Her jaw dropped, then snapped shut. “What happened?”
He put a hand on her back. “Let’s get you in the shower and out of these chilled clothes first, then we’ll talk. Jisele?” He looked over her head. “Something to eat, please. We’ll take it in my quarters.” Then he asked Hana, “Will you join us for a meal?”
Hana opened her mouth then bit her lip, glancing between them, her indecision clear in her eyes. She wanted to talk to her sister but wanted them to have the time they obviously needed, too.
“Leya should rest,” she said instead, her smile shaky.
Leya frowned. “Are you all right?”
“I am now. I’ll talk to you in the morning, okay? I got up to get some milk. Christ, I’m so happy I did. Okay, I’m babbling now.” She hugged Leya again.
Aerén understood exactly how Hana felt.
Leya pulled back, frowning. “For milk?”
“Yuh-uh. Milk is delish at midnight or in the early hours of the morning.” She winked at them and strolled off.
“Hana gets weirder every time.” Leya shook her head.
Back in his bedroom, Aerén ushered her to the bathroom. She stopped, gaping at the shrubbery the shower stall was built into, then at the huge, claw-foot tub near the window. “Oh, this is p-pretty.” Her teeth clattered.
“Yeah, I like nature around me.” He turned on the faucet with his mind and let the water flow fast, filling the tub. He added something thick and pink from a bottle that smelled like flowers to the churning liquid. Bubbles and foam formed as it filled.
Aerén helped her undress, her chilled skin sporting goosebumps. He scooped her up and gently set her in the steaming water.
A soft moan escaped her. “This feelssooogood.”
He hunkered down near her. “Want me to wash your hair?”
“No,” she said with a deep sigh. “I’ll do so in a bit.”
“Okay. Relax. I won’t be long.”
“Where are you going?” She grabbed the rim of the tub. So close, and he longed to kiss her the way he wanted, but she’d just gotten up and likely needed time to adjust.
“Not far. Just there.” He nodded to the stall.
“Oh.” She bit her lip, then nodded. “Okay.
Smiling, he rose, undressed, and stepped into the stall. Cold water, the way he liked it, cascaded from the ceiling. He exhaled deeply, his gaze never leaving Leya as she rested her head against the back of the tub.
His eyes burned, and his heart swelled with gratitude, knowing she would never leave him again.Never die.
It no longer mattered that he couldn’t unearth the damn elusive mating bond he longed for. Leya was his heart, his other half, and would always be.
A short while later, a towel slung around his hips, he stepped out of the stall and found she’d already washed her hair, and her eyes were shut as she rested in the steaming water.
Leaving her for now, he aimed for the dressing room, changed into black drawstring pants, and returned to the bathroom.
Leya still hadn’t moved, relaxing in the sudsy water, her eyes shut.
“Are you okay?” He snagged two towels, dropped them on the lip of the bathtub, then sat on the edge.
Amber-flecked brown eyes flickered open, and her gaze drifted to his bare chest. Desire fisted him. “You look at me like that,caeli mea, and I might forget you need time.”
Heat rushed to her face, then she cast him a wan smirk, her feisty nature creeping back. “Then you’ll make love to a corpse, well, a semi-corpse.”
“When I make love to you, Leya mine, I want you fighting me for more, raking those nails down my back, drawing blood if you like. I want it all, because gentle right now is not on the list. So, get stronger fast.”
