My body was so attuned with him, though, that it released under the careful circles he pushed into my muscles, like it recognized him as the cure to all my aches.
Ryker chuckled behind me, the sound vibrating from his chest into my back, lulling me further into his arms. “Sadly, I know who I spawned from and he was too human. Too weak.”
“You’re not weak,” I said fast.
Too fast.
There had been no question lingering in the air, yet I’d felt one pressing against my sluggish thoughts.
“Debatable,” he said slowly, like he still doubted. “We all have our weaknesses.”
“What’s yours?”
“I’m running my hands through her hair as we speak.”
There he went again, making my heart flutter with a few raspy words. Ones that probably meant more than I allowed myself to realize.
“Other than me,” I whispered.
“Geryll and Nadya,” he said without hesitation.
“Geryll said some weird things after the attack.” I frowned, remembering the lost look in his eyes as he’d lain on the bed. “I tried talking to him, but I think it will mean more coming from you.”
His touch slowed. “He’s not feeling good enough again, is he?”
I shook my head.
“It seems to be a recurring issue around these parts.” His fingers circled the base of my skull. “I’ll talk to him. Again. And again. Until he understands. He’s carried the unfair weight of his father’s glory all of his life. However I tried to convince him otherwise in the past few years pales to a childhood of comparisons and expectations. I can’t destroy the seeds which have been planted. With enough time, though, I hope to have some sway in the growth.”
“Do you really think it’s possible? For someone to change their ways?”
The question weighed more than I let on. Some parts of me needed rearranging and I struggled to see how they could fit together.
“I have to.” He shrugged, but it didn’t feel easy. “A few of mine need to be changed.”
“Which ones?”
I craved to know him.
All of him.
Though I kept my own cracks hidden. I couldn’t stop the curious need to delve inside of him and shed a light on his shadows.
“Too many to think about now,” he said.
The answer should have frustrated me.
It only made me want to dig deeper.
With a reluctant sigh, I turned around. The water glided along my skin like a caress. I had no idea what potions he’d poured into it, but this didn’t feel like a normal bath. It soothed aches I hadn’t even realized I’d had until now.
The crystal glowed, casting purple, hazy shimmers on the wall that fought with the gold and dark granite, as we sat in one shared still moment.
Just the two of us–and the strange way he was looking at me.
Ryker had always had a welcomed fascination with watching my every move, but he’d been uncharacteristically observant since he’d returned.
“What happened today with your Brother?” I muttered.
