Page 55 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

What am I supposed to do with that knowledge or the ache that’s come with it?

Our breaths rise and fall together. Gradually, the heat we radiate penetrates the cold we carried with us.

Despite the tangled emotions inside me, I lift my hand to rest my palm against Rheave’s cheek. It’s still cool but not totally cold anymore. He’s okay.

A rush of relief tinged with absurd humor passes through me. At least his ridiculously beautiful face shouldn’t be marred by his embracing of the northern night.

I tap his jaw lightly to get his attention. “Let me feel one of your hands.”

He adjusts his position, rolling onto his side to face me. I expect him to reach for my hand, but instead he places his palm against my stomach.

A flicker of an even more confusing emotion lights low in my belly. A deeper heat than his sunny smiles ever provoked.

I clamp down on it, mentally shaking my head at my reaction. This man is gorgeous and bizarre and makes me wonder about things I never did before, but he’s also not really a man.

And I’ve got three other men I’m very much devoted to. Even Signy, after all her heroics, stopped at a trio.

I grasp Rheave’s wrist the second enough warmth has seeped through my over-tunic and dress for me to be sure he won’t be losing any fingers and ease his hand away.

Rheave lifts his head from beneath the blanket. It’s nearly pitch black inside the tent, but I can feel him looking my way. Maybe he can make out my face even if I can’t see his.

The second I let go of his wrist, he reaches for me again. He touches my shoulder and then slides his hand down almost to my elbow.

We’ve never slept next to each other before. My men have always insisted on surrounding me, and the daimon-man has settled for taking the spot closest to the flaps where he can still serve as some kind of protection.

I didn’t realize he was going to be touchy-feely about our current position.

Julita lets out a giggle. He is all about feeling new things, isn’t he? If you could snap the rest of the scourge sorcerers’ army out of whatever spell they’re under, they’d be dopey as puppies.

When Rheave speaks, he doesn’t sound particularly dopey. He keeps his voice low but steady. “Everything is back to normal now. My fingers were prickly for a while, but that faded away.”

“Good. Then you didn’t freeze them right off.”

“I wasn’t being careful. I’m sorry I worried you. I’m supposed to be looking out for you, not making you do that for me.”

He sounds downcast enough that I stroke his cheek again in an effort at reassurance. “We all look out for each other. That’s what… friends do. And you’re still getting used to being whatever exactly you are now. It’d just be nice if you’d listen faster the next time I try to warn you. Or you could listen to the others. We all have a lot more experience in mortal bodies than you do.”

“I know. But you’re the one I’m sure will really listen to me. I’ll try to be better about listening too.”

He’s silent for a moment, his fingers squeezing my arm lightly, and then he drops his hand to my waist. It flexes against my side as if he’s testing some other new sensation.

“Ivy,” he says, “why do humans press their mouths together?”

I think I hear Casimir choke back a guffaw. My cheeks flare. The courtesan should be the one fielding questions like this.

And if I have to, he could at least do me the favor of going to sleep so I don’t have an audience.

I grope for a reasonable answer. “It feels good. It’s a way to show you like being close to someone.”

Rheave hums and dips his head toward me. I jerk my hand against his sternum before he can press right against me, tuning out the pulse of desire that sparked in my core.

“Are you trying to kiss me?” I demand as quietly as I can manage.

I think you opened yourself up to that one, Ivy, Julita says through another giggle.

The daimon-man simply sounds confused. “You said it feels good. I wanted to see. You kiss Stavros and Casimir and Alek.”

Great God help me. “I know them a lot better than I know you. We have a different kind of relationship. Most people don’t get that close with each other.”

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