She smiles and pats my arm. “I’ve got it; you get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
Right on cue, another yawn takes over. I start making my way back to the kitchen, so I can grab my bag. I don’t make it very far before a large body falls into step next to me. Neither of us say anything as we walk into the large main room. “I need to grab my bag from the kitchen,” I tell him, and he redirects that way. He picks it up and slings it over his shoulder, and we once again walk in silence to the room I stayed in before. When we get to the door, I’m suddenly nervous. “Is it okay for me to stay in this room?”
Those dark eyes meet mine. “I told you your room would be ready for you when you chose to come back.”
I nod but don’t meet his eyes. “Okay. Thanks. All right. Well, good night.”
Before I can make my escape, a hand touches my chin lightly,surprising me. He tilts my head back until I meet his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I frown. “Nothing.”
“Oh, there’s definitely something wrong. You’ve never hesitated to look me in the eye or give me some snide remark,” he says with a smirk. Seeing that smirk helps me relax some. “What is it, Harper?”
I blurt out. “Is it okay that I’m here?” And then like an idiot, I keep going. “I wasn’t sure if I should come, if you’d want me to come.”
Because his fingers are still grasping my chin, I don’t miss the scowl that forms. “If I’d want you to come?” he asks, low and slow.
“Yeah. I mean we fight all the time, and I didn’t come here with you six weeks ago when you left. I guess I wasn’t sure if this was...if I should come.” I laugh. “I thought maybe you’d send me right back.” I pull away, and he releases me.
“You thought I’d send you back?” he repeats as if in shock.
“Oh, come on; you can’t be that shocked,” I say, finally snapping out of it. “You and I are like oil and water. We fight all the time and argue for days. And we—” a huge yawn escapes me, cutting off my words.
He takes a small step back. “For what it’s worth, I have no plans of sending you back. Ever. Get some sleep, Harper. We can talk tomorrow.” And then he turns and strides down the hallway. I watch him a moment before opening the door to my room. I freeze. Nothing in this room is the way I left it. There are bright tapestries on the wall in blues and whites. There are furson the bed that I know for a fact weren’t there the last time I was here. I turn around the room and notice the bookshelves that definitely weren’t here the last time I was here. Seeing books on the shelves, I walk over to the shelf. The books are leather bound and gorgeous. I pull the first book carefully off the shelf and peer at the title.The Hearth That Never Went Out.I blink, sure I’m not seeing this correctly. I pull anther book off the shelf.The Seven Trials of Little Bran. My breath is coming faster now. I pull off another one and another one.The Map That Changed Every Morning. The Trees That Talked at Night. They’re all titles I told Rauk about. I slide down the wall, being careful with my knee. Reverently, I crack the spine of the first book. The leather creases, and I turn the first gold-trimmed page. The illustrations are all hand drawn and perfect. I look through several pages and then page through another one. I can’t imagine how much these books must have cost. Suddenly, Farrah’s words come to mind.It’s not in what he says, that’s for sure. It’s in what he does.I look around the room and down at the books on my lap, and I realize she’s right. I know it’s too soon to say he loves me; we’re nowhere near that stage. But I know he cares for me. It’s in these books I’m holding, it’s in the tapestries on the wall, it’s in the mural on Auri’s wall. It was in the fact that he was upset he didn’t know we were flying here today. It was in the meal he got for me when I couldn’t walk and how he wouldn’t let me walk on my injured leg. It was in bringing his entire army to fight a battle that didn’t belong to him. I suddenly recall one of our last conversations before he left.
“You’ve certainly changed. I thought you didn’t care what happened to the other kingdoms,” I had challenged him.
“I don’t.”
“You’re so full of it, Rauk. You do; otherwise, you would have never come. You would certainly not have brought your soldiers and their spirit dragons. And you most definitely wouldn’t be hanging out here tracking down any remaining guivres.”
“There’s only one reason I’ve done any of that.”
I close my eyes and lean my head against the wall. Suddenly, I can’t be in this room any longer. I push myself to my feet and open the door and stride down the hallway and don’t stop until I’m standing outside his room. I don’t let myself think. I knock on his door. It opens a moment later, and I nearly fall forward. He catches me, steadying me. “What is it?” he asks, worry in his voice.
I stare up at him. Everything hits me at once, and I can’t say anything. Because the way he’s looking at me...how did I miss it?
“Harper?” he asks, concern threading through his voice. “Hey, what is it?” He rubs a palm down my arm so incredibly gently.
I swallow hard and force the words out. “I found the books.” My voice is barely a whisper. The hand on my arm stops moving. “Rauk...” I can’t say anything more. The words just won’t come.
His entire face softens. “You’re welcome.” Then he shocks me by pulling me against his chest.
My body stiffens, and I finally find my words. “I think I should tell you that I don’t like to be touched.”
“Oh, I am more than aware.”
“And yet, you’re touching me,” I feel the need to point out.
“I’ve been conditioning you.”
I pull back, so I can see his eyes. “Come again?”
“I’ve been conditioning you to my touch, so you’d get used to it.”
“That’s not,” I pause. Suddenly, memories of little touches here and there start to fill my mind. “Really?”
He nods. “I don’t think you even realize how much I touch you. I figured you’d need time to warm up to me and my touch.” His eyes burn into me. “I have to warn you; I’m a very touchy feely guy.”
