Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“There’s no reason to be.” He paused. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it all before.”
My lips pursed. “I haven’t forgotten. And I didn’t say I was uncomfortable.”
Kieran arched a brow. “So, you’re not?”
Was I? I wasn’t. At least, not in the way I was in New Haven. And I really didn’t know what that meant or why I was even thinking about it while naked in a tub.
“Can you grab me a towel?” I asked.
“I can.”
I stared at him, waiting. “Approximately when do you think you might be able to do that?”
“Around the same time you remember that you moved a chair earlier without touching it and could simply will the towel to you.”
I opened and then closed my mouth. Damn it, he was right. “I can’t believe I forgot that.”
“Well, you’re not used to summoning things to you with your mind.”
“True.” My attention shifted to the towels stacked on the shelf. Eather hummed as I pictured the towel—
My eyes widened as one flew off the shelf.
Kieran’s hand snapped out, catching it in midair. “I doubt you wanted to be smacked in the face with it.”
“I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
“Uh-huh.” He chuckled.
Prying an arm from my side, I reached for the towel. Instead of handing it over, he knelt beside the tub, and the towel disappeared from view. My narrowed eyes lifted to his.
“So, what do you think of the new quarters?” he asked.
“Is that a question that needs to be answered while you’re holding my towel?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head. “I like them. They remind me of the ones in Evaemon.”
“You’ve never been up here before?”
“I wasn’t allowed into this section of the east wing since guests normally occupied the rooms.” I was surprised he wasn’t taking this most opportune time to launch into the lecture I knew was still coming about me crossing the Veil. “I think this section of Wayfair was built when Atlantia ruled.”
“What gave it away?” he replied dryly.
I grinned. “Casteel said his mother and Malec stayed here.” My lip curled. “Now, I’m thinking about my mother-in-law and uncle sleeping in the same bed, and that makes me think of how messed up my family tree is.”
Kieran huffed out a low laugh. “I’m sure the mattress has been replaced since then.”
“We can only hope,” I said.
“We?”
My eyes shot to his as I opened my mouth. It struck me that I had become so used to sharing space with Kieran while on the road to Carsodonia that it hadn’t even crossed my mind that he might prefer his own arrangements. That would make sense since he normally had his own quarters, but…
My fingers curled against my bare waist. Things felt different now but somehow the same. Which was entirely too confusing.
“We?” he repeated, quieter this time.
“Or whatever.” Staring out the window, I felt his eyes on me.
“Did you notice the chambers outside the quarters?” he asked. “One of them will be mine. I will be close, but not so close that I can’t escape when you two start getting on my nerves.”
I laughed. “I have a feeling that will be more often than not.”
“You are probably right,”
His tone had changed. Glancing over at him, I noticed the faint amusement was completely gone from his stare.
“There are no expectations, Poppy.”
My breath stalled in my throat.
He rested an arm on the wide ledge of the tub. “I know the Joining was…intense.”
Intense was one word to describe what had happened along the banks of the River Rhain.
I wondered if I would get to meet the god.
And why, in all the realms, was I thinking about that now?
“And we haven’t had a chance to talk about it,” he continued, jerking my focus back to him. “And what it means.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be having this conversation in my current situation, but I heard myself asking, “What does it mean?”
His gaze didn’t stray from mine as he said, “A bond comes with a Joining. A deep connection between those who partake in the act. It’s intense.”
I nodded. “I…I know.”
“It’s hard for there not to be with that level of intimacy—one where our hearts move in the same beat, and we can more easily feel what the other is experiencing.”
Wait. Did that mean—?
“And just like with the act of a Joining, that can get…intense.”
“You need to find another word,” I muttered. “Like overwhelming or profound. Powerful. Maybe fierce.”
A corner of his lips twitched. “And it can,” he said, pausing, “intensify—”
I sighed.
“What one feels, be it emotional or physical.” Kieran leaned forward, his gaze remaining on mine. “But that doesn’t mean there are expectations.” He searched my face. “Understand?”
Swallowing, I nodded.
Kieran held my gaze for another moment. “Good.” He rose and laid the towel on the tub edge. “I’ll find you something to wear since I don’t think we should have you attempt summoning an item of clothing from another room.”