Instantly, I check my mental wards, then I tighten one hand on the door and crush the neckline of my robe together with the other, making every effort to keep my gaze trained on Neri’s smirking face. “It’s late, wolf. What do you want?”
His brow crumples as he pounds his fist against his chest, feigning being wounded by my words. “Always so hateful. I call for a truce because I’m only here to help.”
“Withwhat?Do I appear in distress to you?”
“Only when you walk.” He tilts his head and slides his gaze slowly down my body. I clutch my robe even tighter and slip my foot back as I had on the mount, but neither my gown nor my robe is long enough to hide the evidence of my injury this time. “I heard you in the hall,” he continues. “Walking. Pausing. Walking. Pausing. That ankle needs mending before tomorrow.”
“And you arejustthe god for that task, I suppose?”
He shrugs, still smirking. “I’m the god for many tasks, including this one. Invite me in, and I’ll prove it. It won’t take long.”
“That’s not encouraging if your true motive is to get me naked.”
He laughs, but the sound quickly fades, and his eyes glimmer with mischief. “When I get you naked, Nephele, you can rest assured that our time together will be anything but hurried.”
His words make my stomach clench, but I exhale an irritated breath. “Look, I’m exhausted, and I have a glass of wine waiting for me. I’m not in the mood for your games tonight.” I move to shut the door.
Without breaking his leaning stance, Neri blocks my attempt by wedging his leather-slippered foot against the bottom of the door and bracing one of those brawny forearms across the top.
I scowl. “Not in the mood.”
“No games,” he promises. “You can sit, drink your wine, and I’ll get rid of that pesky pain. You’ll owe me nothing. You can’t ask for a better deal.” He waggles his brows. “You have a god at your service. Use me.”
Suspicion crawls through me as I narrow my eyes. “How do I know you won’t try anything?”
He chuckles. “You don’t, because I probably will, and you’ll probably tell me to stop and get out like the night you threatened me with a letter opener. But before we get to that fun, I’ll take your pain away, so my traveling partner isn’t wounded.”
I know better, but I’m tired of hurting, and what’s more, I find myself curious enough about his godly abilities that, after several moments of deliberation, I move aside and open the door for him to enter.
He shoves off the door frame and crosses the threshold, grinning like a devil as he passes. “Look at you, letting a hungry wolf prowl into your bedchambers late at night. Naughty girl.”
Already fully regretting my decision, I close the door and limp to the nightstand where my wine glass awaits. “Let’s just get this over with. What does it entail?”
Neri grabs the stool from my dressing table and motions to a nearby chair. “Sit, and I’ll show you.”
I’ve had far too much wine because I would otherwise never do what I do next, which is obey him.
After I settle in the cushioned, ornate chair, he positions the stool in front of me and sits, knees spread wide. I bite the inside of my jaw to temper the amusement inside me, threatening to show itself. He’s so…big.This beast of a god, perched on a tiny brass-footed floral-upholstered tuft.
He seems unfazed by it as he leans down and folds one massive hand around the back of my ankle, cradling my heel with the other. I stiffen at his touch on my bare skin, even as he carefully lifts my foot, supporting the weight in his hand.
With a keen eye, he examines the rather extensive swelling, palpating the tissues and bone and turning my foot slightly. Though his hands are warm and gentle, I wince with each manipulation, reactions he notes with observant glances. I let him continue, though, because oddly, it seems he knows what he’s doing.
“Mostly inflammation,” he finally announces. “Possibly torn ligaments and strained muscles, but your sisterdidmend the bone. It seems she just didn’t have time to tend the rest, which is understandable. Healers often work from the inside out. Easy fix for me, though.”
“How? What is healing like for a god?” The moment the words leave my mouth, I silently scold myself for sounding so eagerly interested. Again, I blame the wine.
His big fingers begin rubbing the back of my ankle in long strokes, up and down the tendon, the dexterity and tenderness in his touch still a bit surprising.
“I can’t say that it’s healing so much as thievery. I can absorb the inflammation.” He lifts his eyes to meet mine, and I swear his voice falls a touch softer. “And I can take your pain.”
I start to pull my foot away, but he slips that strong hand up my leg and grips the back of my knee to stop me. “Don’t be stubborn. I just need a few minutes. Surely you can endure me that long.”
“I’m not being stubborn,” I clarify, my heart suddenly beating faster at the heat and firmness of his grasp. Not as quickly as I would like, I refocus my thoughts. “I just don’t understand why you would want to take someone’s pain. You’re the one who must sift us across the Summerlands come daylight, which means you’re the one who needs to be whole.”
“I’m not takingsomeone’spain.” He slides his hand back down to my ankle and begins the same precise movements from before. “I’m takingyourpain. There’s a difference to me. Besides, this little bit of damage will spread throughout my body. It’s much easier for me to deal with regardless, but even more so because it gets dispersed. It also isn’t taxing like using power to sift or summon a snowstorm. I won’t even notice it.”
“Can you rid me of a curse?” I ask bluntly, only to watch his gaze harden before turning back to my ankle, as though he can’t look me in the eye.
