“I already showered,” I pouted. I didn’t feel like leaving the bed, especially since he was so close to me. All I wanted was to snuggle and maybe ransack the infirmary for some pain relief meds, then snuggle some more. This male had such warm skin and all I felt like doing was to press myself tightly to him.
“Ellyana…” his palms cupped my face with urgency. “We need to clean your wound,” he tried again, this time pleading, but I shook my head no.
I was suddenly feeling very tired and sleepy. And even though it was always warm in these rooms, a chill wrapped around my skin, making my muscles clench and shiver.
“Ellyana, please.” Galenor’s voice was so close yet so far away, hidden in the cloud of blackness that laid heavily on my body. The sudden pressure in my head made me feel nauseated. Things around me started changing their place, moving to get away from my sight and all I wanted was to sleep.
To grab Galenor in my arms and rest.
Heavy clouds appeared and vanished in front of my eyes, drifting away memories and confusing the present. Strong arms wrapped around me, offering the warmth I craved so much while a deep, sorrowful voice filled my ears with sweet phrases, the type one reads about in romance books.
“Let me take care of you, love.”
A call dropped from Galenor’s lips, after laying a gentle line of kisses on the side of my neck and up my jaw, spreading joy to my lips. “Ellyana…” he said my name like a prayer, like one is supposed to speak when addressing the gods.
“Why are you doing such terrible things to my heart, cupcake?”
I chuckled then, even though I could not control my lids and my eyes remained closed. “Cupcake,” I giggled, not knowing if the words came out in my mind only.
“To fill me,” I snickered, remaining limp in his arms, and remembering how he had the nerve to tell me such filthy, terrible things the very first day he met me. And how he, later, took it upon himself to show me all the ways his words had been true. And all the ways my life had been changed forever after that encounter.
How, were I in any other situation, I would abandon it all and drift away into the sunset with my faerie lover. “Lover,” I snickered again at the word. One I had never used before.One, no one had ever come close to being named so throughout my life.
“Is that what I am?” a deep voice grumbled in my ear, pushing a line of heat down my neck.
“My fae lover,” I laughed, shifting to receive more of that warmth, his breath lining hot waterfalls into my skin. “It feels nice,” I smiled. Or tried to, at least. “The things you do to me.” I tilted my head for emphasis, and he must have realised what I wanted, because he started licking down my throat and sending more of those heavenly shivers.
“That is a fae lover’s role,” he replied, his tone lower, more honest, somehow.
I forced my eyes open, pushing back the heaviness clinging to my eyelashes to allow me to gaze at him. To find those beautiful emerald eyes pinned on me, absorbing my every breath.
A bitter smile overtook my lips, the realisation heavy. “It sucks to fall in love, doesn’t it?” I blinked at him as I shared my darkest secret.
“I wouldn’t say so,” he chuckled. “I like having an unlimited supply of muffins.”
We both laughed then, allowing ourselves to enjoy that moment, to find a beat of peace. I took a full breath and expelled more laughter, but the injury at the back of my head forced me into a sudden jolt and caused Galenor to react.
“Alright, concussed lover, it’s bath time for you.” Without giving me a chance to protest or even move, he lifted me from bed to take me into the bathroom, where the bathtub was already filled with hot water and bubbles.
“I don’t have a concussion,” I protested and tried to stand on my own two feet to help him remove my clothes but the fae wouldn’t have it. He placed my ass on the toilet seat and peeled my clothes off slowly, taking special care with my head every time he had to slide a garment past my shoulders. Fortunately, I only had a tank and a shirt on, before I found myself naked and shivering slowly, all of a sudden excited to get in the bath.
“I don’t have a concussion,” I defended myself again, trying to make Galenor stop looking at me like I was a fragile thing. This wasn’t my first bump, I practically grew up with a wrecked head. “I know how those feel and this is not it.”
Galenor stopped, surprised by my confession, so I felt the need to defend myself even more. “I didn’t have the best time growing up, I already told you,” I snapped at him, but instantly felt guilty. “I’m just really tired,” I said as an apology.
“Then a nice warm bath would do you great,” he replied, though his brows had involuntarily furrowed with rage.
“Don’t be mad at me,” I reached up to caress his cheek, drawing away whatever sorrows ate at him. He leaned in to kiss my palm.
“Never, muffin.”
“Join me, your wounds need cleaning too. And I’ll enjoy the company,” I smiled, shifting into the bathtub to show him how much room was left for him to take me up on the offer.
I said a secret thank you to whomever built these living quarters, who thought about the subject’s freakishly tall frame and brought in this massive bathtub, because after taking a few seconds to consider it, Galenor removed his clothes and jumped into the pile of bubbles by my side.
With extreme care, he nestled me to his chest and splayed me on top of him, his arms wrapping around my back and hips to support my weight.
“This feels nice,” I wiggled more into his touch, the warmth of his body combined with the warmth of the water wrapping me in a sphere of cosiness. Until I realised, I was placing my entire weight on him, and he was filled with injuries. As if sensing my worries, Galenor pressed me to his chest and whispered a threat. “Don’t even dare.”
