“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” I tell him even as my own face burns like I’ve spent all afternoon under the blazing sun. I tuck the remaining dock leaves into my bra and then hurry to wash my hands in the river, giving him a moment to himself.
By the time I return, Maddox is fastening his belt, his head hanging, avoiding my gaze.
His jaw pulses as he stares down at the stones. “I do not wish to speak about this ever again.”
“Really, Maddox. It’s a perfectly natural reaction.” One day, we might even laugh about it.
“Please.”
Not this day, apparently.
“How long must I leave this on?” He holds out his hands. The paste has dried almost white, cracking in the creases of his skin.
“Until the stinging stops completely. Let me know if it starts to hurt anywhere else. I have extra.” I pat my chest.
Maddox turns away to collect his rucksack and then stomp back to where I left my dress.
He doesn’t look at me when I put on my own clothes, nor when we head farther down the canyon. He doesn’t try to make small talk and responds to all my questions with one-word answers or grunts.
There must be some way to make him forget his woes.
Wait! I know.
“Would it make you feel better if you were to see me naked?”
He blinks through the dried goo, his jaw hanging as he makes a wheezing sound.
“Well? Would it?”
His thick black hair brushes his curled shoulders when he shakes his head. “That would make everything much worse.”
“How would it make everything worse?” It’s not as if he hasn’t seen me in my undergarments. This would simply return us to even footing.
“I do not need pity pie.”
“What in the world is pity pie?”
“It is when you only offer such things because you feel sorry for me.”
That’s ridiculous. “It’s not pity pie.”
“It is, and I want none of it.”
29
Maddox
“The only cure for a plague of lies is truth.”
— A Seelie Guide to Happiness
If I did not need to see Nia Quill safely returned to Rosehill, I would curl up on this ground and let myself waste away to dust. Once she is home, I will fling myself off the bridge once more and hope I do not wake again.
From the moment I saw her at the well, I have longed for her hands on my body, butnotlike that. At least it no longer feels as if my cock is going to burn off.
Small victories.
Nia has not stopped talking in the hour since the incident occurred.
