“We really should discuss why you were running through the streets in the middle of an earthquake.” He looked livid. “Do you have anyregard for your safety?”
“I was coming to find you.”
“And why was that?” he asked, coming to the tub and kneeling beside it. “Soak your hair.”
Slipping under the water, I re-emerged with droplets running down my face and hanging off my eyelashes. “I made a mistake leaving with Ethan. I went home to find you, but you weren’t there. I was heading to Erik’s.”
I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I was going to confess that I loved him. Too much had happened, and the icy fortress was resurrected around my heart. I needed to protect myself while I figured out what was happening around me. Whether I would survive this long enough to make the confession worth it.
Gray snapped open a bottle and deposited a dollop of shampoo into his palm. My brow furrowed at the familiar scent.
“That’s the one I use at home,” I pointed out.
“You’re very observant this morning.”
Leaning over the tub, I looked at the bottle. It bore a dent on the left side. “That’s the exact one I use at home. You’ve been back down to Earth.” My focus snapped to him. “You went home. You could take me home.”
“No,” he said calmly. “I took an unauthorised visit to bring you back some comfort. Shampoo. Clothes. I’m not about to risk taking you back to Earth.”
“You risked it.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped, and Gray brought his face close to mine. “My priority list comprises two people. You and myself. You’re a smart woman to figure out the order. Now, turn around.”
Slowly, I put my back to him and Gray inched closer, lathering the shampoo into my hair. A lump materialised in my throat, making it hard to swallow. It’d been so long since someone had looked after me like this. Gentle touches that were wrapped in concern and care… It made me feel like a child.
“You need to be honest with me,” I said, tipping my head back as his fingers massaged my scalp. “If you love someone, you don’t keep secrets.”
“You’ll have to excuse thefaux pas,” he said. His fingers stopped, and I twisted around to face him again. Gray locked eyes with me as he spoke. “Someone did not exactly design me for love. This is my first experience of it outside of family and even that’s only with selected members.”
The admission sent a thunderous crack through the ice palace that guarded my heart.
“You’ve been in love before,” I argued.
“I can assure you, I have not.”
“You’ve been alive for centuries.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Millenia, Quentin. But I appreciate the compliment.” When he was met with silence, Gray twirled his index finger in the air. “Turn.”
I obeyed his command, facing away from him again, and he resumed washing my hair.
“We were only ever meant to be on Earth temporarily,” he explained. “I knew the repercussions of knowing what you were. There was no need to tell you when you would not be around us forever.”
