His fingers curled around mine as if he were afraid I would vanish. His gaze moved over me in quiet panic—my face, my hair, my shoulders—like he needed proof.
“Is it really you?” he breathed. “Where—where are we?”
“Ashenport, your plan with Antonias, it worked,” I said softly. “Antonias brought us to his father’s estate. You’re safe,
Titus. We’re safe.”
Something in him cracked at that. He squeezed his eyelids shut and a tear rolled down his cheek, like the memories finally caught up with him all at once, heavy, and brutal and unavoidable. His jaw flexed, his throat worked.
“I—” he started, but the words tangled. He swallowed like it hurt. “Delilah… I’m so sorry,” he forced out, quiet and rough. “For what they did to you… and for what I had to do.”
My stomach tightened, but I held his hand even tighter because I could feel him spiraling, and right now he needed me steady more than he needed me shattered. “We survived,” I whispered, and made myself smile through the sting in my eyes. “We’re here. That’s all that matters.”
“Pickles,” he breathed again, trembling.
Sanaris cleared his throat behind me. “If we’re finished with the emotional reunion, I do still need him calm so I can properly assess the fish skins.”
I hadn’t even realized he was there. I sniffed and wiped my cheeks quickly. “I’m sorry. Thank you,” I said, voice small. “He’s… he’s been through a lot.”
He looked at me knowingly, as if Antonias had told him everything. “You both have,” he muttered softly with empathetic eyes. “Now, Lord Titus, breathe.”
Titus dragged in a shaky breath, still holding my hand like a lifeline.
A moment passed, and then his eyes narrowed slightly as if a new thought had finally pushed through the fog.
“Hey, Pickles?” he asked, voice tentative now that he had found me again.
“Hmm?” I looked at him attentively.
He glanced down at himself, then back at me with a wary seriousness that lasted exactly two seconds before it collapsed into confusion. “Why am I covered in fish skin?”
The question was so absurd against everything we’d just lived through that I actually laughed, breath hitching on the sound. “Coastal region burn treatment,” I said, wiping my face again like the tears had no right to still be there. “Apparently it’s effective.”
His mouth twisted. “Of course it is.”
Sanaris huffed. “They can come off now since he’s awake and stable. Would you like Lady Delilah to wait in the hall while I remove them?”
“I’ll stay,” I said immediately, panic sparking at the idea of leaving his side.
Titus’s gaze slid to me with a familiar glint. “You just want to see me naked,” he taunted.
I rolled my eyes, but my smile was full for the first time in days. “You wish.”
Sanaris began peeling away the fish skin bandages. Each layer revealed golden-tan skin beneath that looked remarkably better— bright shimmering gold in color, less angry, more hydrated—like his body had already started fighting its way back.
Titus reached for the hand mirror on the side table, lifting it with a careful, testing motion. He studied his face, then his hair, and his expression shifted into something like embarrassment.
“Would you cut my hair for me?” he asked, running his hand through uneven patches.
My chest pinched. “Of course. Anything you need.” “Anything?” he repeated, voice turning mischievous, a dirty grin tugging at his mouth as his brow cocked.
I scoffed, warmth returning to my cheeks. “Now I know you’re feeling better.”
Sanaris cleared his throat, finishing the last of the bandages, then straightened with a blush that deepened as he avoided looking at either of us too directly. “I’ll give you two sometime alone,” he muttered. “Let me know if you need anything, My Lord.” He practically fled the room, running.
The moment the door shut, Titus locked it with his magic. Then he stood—fully naked—and stretched his strong, muscular body like he’d been caged and was testing the world again. God, I had forgotten how tall he was. I bit my lower lip as I watched the hard planes of him shift, and how deliciously his cock hung between his thick, sculpted thighs.
He stepped close and placed his large, warm hand at my jaw, tracing it slowly with his fingers, stopping at my lips where his thumb dragged them down as he tilted my chin up.
