Page 121 of Rite of Unity

I rushed to my wardrobe, grabbed a long silk robe, and tugged it over my shoulders.The towel dropped to my ankles, and I pulled the belt tight, double-knotting it.Spinning, I crossed the room to my bed, tearing back the blankets and sliding under them.

When I’d pulled them up to my chin, I cleared my throat.“Okay.I’m dressed.”

He turned slowly, but the blazing fire in his eyes hadn’t dimmed now that I was covered.

In two long strides, he was across the room, standing over my bed.

“May I sit?”

My mouth fell open.I didn’t know this man.In truth, he was far more familiar with me than I was with him, but I knew one thing: he never asked permission.Something had changed.

I nodded.

He sat, scooting back until his head rested against the headboard and expelled a loud sigh.He stared at the empty wall where the TV projected images on Mondays.

I held my breath, my knuckles white around the blanket.

“I’m sorry I had to leave you.”

My heart rate slowed a fraction, and I glanced at him.“Where… did you go?”

He lifted an arm, wedging it behind his head and tilted to face me.“Dad needed me in Michigan City to handle a few things.”

I swallowed.“But now you’re back?”

The stiffness in his posture was gone, but the heat was still there.“I couldn’t stay away.Not when I knew you were thinking of me.”

My grip on the blanket tightened.

His gaze shot to my nails, and I winced.He stretched his free hand toward me, prying my fingers loose and inspecting them.His hands were warm.Steadier than mine.

He tsked.“This is unacceptable.”

Under the blankets, my other hand squeezed into a fist.

“What has you coiled so tight, Quick?”

I should have torn my hand from his.Should have demanded he leave, but my fingers, tucked inside his, refused.The weight of his hand over mine was the most grounded I’d felt in days.Even on top of my covers, his heat spread, cracking the ice in my veins.

Slowly, my shoulder relaxed, my fisted hand loosened.

“Nami is gone.”The words were out before I could stop them.

I glanced up, meeting his eyes once.

His fingers tightened around mine.“What happened?”

My vision blurred.“The other women said she was sent to the farm.”I cleared my throat.“For… infertility.”

Calden sat up, never releasing my hand.

When the silence stretched, I looked up again.He searched my face, reading me, as he had from our very first encounter.Deciding something.

“I’ll find her.”

His hand released mine, and he slid off the bed, taking his heat with him.

I watched him cross the room, stopping beside the window.He climbed through, setting something down.