Page 22 of Guard

Hope bloomed in her chest for a moment before withering. “I can’t leave.” Before, she had always thought she couldn’t leave because she was waiting for her husband. Sh’d been sure he would return, and she had to be there when he did. But now, she was sure he was gone for good. She couldn’t leave because she had no place to go and no money to get there.

Rixx made a rough noise in the back of his throat, but he did not argue with her or ask why, but the levity that had been in his voice was gone. “You can prepare for bed first. I will come in once you are done.”

Myrria’s felt inexplicably sad that the gulf between them had widened again, but it was for the best. She hurried to the bedroom, ducking beneath the curtain and quickly shedding her day dress. She took a nightgown from the dresser and pulled it over her head, noticing that she’s inadvertently picked her nicest one.

“Not that it matters,” she whispered to herself as she slipped under the covers and clicked off the lamp on the bedside table. The room was suddenly shrouded in darkness, the only light slipping in through the gap in the curtain.

She hadn’t minded sharing the loft bed with Zala, but it was nice to be back in her bed with the thicker mattress. But even though it was her bed, it now smelled likehim. She breathed in thespicy male scent that permeated the sheets and heat coiled in her stomach.

The light from the outer room was extinguished, and Rixx’s bare feet padded across the wooden floorboards toward her. It was ridiculous that she was holding her breath. She’d already explained why they needed to share a bed. He knew that her decision was all about convincing her landlady. So why was the blood pounding in her ears?

The curtain rustled as it was pulled back then there was the faint sound of clothing hitting the floor. Myrria stiffened. Was he taking off everything? Gods forgive her, she wanted him to be taking off everything.

The bed creaked as Rixx got in on the other side without speaking, readjusting himself until he was lying on his back with his shoulder almost touching hers. Myrria could feel the heat of his body as they both lay side by side.

“You do not need to fear me,” he husked. “I have no intention of touching you.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Myrria insisted, although her wavering voice betrayed her.

“I can feel your fear.”

She swiveled her head to him. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough that she could see the silhouette of his profile. “What do you mean you can feel my fear?”

He released a breath and twisted his face to hers. “Dothveks are empathic. We can sense each other’s emotions and thoughts.”

Her breath caught as the shock of his admission hit her and she pushed herself up onto her elbows. “Have you been reading my mind?”

“Our empathic powers do not work like that. Not on other creatures. Only with Dothveks and only ones who allow us to access their minds.”

Her breathing steadied. She would die of embarrassment if he knew all the things she’d been thinking about him. Then she narrowed her gaze at him in the dark. “But you said you could feel my fear.”

He was quiet for a few moments. “I do not know how, but I am able to sense your fear. I cannot hear your thoughts, but I know when you are frightened. That is how I was able to find you when you were being attacked.”

Myrria sank back onto the bed. “Oh. But I’m not afraid of you right now.”

“I can sense—“

“I’m afraid of myself,” she interrupted before she could think better of it, “because Idowant you to touch me.”

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Rixx did not move, did not breathe, did not speak. Had she said what he thought she had? “But you are—?”

Myrria sat up abruptly. “What? Because I’m married?” Her breathing was ragged but she lowered her voice. “My husband is either dead or gone for good. Everyone knows it, and I’ve been fooling myself by saying I’ve been waiting for him.”

Rixx did not know how to respond, but he could sense the turmoil of her emotions. She was not lying. Dothveks could sense deception. She believed that she was alone in the world, that she’d been left alone by the one person who was supposed to be by her side.

“Do you want to know the crazy part? Myrria asked. “I’m glad he’s gone. He was never a good husband, and he would have been a lousy father if he’d bothered to stick around long enough. But the truth is that he left when things got hard and he got bored. I don’t miss him, and I don’t want him back.”

Rixx had never gone after a mated female. He had always considered them off-limits, so even as she told him that she considered herself free, he hesitated.

Myrria twisted to face him, her face in shadows but her eyes locked on him. “I’ve been loyal to him for all these years, but he never deserved it. My friend at the pleasure house admitted to me that he frequented her girls even when we were married, when I was pregnant.” Her voice broke. “I guess I always knew he was no good, but I had to tell myself that he wasn’t as bad as I thought because if he was so bad, why did I choose him? Why did I stay with him? What kind of fool am I?”

“You are not a fool.”

She waved a hand at him. “It’s okay. I was a fool, but I’m not anymore. I don’t owe him one more second of loyalty. He’s gone forever, but I’m not.” Her breathing was heavy. “I’m right here.”

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