Page 17 of Live Like Legends

My light only ever grew after each of those moments and even now I still surprised myself with what I could do. I was stillgetting to know myself and I wanted to give Dani the same grace. She could feel both powers, but that didn’t necessarily mean she could perform a seamless balancing act without fuck ups. I, of all people, knew angelic light wanted nourishment and dedication. It wasn’t jealous or fragile, but perhaps it wasn’t all that different from the darkness in some way.

I’d never truly asked Dani about it; she’d always said she was fine in that way that honestly had me wanting to believe her. She wanted to protect me just as much as I wanted to shield her from the world, but of course, my girl quite literally gave me a proverbial middle finger while simultaneously swooning over my protective nature.

My eyes popped open when I heard my name. I quickly opened the door, the steam from the shower dissipating once I let some of the outside air in. I noticed her silhouette in the shower and tried to rid my brain of the thoughts of her naked and drenched in soap.

“Yeah?” I answered, clearly ready to do whatever she asked.

The shower door rattled open, her face coming into view. Her curls were soaking wet, glistening from the water that dripped off the ends. One of her eyebrows was raised in a way that told me she was about to be incredibly cheeky, and I was never prepared for it. She tapped her fingertips along the glass of the shower door, letting out a huff. “Are you getting in or not?”

“I thought you would rather…”

She shushed me. “Always so sweet, but who cares what youthought. I’m asking you, are you coming into the shower with me or not? Choose wisely, Mr. Cassial.”

I closed the door without another thought. My clothes were off in seconds, and I fumbled into the shower with her, the sound of her intoxicating laughter filling my ears. I bent down to kiss her, her lips wet and slippery. The shitty lighting in my bathroom still didn’t dull the way every part of her brown skinglowed and I could have kissed every single inch of her body. She lightly pushed me away, reaching down and picking up a bottle of conditioner. I looked at the opal-colored bottle that I’d gotten at one of the village's markets the day after she started staying with me.

I thought she’d like the scent—cinnamon— and from the amount of liquid that remained, I was correct.

“We can talk about what happened, but you have to be of some use in the meantime.” She turned around, moving all her hair to her back. I smiled to myself as I squirted the product into my hand. I started to work it into her hair from the ends, easing my fingers through every tangle I got caught on.

I cleared my throat as I continued taking my fingers through her hair. “I am sorry.”

Her shoulders moved while she laughed. “It was probably one ofthemost unsurprising things you’ve done.”

“That’s not fair. You were nearly choking, Dani.” I reached the middle of her hair, which was the thickest, so I started to move slower as I worked.

She tilted her head back a little, eyeing me from over her shoulder. “Nick, it was Natalia. We aren’t dealing with Lilith or Satan forbid, Dimitri. I would love for your faith in me to last a little longer than five minutes.”

I paused, wrapping her hair in my fist and pulling her head back. She stared at me with those innocent eyes that I knew were anything but. “I have all the faith in you Dani. Don’t ever think that I don’t, got it?”

She gave me a smile that made my chest thump, even with her looking at me upside down. “Fuck you’re hot when you’re feisty.”

I let go of her, feeling myself getting hard and started to condition her curls again. My fingers began to slip through herhair with ease, silently showing me that I had done a solid job. “I have to keep up with you somehow, don’t I?”

She hummed. “So does this mean you’ll keep your light to yourself?’

I reached out and let the shower water rinse off my hand. She took that as her cue that I was done, moving her hair to one side and turning around. I couldn’t help but move my eyes down her body. “Absolutely not.”

Her mouth dropped open slightly in shock. “You are unbelievable.”

I walked forward causing her to back up so that her spine was against the wall, and I crowded her so the water from the showerhead ran down my back. She had this nervous look about her, but she was never afraid of me. I think despite the level of the conversation, she was still turned on.

“I love you. I’ll admit I might have been a bit too hasty this time and like I’ve said before I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight your battles, Dani. I do, however, like knowing you want me involved in those battles, right alongside you. I actually have an affinity for watching you win, but sometimes I like knowing we won together.” I placed both my hands on either side of her head and rested my forehead against hers.

She moved her head to the side, examining my arm. Her brown eyes zeroed in on the faint scars left by Dimitri’s nails. “The last time you fought with me, you…it…” She tentatively touched her fingertips to my arm as if the wound still ached. There were times when I noticed my arm and my blood raged when Dimitri’s face would appear, perfectly clear in my thoughts. That darkness that would also linger inside of me would build but then I thought about all the progress I’d made since we got back, the lack of nightmares and panic attacks I’d had, and my light would win out in the end. She had so much to do with that.

“Every day gets a little better, I promise. I’m never going to be one hundred percent perfect, but I’m working on it. I don’t regret ever fighting next to you and I never will. This isn’t about me though, it’s about you.” The shower was steaming again, and I ran a hand through my wet hair, placing it on her cheek, so my thumb could caress her face. “I’m not going anywhere, Dani. If Lilith or fucking Dimitri find out about you and come here, I’m right here. I want you to be ready, but I also want you to know I’m here even if you falter.”

“And what ifyoufalter and I’m not any good for either of us?”

I kissed her forehead. “I’ve already done that. I thought letting the darkness suffocate me was a good idea. I thought stabbing you was an even better one. I’ve faltered, baby, believe me.”

“Yeah well, what happened wasn’t ideal, but it led me to this very odd balance.” She chuckled, looking down at where her stab wound should have been. It disappeared the minute I brought her back. It was like those moments where I thought I’d lost her, the moments where I would have done anything to rewind time hadn’t happened. “Now I suppose we just exist together. Two very overprotective entities.”

I gave her a small smile, rubbing my nose against hers. “You and me.”

She spun us around, so that she could let the water run down her hair, removing the conditioner. She ran her fingers through her mass of curls, scrunching out the water. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “Honesty is a main priority, yes?”

I reached for some soap and started to wash my own body. “Yeah, of course.”

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