I did not of course, but I couldn’t stop myself from imagining it gone, imagining all of my clothing gone—and his as well.
“Whatis going on in that mind of yours?” Pharis asked with a low laugh.
I stiffened. Was he able to read my thoughts?
That would be bad. I had felt like I was hearing his at times—hopefully mine were not projecting loudly enough for that perceptive Elven mind of his to pick up.
“Relax, Wildcat, you’re fine. You’re just smiling in a way I’ve never seen you smile.”
“You’ve never massaged me before,” I said as I obeyed his command to relax and again focused on the powerful hands that had moved to my right calf.
“As I said… terribly deprived. We’re going to fix that.”
Pharis removed my boot and rubbed my foot, working out years of tension and fatigue. Now I did groan, and he laughed.
“I had no idea feet were capable of ecstasy,” I said.
“You thinkthatfeels good?” he said, “Wait till—”
He cut himself off abruptly, moving to the other foot and beginning again.
“You deserve to feel good,” he said. “You do so much for everyone else. I really,reallyappreciate you taking care of me when I was ill. Now I see why Stellon was convinced you were an angel.”
My mind zipped right past the mention of Stellon to the other things Pharis had said.
Was that what the massage was about? A gesture of gratitude?
It wasn’t necessary, though I literally didn’t have the strength to turn it down. It occurred to me that his overly grateful response to my very routine nurturing acts meant something.
Was it possible that, like me, Pharis had not experienced much nurture and loving care in his life?
When I thought about it, it made sense. His mother was gone. His father was definitely not the warm and caring type. Though he received no end of female interest, perhaps no one had treated Pharis with actual tenderness and love since his mother had died.
As his thumb stroked my left arch, I thought of the tiny tattoo I’d seen in the corresponding location on his foot while he was unconscious.
“Pharis?”
“Yes, Wildcat?”
“Why do you have two of the same tattoo? Is it common for Elven people to display a glamour symbol in two places?”
He stopped the heavenly foot massage. Which made me regret having asked.
“No,” he finally said and resumed the rubbing, moving up to my left calf.
“It’s not common. The small one was put there by my father. I chose to have it reproduced at a larger scale when I was a teenager.”
“Why?”
Pharis was quiet for so long I thought he wasn’t going to answer me, but then he did.
“Most Elven parents have their children’s glamour symbols placed on their bodies in prominent places when the abilities develop enough to become apparent. Glamour gifts are generally a source of pride. But you saw where my father chose to tattoo mine.”
“Yes. On the bottom of your foot.”
“Exactly. He’s ashamed of my glamour and did his best to hide it.”
Now it made more sense why Pharis would have chosen to avoid using his shadow powers very often.
