“Hmm?”
“We’ve slept beside each other for weeks. You can come up onto the bed.”
A beat passes.
“Are you inviting me into your bed, Mayah?” I ask her in my deepest voice, knowing full well what she means.
“To sleep! I’m inviting you into my bed tosleep. Nothing else.”
“Noted,” I chuckle, picturing her flushed cheeks. The mattress dips beneath my weight as I lie down beside her, resisting the urge to haul her against my chest.
Her breathing is soft at first, but slowly comes faster, and she tosses and turns until she’s yanked the blanket off me entirely. Even cocooned in the sheets, she seems ill at ease, huffing an exasperated breath.
“Mayah,” I whisper. “Stop thinking. Go to sleep.”
“Stay on your side,” she warns over her shoulder, exhaustion weighing on her words.
“Whatever you say, baby,” I rumble, but she’s already half-asleep.
I don’t sleep, though. Not when it’s only a matter of time before Faramir comes sniffing around.
And I’m right.
Within the hour, I sense his chaotic pulsing heading down the hall toward us. I’m out of bed, striding across the room before he’s even reached the door. Torchlight flickers into theroom when I yank the door open, blocking the view inside with my frame. The guards flanking the entrance stare at their feet, silent.
Faramir stands in the hallway wearing a smirk and his sleep trousers. And no fucking shirt.
“Leave,” I snarl before he can open his mouth.
His smirk grows sharper, crueler. Hetsks, crossing his arms. “Have you no decency, little brother? Can’t stay away from my betrothed for even a single night?”
Thunder rumbles through the stone walls behind me.
“She’s. Not. Yours,” I bite out, knuckles tightening on the door frame. “Don’t go anywhere near her.”
“Hmm.” He steps closer. “She wasn’t yours, either. That didn’t stop you from fucking her in the woods.”
Another crack of thunder shakes the room, chased by Mayah’s muffled yelp. I glance back at her. Fuck.
“Leave. Right. The fuck.Now,” I growl, angling myself farther in the doorway.
“Come now, brother,” the bane of my existence drawls. “I just want a taste. Enjoy a few ‘liberties,’ as you did. It’s only fair. I’ll even let you watch.”
A bolt of lightning flashes, its bright glow lighting Faramir’s glinting eyes. I inhale deeply—I need to calm down before I send Mayah into a panic.
“If you go near her, or harm her in any way, I swear by the Skies, Faramir, I will gut you. Carve your entrails from your body while you’re still alive and wrap them around your throat like a necklace. Stay the fuck away from her.”
I slam the door shut before he can respond, stalking back to the bed. The storm begins to fade as I pull a wide-eyed, panting Mayah against my chest. She melts into me, arms twining around my neck, like it’s exactly where she belongs.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur into her hair. “No one angers me like my half-brother. He came to ‘take liberties’ with you. I knew the guards wouldn’t be able to stop him.”
“Will he come back?” Her words are muffled against my chest.
“No. And tomorrow you’ll move to my chambers.Ourchambers. You’ll be safe.” I run my hand down her back in a soothing caress. “Sleep now, Mayah. We have a big day tomorrow.”
Still, she lies awake in my arms for another hour.
Chapter Twenty-Four
