Page 43 of The Rat King
I had enough experience to feel the sensation of someone’s eyes scanning me to know that was real. I set down the cloak and cross the room. I wasn’t that cold, I was just trying to be modest. Not to tempt the beast standing above me. But in a bizarre turn of events, I felt completely safe with him in a way I never felt before. And while he looked—while I was inviting him to look—I corrected myself, I didn’t think he would touch unless I invited him to.
So, I leaned forward in my chair and picked up one of the meaty sub-style sandwiches off the tray, taking a bite. We had been chatting back and forth all day and we both must have been talked out because we finished our meal in silence. No wine tonight, which I ought to feel grateful for. Probably another calculating move on his part. He didn’t seem like the type of man who would use alcohol to get what he wanted. He came across too proud for that.
My belly was full, and a satisfied warmth radiated from it, making my eyelids lull as I crawled into bed. There was something satisfying about a big meal after having ridden all day, and I was exhausted. Normally, I slept in the middle of the bed whenever I was alone, but I crawled onto the right side nearest the window, leaving the side nearest the door open. I snuggled down on my side and from the other side of the room, boots thudded to the floor. Fabric rustled, and I expected his weight to shift the bed, but it never came.
There was a small whoosh of a candle being blown out and then the creak of weight settling in a chair. Abruptly, I sat up. Nighval’s big body leaned back in one of the wingbacks and he had thrown the cloak over himself. I could tell his feet were crossed at the ankle, as they often were. His eyes were closed, but I knew he could feel me staring at him like how I could feel when his eyes were on me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Sleeping,” he said, voice lifting as if it were a question instead of a statement.
“Come on, Nighval. I’m onto you. I heard your little comment earlier, and I know exactly what you’re doing. If you think I’m going to ask you to come over here and sleep in the bed with me, you’re delusional,” I said, flopping back onto the bed, a little disappointed niggle rooting around in my stomach. I totally was going to let him sleep in bed with me before he started with this ridiculous charade.
“I want to respect your boundaries, Avery. I’ll happily join you because Goddess knows after riding in that saddle all day I could use a soft bed, but after what you went through... It’s important to me you know you are safe with me,” he said, and his eyes closed. I could just make out his features in the firelight and he had that expression, like he would not budge.
I gave a loud, exasperated groan. His words melted me, exactly like he planned. “Good grief, just get in and stop being so difficult. I feel safe with you, as wild as it sounds.”
He sat up and the cloak slid off his shoulders, revealing his pale skin and the firm muscles of his chest. I’d never seen a man on my plane as well built as him, and I’d seen some pretty fine men in Miami.
I couldn’t stop my eyes from ogling him as he stood and set the garment aside. That first night, he’d kept his pants on, but now he wore what appeared to be this plane’s version of boxer briefs. They were black, tight, and accentuated the corded muscle of his thighs, among other things I pried my eyes away from. He was like an Armani model, but bigger, darker, and better, especially with that five o’clock shadow I imagined would feel divine scraping across the soft skin of my neck and—bad idea. Still, he was potentially mine if I decided to claim him. And now he was annoyed with me.
“Why would that sound wild?” he asked. The edge to his voice hadn’t been there a moment earlier. Something about it intrigued me, like I could affect him so easily. “What is it about me that would make you feel unsafe?”
I swallowed as he walked over to me. I blinked up at him. He stood at the edge of the bed and stared down at me with his arms crossed over his chest. “Well, you are kind of massive. You’re wide as a door, packed with muscle, and your eyes and your expression are very intimidating. Especially whenever you’re not smiling. It’s like you have two different faces. Smiling or scowling, and you wear the scowl ninety percent of the time.”
“I do not,” he said. Then he gave me a big toothy smile, flipped the covers up, and crawled into bed, propping himself up on an elbow facing me.
“Yes, you do. You are like some type of dark brooding predator man. It’s no wonder you scared off many women in the past,” I said, and that scowl reappeared. “See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
“You insult me and then you expect me not to scowl at you? That seems a little unfair,” he said, his expression not budging.
I leaned forward and ran my fingertips across the thin line of his mouth. A little of the tension there eased. “You’ve shown me your softer side, though, and I appreciate that. This hasn’t been easy for me, but the way you’ve been since you saved me…” I couldn’t finish my sentence because a wave of emotion crested, threatening to send tears over the edges of my eyelids.
Nighval’s face softened as he studied me and his hand snaked out a few inches beneath the covers before he halted its movement like he wanted to touch me, to comfort me, but wouldn’t let himself. I didn’t understand this because that first night I had no choice in the matter, but it was like now he wouldn’t touch me without my consent first.
“We should go to sleep,” he said. “Two more long days until we get there. Then you will have your own room, a large bathing chamber, and we will get you some new clothes. I’m looking forward to showing you around where I live. I think you will like it.”
He leaned back on the bed resting a hand behind his head, which only accentuated the rock-hard muscle of his bicep. Before his eyes closed, they flicked to me one last time. The way he positioned himself was like an invitation. I’d spent all day either leaned up against him or inches away, but it wasn’t as intimate as this was. I could easily nestle up against his raised arm, and I knew it would curl around my waist and pull me into him.
It would feel so good. Maybe it was the fact that he was such a foreboding presence that made me feel so safe. And yes, it had only been almost a month and a half since I accidentally killed my husband, but there was never any relationship there, so it was not like I was moving on from something too quickly. This gravitational pull I felt right now to his warmth was something I did not want to deny myself, even though I knew with the whole one bed thing he’d somehow orchestrated he was thoroughly playing me. As foolish as it made me fill, I supposed I should let him woo me though. I was committed to seeing this through. I’d have to deal with any fallout later.
I hadn’t moved, and I hadn’t laid down. I was still watching him as the story played out in my head. His eyes snapped open, landing on me and, like he knew exactly what I was thinking, he held his hand out across his chest and gestured for me to come to him.
Wordlessly, I scooted near him and, like I pictured it, his big arm lowered from his head and found my waist, pulling me against his warm body. I was on my side, and he took my outside hand and moved it to where it was over his heart, and he closed his calloused hand over mine. When he had us settled, he made no other moves. Had he gone to all this effort to make sure that we would be sharing a bed just to cuddle? Oh Lord, I was in trouble.
Chapter 31
Nighval
Twodayslater,andtwo more nights’ worth of excruciating cuddle sessions, as Avery called them, we arrived at my family home
The thing was, I didn’t mind them. I loved them. It was just that being so near her all day and then all night was making me crazy with need.
My plan was working. She was comfortable with me and growing fonder by the day. After our mother had cursed us, I never allowed myself to consider that I may find something more. Well, I had for a brief glimmer in time, but after everything failed so dismally with that first witch, I never allowed myself to hope again, even though I tried with the others.
But with Avery, she would just look at me, and the instant pull was there. What I told her was true. I was in her thrall. And it frightened me how much I liked it.
As we rode through the massive iron gates, Avery gasped and gave me one of those very glances. This was the time of day she looked the prettiest. The golden hour, where the sun, still lingering in the sky, highlighted the warmth of her skin. I helped her off Eclipse and allowed myself to take her in. Stable hands came and unpacked my animal companion. I made a point to get ahold of her backpack, so she’d know I accounted for it. Watching her take in the enormous structure, the awe in her eye, made me wonder what was going through her head. Did she imagine herself living here permanently, one day?
