Page 46 of Anywhere

“I need to ask another question,” Rook said as he moved Mari’s head so he could continue to clean her face. His acting so caring towards her had my heart warming a little more for him. I nodded for him to continue. “Mari mentioned something earlier and then said I needed to ask you about it. She said that I put you through pain. What does she mean?”

Searching his face for any sign that he was lying, I didn’t see any and shook my head. “I wish ya had spent even a few minutes learnin’ about da union, Rook.”

His hand stilled, and his eyes found mine. “Are you going to tell me, or just continue to tell me how stupid I am?” he bit out. I could see the hurt in his eyes, and there was resentment there that had nothing to do with me.

“I dinnie tink yer stupid, Rook. In fact, I tink yer very smart, but I din’t get why yer so in da dark when it comes to yer Faction.” I lifted a shoulder and let it drop.

Rook squeezed out the washcloth and began to wipe at Mari’s ear. It was starting to bleed black as well. “I refused to study,” he said quietly. “It’s a long story. Let’s just say daddy issues.”

I cocked a brow at him, but he didn’t continue. “All right. Well, ta answer yer question, when da ritual happened, and I accepted and den you rejected, no’ much happened right away. There be an ache and, of course, da embarrassment, but later dat night, and den every night since, the moment yer hand touched another in a sexual manner, I felt it.”

Rook stopped wiping, his eyes snapping to mine. “You what?”

“Aye, I felt it, and no’ in a fun way. The pain is extreme, like me heart was bein’ ripped from me chest. I had ta start takin’ somethin’ to dull da effect.”

“Fuck, Rhys…I…I had no idea.”

I laughed a little, unable to help myself. “Did ya tink I was pished wit ya simply ‘cause me ego got bruised? I’ma no sensitive flower, Rook, but I see now why ya taught I was bein’ dramatic.”

Mari began to mumble, and once more, she was gripped by a seizure. Black blood flew from her mouth like she was possessed. A primal sound that could only be from the dark fade ripped from her throat, and it made me shiver. The icy water was making it hard to hang onto her.

“Push on ‘er shoulders to help keep ‘er still,” I growled as I strained, and Rook jumped into action. It was incredibly hard to hold someone thrashing and not hurt them. When she finally settled again, I slumped against the large tub, breathing hard, and Rook sank to the floor.

“Why is shit so complicated all the time?”

I smirked at him. “If me had da answer ta dat, I’d ‘ave da answer ta all da mysteries in life.”

Rhys

Once I was as certain as I could be that all the demon blood was out, I turned on the shower and washed Mari.

“Can ya hold ‘er for a moment?”

Rook stood and grabbed the black housecoat hanging on the back of the door before closing the distance. He hadn’t said much after our talk, and I wasn’t sure what to make of the silence. I helped him get Mari’s shivering body in the house coat before undoing the buckle on my kilt. It landed with a thud, soaking wet and dripping like a tap.

The warmer water felt like a million pinpricks to my chilled skin as I washed off. I grabbed a plush black towel from the rack and stepped out, wrapping the material in place. I glanced at Rook, expecting to see a heated stare, but his face was passive as he stared at Mari’s slack body.

“She’s a good person, isn’t she?” Rook suddenly asked.

“Aye, I tink she is. Let me grab a pair of bottoms and I’ll take her from ya.” I grabbed a pair of comfortable pants from the bedroom before returning to Rook. Our arms touched as I reached under Mari to take her from him, and we both froze as the connection was made.

His arms felt so warm against my very cold ones, and the electrical charge had me sucking in a ragged breath. I quickly took Mari, before the connection had time to flare and make us do something stupid. I was happy that Gregory and Belle had listened and decided to leave. Some things never got easier to talk about, and this entire situation was one of them, especially since they didn’t understand the whole story.

“So what are you going to do now?” Rook asked.

“Da worst has passed, but now she needs ta get warm and rest,” I said.

I lowered her down gently in the centre of the bed, then pulled the blankets up to cover her body. Shuffling myself around to sit beside her, with my back against the headboard, then looked over at Rook. He was staring. I didn’t sense that he was angry, but I couldn’t read him either. The minutes ticked on, and finally, I couldn’t take the silence or the look he was giving me any longer.

“What are ya thinkin’?” I asked.

Wandering over to a chair, Rook sat down and leaned forward until his arms were on his knees and his eyes fixed on the floor. “I don’t know what to think anymore. I keep running through how we got here and the whirlwind that the last couple of days has turned into, and I’m just not sure where to begin.”

“Fair enough.”

“I’m not a feelings kind of guy, and this connection has me all up in my feels to the point where I feel like I’m stuck in a twister.”

I smirked at that. It was exactly how I felt—confused, anxious, excited, angry, and possessive, only to start all over again. “Aye, I get that. That be part of the reason I spoke ta Mari last night. Dis is new fir me too. I may have wanted to go forward wit da triad, but it dinnie mean I knew what ta expect or how I’d be feelin’.”