I placed my fingers on his shoulder, enjoying the commotion happening under my skin, the deep need and arduous pulsations. I basked in their familiarity, relieved to feel something other than pain.
“How did you get here?”
I did not mean it as a reprimand, rather the need to make sure he was really there, by my side, pulling me from what had been the worst moment of my existence.
“I broke down the door,” he responded as if it was no big deal, then shifted his shoulder just enough to let me see behind him. To spot the light from the gym, which did not have an off button. And the door, or what remained of it, in shambles.
Galenor must have pressed his body into the door until he ripped it open, because traces of wood and metal splattered across the bedroom.
How long had I been screaming for to make him do this?
“I’m sorry…” I forced out, my gaze peering around the room. Around his body. Making sure he wasn’t injured.
“Don’t be, it’s my fault.”
I had to check my ears because something must have been wrong with my hearing. It couldn’t be that the cocky fae male I had shared almost two weeks with had suddenly started to develop good manners. I must still be dreaming.
“Hey…” Galenor’s voice raised me from thought, forcing my focus back to him. “It wasn’t your fault, muffin, you were just a kid.” He exhaled, fingers trailing down my jaw. “You didn’t know better.”
Unable to avoid the river of tears that threatened to flood my eyes, I started sobbing, allowing myself to set all feelings loose. Unwilling to keep hold of the guilt that lacerated through my system on a daily basis.
Leaning into the fae, I dripped tears down his chest for long minutes, while his hands continued to caress down my back, drawing those scars with a new shade of forgiveness.
I hadn’t told anyone this story, only my family and whoever was there that night knew about it. It wasn’t in my military reports, and I hadn’t confided in anyone, let alone a faerie.
His understanding and caress dragged deeper remorse through my skin, crawling at my veins and scraping at the blood passing through muscle.
He did not hate me. He did not accuse me. All he did was caress my wounds, over and over again, as if his touch was some sort of healing ointment that would take them away.
Little did he know, no one had ever touched my back. No one had ever seen my scars. I had made sure of it. But here I was, letting myself cry in the arms of the enemy, one who had broken through a door to be by my side.
Awareness ripped through me, my reason bursting back into my senses. What the hell was I doing?
“It’s okay, I’m okay,” I said between gritted teeth, not wanting to allow my true feelings to surface.
Because I enjoyed this. I loved being cuddled in big, strong arms, I loved knowing someone was there to care for me, that someone had gone through so much effort to get to me, so I wouldn’t be alone.
That female need deeply rooted in my nature liked to be cared for, liked to be caressed and desired. I didn’t allow my brain to even consider what I had felt in between Gale’s legs when he shifted us into bed. The hardness that hadn’t been there when I woke up but greeted me with a massive bulge when its owner grabbed hold of me.
I didn’t want to know that I too, had responded to his closeness, that wetness pooled between my thighs and my pussy throbbed, that I had wanted those fingers to go lower than my back, to reach down and grab my need.
I couldn’t listen to its calling, I couldn’t allow myself to feel what my body begged me to. Instead, I pushed back, trying to separate myself from the fae, doing my best to put as much distance in between us as the tight space allowed me to.
Leaning back and crashing against the bed frame, I did my best to escape Galenor’s embrace, my shoulders rolling back to let his hands fall and allow me to escape his grip. Gaining an instant frown.
“What are you doing?” Galenor regained control over my shoulders, his fingers piercing deeper into my skin as if sensing my intention.
“I’m better now, thank you. You can…” I pressed my lips together, unable to say it. Hoping that he understood my meaning.
“Go?” his brows knotted with annoyance. Disappointment? Anger?
I dipped my chin as I swallowed hard, a sudden lump closing my throat. Did I want him to leave? Did I want him to stay? The logical part of me knew the answer. I was a captain, I had a job to do, I had a career to follow.
But the weird thumping in my chest did not care about any of that, reminding me that I’d felt more fulfilled in these few minutes in Galenor’s arms than I had been in all my adult life.
“Good night,” I barely murmured, the words coming out like spikes from my lips.
Galenor dipped his chin, his dark green eyes gawking at me, as if he expected this to be a joke. He blinked a few times, giving me a chance to reconsider, before he shimmied back from the blanket that remained trapped under his weight.
