Thorne hesitated only a second longer before undressing and sliding in behind her. The water shifted around them, lapping at collarbones and shoulders. His legs bracketed hers. His arms circled her slowly.
No heat. No urgency. Just presence.
She leaned back into him, resting her head against his shoulder.
“I didn’t expect this,” she murmured.
“What?”
“You. Here. Like this.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d ever trust me enough when you weren’t injured to let me get close to you again.”
“I didn’t,” she admitted. “I thought you were cranky, overbearing, and just another royal brat with a dragon and a superiority complex.”
He chuckled. “And now?”
“Now,” she said, reaching for the soap, “You still are all those things, but you’re also just a man who is showing me more and more that you want to be beside me.”
She turned in the tub, straddling his lap.
“Careful, Thaelyn, you might get more than you want if you straddle me like that,” he said low.
“I think we are both too tired, and I’m not ready for all of you, not yet.” She began to lather the soap across his chest, gently tracing the curves of old scars and fresh bruises. Her hands moved with caution. When she reached his jaw, she paused.
He tilted his head down and kissed her. Slow. Deep. Tender. The kind of kiss that said,You matter,andI see you,andthis is real.
When they pulled apart, she exhaled, her fingers tangled in his damp hair.
“Turn,” she whispered.
He did.
She slid behind him and gently scrubbed his shoulders, careful around the place where a dark bruise bloomed near his ribs.
“You don’t let anyone see this side of you,” she murmured.
“Nope, I’m all business and a soldier,” he said. “With you, I want to try to be more for you.”
She leaned forward and kissed the back of his neck.
They lingered in the water, washing away sweat and soot in near silence. When they finally stepped out, she dried herself quietly and slipped into a long black tunic from his drawer. It fell past her knees, carrying the scent of fresh linen and him. He went down to the eating hall to get food for them.
When he returned, he wrapped her in a blanket from the bed and pulled her down beside the fire, where their two plates of food and a flask of wine waited. Roasted pheasant, fresh bread, buttered greens, and wine poured into mismatched ceramic mugs.
They ate slowly. She curled into his side, head on his shoulder. Neither tried to pretend the moment was anything more than what it was.
“You’ve been different since the raid,” she said quietly. “More focused.”
“I nearly lost my brother that night,” he said. “Darian and then you, whom I never knew that I needed.”
Thaelyn looked up. “And now?”
He turned toward her, cupping her cheek with one hand.
“Now, I’m done waiting for the world to permit us. I know it’s against the rules, with me assigned to be your trainer.”
She swallowed. “This, whatever it is, it could fall apart.”
