Page 50 of Joy Guardian
He took me to one of the niches along the wall. The space was small, holding only a round mattress on the floor with a shelf mounted in the wall around the head area and a metal rack on the opposite wall with pieces of golden fabric draped over the bars.
“Is that your room?” I asked, staying by the entrance since there wasn’t enough space for both of us inside.
“Yes. This is where I sleep.” He took a length of golden fabric from the rack and unraveled it into a skirt. “It’ll be too long for you.”
He measured the length against me, then tore off a strip from the bottom to make it fit.
“Now it will be too short foryou,” I pointed outas he wrapped the skirt around my hips then fixed it at my waist with a pin.
“You can keep it. I have more.” He took another skirt from the rack and put it on.
“These are the Joy Guardians’ clothes. Am I even allowed to wear it?”
“These are extraordinary circumstances. Besides, we’re here alone. Who is to know?” He grinned.
I stared at him, stunned by that unexpected smile. A genuine smile, not simply a mimicked expression, looked so out of place on the face of a shadow fae. A little mischievous, a little cocky, with a glint of his two sharp fangs picking between his parted lips, it took my breath away.
“You have the most amazing smile, Kurai,” I blurted out.
His eyebrows jerked up in surprise, as if he hadn’t even realized what he’d just done. His smile wavered, faltering, then sprung back to his lips again.
“It…it feels good to smile,” he said, a little hesitantly.
A flutter of attraction grew in my chest as he gazed at me. It was hard to tell what came first, my desire or his heated look, but things had been shifting between us now that we had shared both sorrow and pleasure.
I folded my arms over my chest to hide my breasts. “You wouldn’t happen to have a shirt?”
“What for?” He looked confused. “Are you cold?”
It was pleasantly warm inside the temple with the cool stone walls bringing a reprieve from the scorching desert outside. But it wasn’t about the weather or temperature. I simply felt awkward, having my breasts on display. Kurai had seen all of me by now. I didn’t feel shy in his presence, but I’d never gotten used to the partial nudity that was common in Alveari Kingdom.
“It’s a habit,” I explained. “I just feel weird, running around topless.”
He tilted his head, with that expression of deep concentrationhe usually had when trying to comprehend the differences between us.
“Does it make you uncomfortable seeing me without a shirt too?”
“Oh no, darling,” I assured him with an ear-to-ear grin. “With a torso like yours, wearing a shirt would be a crime.”
His frown of confusion deepened. “I don’t understand.”
I slid my hand down his wide, hard chest then over the well-defined ridges of his abs.
“I enjoy seeing all this, Kurai. You certainly don’t have to cover up on my account.”
“I don’t mind seeing these too.” He lifted my breasts with his hands, making me squeak in surprise.
“You, I don’t have a problem with. But if we leave here or if anyone else comes in here, I’d rather have them covered. It’s good to have some support in this area too.”
“All right. As you wish,” he conceded. “Let’s cover them up.”
He picked up the strip of fabric he’d torn off my skirt earlier, then helped me wrap it around my chest.
“Thanks. That’s better.” I twisted to look at the back where he tied the ends of the strip in a bow between theleilathason my spine.
The room seemed to spin, making me sway.
“Careful.” Kurai caught me under my arms. “You’re still weak. You need food for sustenance. Water alone isn’t enough.”
