“Phaan,” Ace said.
I agreed.
Instead of saying anything else, Ace knelt and picked up his shirt. He reached forward and cleaned me, running the soft fabric over my skin gently.
I remained splayed out on the cave ledge, my legs dangling off the side, my arms helping to keep me propped up. Exhaustion tugged at my eyelids, but I refused to close them and miss out on the sight of Ace tenderly cleaning me like I was the only thing that mattered in the world.
“Come on.” He chucked the shirt to the side and gathered me in his arms. “We should leave this place.”
I shook my head and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back, slow and tender, as if savouring the taste of me.
“I don’t want to leave yet,” I said.
“No?”
“No.” I trailed my fingers along his jawline before running them along his neck and shoulders. “I want you to do that again. I want you to show me what it looks like when you take your time with me.”
17
The coals of the dying fire cracked and popped. I lay on my side facing the heat with Ace’s naked body pressed to my back. He’d draped an arm around my waist and had used his clothes as blankets—minus my blood-soaked shirt. We’d need to get dressed soon before the chill made it to our bones. The cave remained dark, but there must be an entrance somewhere close by because the sounds of early morning streamed in. We’d have to get up and move soon, and I didn’t want to leave.
My gaze drifted to the giant carcass of the cave worm.
Okay. I wanted to leave this location, but I didn’t want to leave the safety of Ace’s arms.
I made myself safe all the time, but I still wanted to feel protected. Ace filled that need. If I slipped and fell, he’d help me back up. If I faltered, he’d cover for me. If I was too proud, or too arrogant, he’d call me out.
I used to count on my brother…
I squeezed my eyes shut.
How could he do this?
And how could he have completely misread my character that he thought I’d be okay with it?
He was the queen’s favourite. He lived a privileged life. He partied. He phaaned. He drank. And then he repeated. He had a better life than ninety-nine percent of Wast and Perga’s populations combined and yet somehow it wasn’t enough? Somehow, he felt he deserved more?
“Are you okay?” Ace’s chest rumbled along my back as his voice fanned my hair.
“Yes.”
“You just stiffened. You’re not about to bolt on me, are you?”
“I was thinking about Paul.”
His arm tightened around me. “I’m as shocked as you are.”
“I just don’t get it.”
“He stated his reasons pretty clearly to me.”
“Those were weak at best, and it meant betraying me. And you.”
He nodded behind me, his chin scraping the back of my head. “I’ve thought about that as well.”
“And?”
“And I don’t think he sees it as betraying you. I think he sees himself doing this for you. For you and for him. He certainly didn’t order his men to harm you.”
